Name: Chicken and Mushroom Casserole (Healthy)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 300 g regular closed cup or chestnut mushrooms (roughly chopped); 10 g porcini mushrooms; 600 g chicken breast (skinless, sliced into 3-4 long strips each); 1 onion (finely chopped); 2 tablespoons cornstarch/corn flour; 80 g fromage frais ((0.34 cup)); 2 tablespoons olive oil (plus more for drizzling); 120 ml water; 1 tsp fine sea salt and plenty of pepper

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This delicious chicken and mushroom casserole is a healthy, easy to make and versatile dinner idea the whole family will enjoy! Made using a handful of ingredients and ready in under 40 minutes.

Why this recipe works

It is very simple and quick to make. Preparation takes only 15 minutes and the dish is ready in under 40 minutes.
It contains a combination of porcini and regular mushrooms so it's full of flavour.
It's creamy and rich despite being low in fat.

Ingredients

In addition to the mushrooms (see more on that below) and chicken breast this simple dish also contains onion which is sauteed in a little oil.

To make the sauce I used naturally low in fat fromage frais (fromage blanc) but if you like you can use sour cream and creme fraiche instead (bear in mind, however, they are both quite calorific). I combined it with a little cornflour to thicken the sauce.

What mushrooms to use in chicken and mushroom casserole

I used 2 types of mushrooms in this casserole - regular closed cup (use chestnut mushrooms instead if you like) and porcini. Porcini mushrooms have a very strong flavour so you will only need about 10 g of these. (Which also makes this dish relatively inexpensive, see Top Tips below). Even this small amount of porcini will enhance the flavour and add depth to the sauce.

The porcini mushrooms need a tiny bit of preparation before combining with the sauce. Place them in a bowl, add a bit of cold water and rub with your fingers to get rid of any grit. Then rinse and soak in ½ of cold water for 5 minutes. Lastly boil this mixture, covered, for 10 minutes. (See photo below)

By this time your sauce will have practically been made (see steps below) so all that's left to do is to pour the porcini mixture into the sauce and stir. Cook for another minute and assemble the recipe.

Step-by-step recipe instructions

1.While the porcini are cooking prepare the sauce. Start by roughly chopping the regular mushrooms.

2. Fry the onions gently in a little oil until golden.

3. Add the chopped mushrooms and increase the heat. Cook for 5 minutes stirring often until the mushrooms start releasing water. Combine the fromage frais (fromage blanc) with the corn flour then add into the pan and stir until thoroughly mixed in.

4. Pour in the porcini along with the water from the cooking, season, stir thoroughly and cook for about a minute.

5. You are now ready to assemble the recipe.

This is very quick and easy to do. Place the chicken pieces in a single layer in your casserole dish and pour over the mushroom sauce ensuring the chicken is thoroughly covered. Drizzle over a bit of olive oil and pop your casserole into the oven.

The sauce will be quite thick to start with but the chicken will release lots of juices as it cooks, which as a result will give the sauce a perfect creamy consistency. Not too thick but not too runny, either.

I baked my chicken and mushroom casserole for 20 minutes but you may need to reduce or increase cooking time by a couple of minutes depending on the size of your chicken pieces. It is important not to overcook the dish as this may make the chicken a little tough.

Top tips

The best place to get porcini mushrooms I've ever come across is a Polish delicatessen. You'll pay a lot less than in a regular supermarket.
It is important to combine the fromage frais with the cornflour before adding into the sauce (this will ensure the sauce is smooth and the fromage frais doesn't curdle).
The mushroom sauce will be quite thick to start with but it will have the right consistency once the chicken has cooked.
Cooking times may vary depending on the size of your meat pieces.
Best served immediately. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. The sauce will thicken after a while so you may need to add a drop of water to loosen it when reheating the dish.

Serving suggestions

Enjoy this low fat chicken casserole with mushrooms alongside pasta, rice, bulgur wheat, quinoa or potatoes. It goes equally well with all of these sides. Other side dishes you could pair it with include spiced baked potato wedges and hasselback sweet potatoes.

You could garnish this chicken and mushroom casserole with freshly chopped parsley, dill or thyme leaves.

Freezing

This chicken mushroom bake is easy to freeze. Once cooled simply transfer into an airtight container (one large or several smaller ones for individual portions) and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost place in the fridge overnight, then reheat in the microwave or on the stove top.

Check out also this collection of 13 healthy, easy ope pot chicken recipes!

Keep in touch!

How has your chicken mushroom bake turned out for you? Let me know in the comments below, thanks!

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