Ritz Chicken Casserole is a family favorite recipe made with 6 ingredients! A comforting chicken recipe with a crunchy Ritz cracker topping!

Photo of Ritz Chicken Casserole in a white baking dish.

Ritz Chicken Casserole is one of the easiest yet most comforting meals my Grandmother taught me how to make as a young girl. Made with just six ingredients, it was a recipe she knew everyone loved and was so simple to make.

I love to serve it with green beans, broccoli, or another vegetable for a complete meal.

How to Make Ritz Chicken Casserole

To make this easy chicken casserole, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Photo of ingredients used to make ritz chicken casserole.

Ingredients

Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.

  • Chicken – you’ll use cooked chicken in this recipe. Grandmother would use whole chicken breasts, as photographed, but you can also use shredded chicken if you’d like. If you are in a pinch, store-bought rotisserie chicken works wonderfully. Grandmother’s original recipe used eight chicken breasts, but you can reduce this to 3 to 4 chicken breasts, one whole rotisserie chicken, or 3 to 4 cups of shredded chicken.
  • Cream of Chicken Soup – I use 1 cup of my homemade cream of chicken soup, but you can also use one can of your favorite store-bought cream of chicken soup.
  • Cream of Mushroom Soup – adds a depth of flavor to the casserole.
  • Sour cream – Adds a touch of that signature tangy sour cream flavor.
  • Ritz crackers – Rich, buttery crackers make a crunch topping on this casserole. You’ll need two sleeves of these crackers.
  • Butter – Added to the top of the Ritz crackers on the casserole for incredible flavor in the baked casserole.

Optional Ingredients

Green onions – If you love green onions, slice 2 green onions and stir into the casserole. They add so much flavor.

Parsley – if you have fresh parsley, add a 1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley to the casserole for added fresh flavor and color.

Chives – stir in 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh chives.

Broccoli – stir in 2 cups of cooked broccoli to make this casserole a complete meal.

Photo of Ritz Chicken Casserole in a baking dish.

Step-by-Step Instructions

This comforting chicken casserole is so quick and easy to make and ready in 30 minutes.

Chicken breasts arranged in a white baking dish.

Arrange chicken in a 9×13 baking dish. My Grandmother’s original recipe called for eight cooked chicken breasts, as shown. You can reduce this to 3 to 4 cooked chicken breasts, or 3 to 4 cups of cooked shredded chicken, or the chicken from 1 store-bought rotisserie chicken.

Photo of sauce mixture for ritz chicken casserole.

In a bowl, mix cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, and sour cream to make the Ritz Chicken Casserole sauce.

Photo of ritz chicken casserole sauce poured over the cooked chicken.

Pour the Ritz Chicken Casserole sauce over the cooked chicken. If you are using shredded chicken, you can mix the shredded chicken in the bowl with the sauce mixture and then pour all of the ingredients into the baking dish.

Photo of Ritz Chicken Casserole ready to be baked.

Top the casserole with the crumbled Ritz crackers and top with the pats of butter.

Photo of Ritz Chicken Casserole ready to be served.

Bake until the crackers are browned and the casserole is bubbly, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Storage Tips

To make ahead. Assemble the casserole without baking. Cover tightly with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate. Remove from the refrigerator while the oven in preheating. Bake as directed.

To store leftovers. Cool completely and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

To freeze. Cool completely, wrap tightly with plastic wrap or store in an airtight, freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, reheat and serve.

Grandmother’s Chicken Casserole

5 from 14 votes
Ritz Chicken Casserole is a family favorite recipe made with 6 ingredients! A comforting chicken recipe with a crunchy Ritz cracker topping!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients 

  • 3-4 (7-ounce) chicken breasts , cooked, or 3 to 4 cups shredded chicken
  • 1 cup cream of chicken soup, or store-bought
  • 1 (8-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • 2 sleeves Ritz crackers
  • 1/2 cup butter

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350º F.
  • Place cooked chicken in 13×9 casserole dish.
  • In a bowl, mix cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, and sour cream. Spread over the chicken.
  • Crumble the Ritz Crackers and spread on top of chicken. Dot top of casserole with butter pieces.
  • Bake the casserole until the crackers are browned, about 25 minutes.

Notes

To make ahead. Assemble the casserole without baking. Cover tightly with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate. Remove from the refrigerator while the oven in preheating. Bake as directed.
To store leftovers. Cool completely and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
To freeze. Cool completely, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, or store in an airtight, freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, reheat, and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 246kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 334mg | Potassium: 93mg | Fiber: 0.01g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 770IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Enjoy!
Robyn xo

Originally published 2010. Updated photographs and instructions 2023 and removed chicken broth from recipe to make the casserole thicker when baked.

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About Robyn

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

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Recipe Review




10 Comments

    1. Sam, I updated the recipe to remove the chicken broth to make the casserole thicker when baked. I hope this helps.

    1. Gina, you can use panko or any other buttery cracker as a substitute. The flavor and texture may be a little bit different with the panko.

  1. 5 stars
    This is so good! My family loved it – the flavor is amazing! Thanks for sharing this recipe. I will definitely be making this again!

    1. Thank you, Leigh. I’m glad you enjoyed this chicken casserole. This has been a favorite in our family for generations.

    1. You can use 2 cans of cream of chicken soup if you don’t want to use the cream of mushroom soup, Vicki.