Martha Stewart Chicken Leek And Mushroom Casserole Recipe

I was not sure about putting bread in a casserole until I made this. Martha Stewart’s Chicken, Leek, and Mushroom Casserole is a baked chicken casserole with sliced chicken breast layered over multigrain bread and covered in a creamy mushroom and leek sauce made with sherry, chicken stock, milk, and Parmesan, then baked until golden and bubbling.

This chicken mushroom casserole recipe is one of Martha Stewart’s best baked chicken recipes for cold weather. I make it on weekends in the winter when I want the house to smell good and I do not mind spending an hour in the kitchen. The bread on the bottom soaks up the sauce while it bakes and turns into something I can only describe as a savory bread pudding that nobody can stop eating.

Try More Chicken Recipes:

• Chicken And Dumplings
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Chicken Tetrazzini

Why You Will Love This Chicken Casserole:

• The bread on the bottom is the best part: Martha lines the dish with multigrain bread triangles and they soak up the creamy sauce while the casserole bakes. By the time it comes out, the bread is soft and full of flavor on the inside and a little crispy on the edges. I almost skipped the bread layer the first time because it sounded odd and I would have missed the whole point.
• The sauce is simple but tastes like it took hours: Mushrooms, leeks, and celery cooked in the pan where the chicken was seared, then flour, sherry, stock, and milk. It thickens on the stove in about 5 minutes. I could not believe how rich it tasted from such basic ingredients.
• It feeds 6 people without any stress: Everything goes into one baking dish. I set it on the table and let people scoop. No plating, no fuss. That is my kind of dinner.

Chicken Leek And Mushroom Casserole Ingredients

• 1 1/3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 large)
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 leek, white and pale-green parts only, coarsely chopped and rinsed well
• 1 celery stalk, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 10 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved if large
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons dry sherry
• 2 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 8 slices dense multigrain bread, crusts removed, slices cut into triangles
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (1 ounce)

How To Make Martha Stewart Chicken Leek And Mushroom Casserole

1. Sear the chicken: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a saute pan over medium-high. Cook until golden brown on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip, lower the heat to medium, and cook until done all the way through, about 10 minutes more. Move the chicken to a plate.
2. Cook the vegetables: Put the pan back on medium heat with the drippings still in it. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Add the leek, celery, mushrooms, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring now and then, until everything is golden brown and soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Turn the heat down if things start to brown too fast.
3. Make the sauce: Stir in the flour and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Add the sherry, stock, milk, and bay leaf. Cook, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Take out the bay leaf.
4. Layer the casserole: Lay the bread triangles on the bottom of a 2-quart oval baking dish, overlapping them a little. Spoon half of the vegetables and sauce over the bread. Slice the chicken about 1/2 inch thick and lay it on top. Pour any juices from the chicken plate over the slices. Spread the rest of the vegetables and sauce over everything.
5. Bake: Sprinkle with the parsley and Parmesan. Bake until the top is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes.
6. Rest and serve: Let the casserole sit for 15 minutes before scooping. This lets the sauce set up so it does not run everywhere when you serve it.

Recipe Tips

• Use dense multigrain bread: Martha says it holds its shape better than soft white bread, and she is right. I tried regular sandwich bread once and it turned into mush at the bottom. You want something sturdy that can sit in sauce for 30 minutes without falling apart.
• Do not skip the sherry: Three tablespoons is not a lot but it adds a warmth to the sauce that you notice if it is missing. I left it out once and the sauce tasted flat. Regular dry white wine works in a pinch but sherry is better here.
• Let it rest the full 15 minutes: I know it is hard to wait when the kitchen smells that good. But the sauce firms up as it cools and the layers hold together when you scoop. Skip the rest and you get soup.
• Save every drop of chicken juice: Whatever comes off the chicken while it sits on the plate goes right into the casserole on top of the sliced chicken. That is real flavor and Martha is very clear about not wasting it.

How I Put It Together Now

I have made this enough times that I changed a couple of things. I use a mix of cremini and shiitake mushrooms instead of just cremini. The shiitakes add a deeper, meatier taste that makes the sauce feel more like something from a French restaurant without any extra work.

• Extra Parmesan on top. Martha says 1/3 cup but I use closer to 1/2 because the crispy cheese crust on top is the part everyone fights over.
• I make the sauce and cook the chicken the night before, then put the casserole together and bake it the next day. Saves me a lot of time when I am feeding people on a weekend.

The one thing I never change is the bread. I tried it without the bread layer once to cut carbs and it was fine, but it was also just chicken in sauce. The bread is what makes this a casserole and not a chicken marsala.

What Goes Well With This Casserole

The casserole already has chicken, vegetables, bread, and sauce, so I keep sides light. Simple green beans with a little butter are my go-to. A cucumber salad works too if I want something cold next to the hot casserole.

Some glazed carrots on the side look good on the plate and add a bit of sweetness. But most nights I just scoop the casserole and that is dinner.

How To Store Leftovers

Cover the baking dish with foil and put it straight in the fridge for up to 3 days. The bread at the bottom gets softer overnight but I actually like it better that way because it soaks up even more sauce. I would not freeze this because the milk-based sauce can split when you thaw it and the bread gets too mushy.

Reheat in the oven at 350 degrees covered with foil for about 20 minutes. The sauce loosens back up and the top gets a little crispy again. I eat leftover casserole cold sometimes and it is still good, which is how I know a recipe is a keeper.

FAQs

• Can I use a different bread? Martha says dense multigrain and I would stick with that. Sourdough works in a pinch but soft white bread turns gummy at the bottom. You need something that can hold up in sauce for 30 minutes without falling apart.
• Can I use chicken thighs instead of breast? Yes. Thighs have more fat so they stay juicier, but the cook time on the stove will be a bit longer. I have done it with thighs and the flavor was richer. Martha uses breast but thighs are not a bad swap.
• What can I use instead of sherry? Dry white wine is the closest swap. You could also skip it and add a splash more stock, but you will lose the warmth that the sherry gives the sauce. I would not use cooking sherry from the grocery store because it has too much salt.
• Can I put this together ahead of time? You can make the sauce and cook the chicken a day ahead. I do this all the time. Layer everything in the baking dish, cover it, and keep it in the fridge. Add about 10 extra minutes to the bake time since it will be cold going in.

More Chicken Recipes:

• Chicken Divan
• Roast Chicken
• Chicken Marsala

Nutrition Facts

(1 serving, serves 6)

• Calories: 485
• Total Fat: 20g
• Saturated Fat: 4g
• Cholesterol: 75mg
• Sodium: 650mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 35g
• Protein: 35g