The BEST Hot Chicken Salad

The BEST Hot Chicken Salad 

The BEST Hot Chicken Salad - seriously delicious chicken casserole!! Baked chicken salad loaded with pimentos, water chestnuts, almonds, cheese, and french fried onions. Great for lunch, brunch, dinner, baby showers, potlucks, and tailgating. Chicken, almonds, water chestnuts, pimentos, celery, lemon juice, mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, cream of chicken soup and french fried onions. Can make in advance and refrigerate or freeze for later. 

The BEST Hot Chicken Salad with French Fried Onions

OMG! This Hot Chicken Salad Casserole is seriously the BEST! It is loaded with chicken, almonds, celery, water chestnuts, pimientos, cheddar cheese, cream of chicken soup, and topped with French fried onions. All my favorites in one casserole! I made this for lunch last week and we both could not stop eating it. It is SO good.

Some of you might be wondering what is hot chicken salad? It is basically just chicken salad that has been baked in the oven. It is served hot as a casserole instead of cold on a croissant.

How to Make Hot Chicken Salad Casserole

This Hot Chicken Casserole is very easy to make. Just mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl and spread in a 9x13-inch pan. Top the chicken salad mixture with a can of French fried onions and bake. SO easy! I had the casserole ready to bake before my oven had fully preheated. I love quick and easy casserole recipes like this!

To cut down on the prep time, I used a rotisserie chicken. Rotisserie chicken is my secret weapon for meal prep. I always have pulled rotisserie chicken in the freezer for quick casseroles like this one. I take the chicken out of the freezer the night before I make a casserole so it can thaw.

Can Hot Chicken Salad Be Frozen?

Absolutely! You can make this Hot Chicken Salad ahead of time and refrigerate or even freeze unbaked for later. You can even split this between two pans and bake one now and freeze one for later.

If baking this Hot Chicken Salad casserole after refrigerating, you may need to add a few minutes to the cooking time. If baking this after freezing, thaw the casserole completely and bake as directed below.

What to Serve with The BEST Hot Chicken Salad

We LOVE this Hot Chicken Salad Casserole. It is really the BEST we've ever eaten. Quick, easy & delicious. You can't beat it! We love to have this for lunch or dinner. It is also great for brunch, baby showers, bridal showers, potlucks, and tailgating. It is such a fantastic dish and everyone loves it,

You don't need a lot of side dishes to go with this hearty chicken casserole. We usually just serve a salad and some bread with this dish. Here are a few recipes from the blog that go great with Hot Chicken Salad:

• Frozen Fruit Salad
• Greek Pasta Salad
• Italian Green Bean Salad
• Quick Orange Rolls
• Quick Potato Rolls

WATCH How to Make The BEST Hot Chicken Salad

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quick, easy, low carb, kid-friendly, casserole, pimento, cream of chicken soup, water chestnuts, potluck, simple

Entree

American

Yield: serves 8Author: Stephanie - Plain Chicken.com

The BEST Hot Chicken Salad Casserole

prep time: 10 minscook time: 40 minstotal time: 50 mins

The BEST Hot Chicken Salad - seriously delicious chicken casserole!! Baked chicken salad loaded with pimentos, water chestnuts, almonds, cheese and french fried onions. Great for lunch, brunch, dinner, baby showers, potlucks, and tailgating. Chicken, almonds, water chestnuts, pimentos, celery, lemon juice, mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, cream of chicken soup and french fried onions. Can make in advance and refrigerate or freeze for later. #casserole #chicken #chickencasserole #freezermeal

ingredients:

• 3 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 (8-oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
• 1 (4-oz) jar diced pimentos, drained
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1-1/2 cups mayonnaise
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 (10.75-oz) can cream of chicken soup
• 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp pepper (or to taste)
• 1 (3-oz) can French fried onions

instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9x13x2-inch pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine cooked chicken, almonds, water chestnuts, pimentos, celery, lemon juice, mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, cream of chicken soup, salt, and pepper. Spread into prepared pan.
3. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Sprinkle French fried onions on top of casserole and bake an additional 10 minutes.

NOTES:

Can make in advance and refrigerate or freeze unbaked for later. If baking after refrigerating, you may need to add a few minutes to the baking time. If baking after freezing, thaw completely and bake as directed.

All images and text ©Plain Chicken, Inc.

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