Noreen's Kitchen

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
Topping:
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup crushed parmesan crisps or pork rinds

Low Carb/Keto Friendly

This falls into the category of comfort food.  Chunks of cooked chicken mixed into a creamy, cheesy sauce with lots of veggies.  In this instance onions, mushrooms and celery.  You could easily add in some shredded carrot if you like to really boost the veggie count if that is something you would enjoy.

This all starts with the chicken.  I poached three boneless, skinless chicken breasts in water that I seasoned with my favorite chicken rub as well as a pinch of chicken bullion powder.  This gently simmered until the chicken was easy to pull apart.  Then I removed it from the pan and allowed it to cool until I could easily cut it into cubes.

The creamy sauce is comprised of mayonnaise and sour cream with a bit of lemon juice and seasonings to create what could easily be used as a light salad dressing or dip, but today we use it as a base for this amazing casserole.    The sauce is blended with cheese, I used shredded, sharp cheddar but you could use any hard cheese you like.  I find the sharper the better. A good aged gouda would be a delicious addition when combined with the cheddar or even monterey jack here. 

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1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 cups sliced celery
1 cup chopped onion
1-pound cremini mushrooms, sautéed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

Today I am sharing a real throwback recipe.  This came up in my travels across the internet and I remembered it from when I was a kid.  This ladies luncheon staple is delicious and when I looked at the ingredients, I realized that with a couple of easy substitutions this could be a very viable low carb option.  So today we comfort-food-ify this old classic and make it enjoyable for us on our low carb journey.  #lowcarb #throwback #comfortfood #noreenskitchen

Hot chicken salad was, once upon a time, a staple of the afternoon ladies luncheon from years gone by.  I remember, very distinctly having this at a mother daughter banquet in my youth.  I may have been 10 or 11 years old.  It was delicious then and it is delicious now.  So many years have gone by since I first had it but I remember how good it was!  I know you are going to love it too!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare a 9 x 13 casserole dish with cooking spray.  Set aside.

Melt butter in a skillet and Sautee mushrooms until soft.  You may add salt and pepper or any other seasonings you prefer to these.  Set aside

Mix the sauce by combining mayonnaise, sour cream and lemon juice, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and cayenne pepper in a bowl.  Whisk well to incorporate.

Add 2 cups of shredded cheddar and ½ cup parmesan cheese cheese to the sauce and stir well to combine.

In a large bowl combine sauce, ½ cup of slivered almonds, cubed chicken, celery, onion, and sautéed mushrooms.  Blend well to incorporate.

Pour mixture into prepared casserole dish.

Combine remaining ½ cup of parmesan and 1 cup cheddar along with the crushed parmesan crisps or pork rinds and remaining toasted almonds.  Sprinkle evenly over the casserole. 

Bake for 30 minutes until browned and bubbly.  Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving. 

For nutrition information go to www.noreenskitchen.com/hotchickensalad

hot chicken salad casserole

Hot Chicken salad casserole

1 Cup good quality mayonnaise
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

I sauteed a pound of sliced Cremini mushrooms with butter and a bit of garlic pepper and then added those in with some diced celery and onion and a bit of toasted, slivered almonds for crunch.  So far, so good.  This comfort food classic is low carb.  Until you get to the topping.  Traditionally this calls for more slivered almonds which is just fine and more shredded cheese.  Again, just fine, but then this calls for a topping of crushed potato chips, potato stick and or fried onion rings.  Not fine if you are trying to keep things low carb.  You could just leave off the crunchy chips but I decided to add some crushed parmesan crisps.  These are just baked parmesan cheese.  They give a crispy crunch to the top just like the chips without the added carbs.  You could also use crushed pork rinds as an alternative to the parmesan crisps.

The casserole is tucked into a baking dish and given its delicious topping then baked in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes until browned and bubbly.  Allow this to cool for 10 minutes before serving up this delicious hot chicken salad to your family.  I served mine to our church community group (AKA weekly Bible study) along with some crispy roasted broccoli and a salad that was provided by another group member.  If you are so inclined a dinner roll would not hurt if you are not doing the low carb thing.

I hope you give this delicious hot chicken salad a try and I hope you enjoy the comfort food throwback from my youth!

Happy eating!

Step by Step Instructions

Ingredients

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Meet Noreen!

Hi!  I'm Noreen, wife, mother of two amazing, almost grown, daughters, content creator, cook, baker and sister in Christ. Welcome to my Kitchen!   I hope you stick around, enjoy the recipes and share them with those you love!