Help please! My chicken casserole was a disaster.

None at all, that is how I would have made it and it should have been fine unless you didn’t use enough seasoning.
Did you overcook it to make the chicken stringy?
Just suggestions really.

Thanks usedtobeblinde, I was beginning to think I had lost my marbles. It shouldn’t have been over cooked as I used my usual timings but it does seem likely.

I cook my chicken casserole in the oven in a cast iron casserole pot.
I cut up chicken breast into big chunks, no browning first, add chopped carrots and chopped onions raw, also garlic and some frozen sweetcorn.I use a Colmans chicken casserole mix with water and also pop in a few dried herbs including sage and a chicken gravy ‘pot’ which melts when the casserole heats up.
Cook for almost two hours.It’s delicious.And easypeasy.

Perhaps the chicken pieces weren't the same quality as usual?

Oreo I will try your recipe. I’d like to think that easybee’s explanation is right but I suspect it was down to me. My cooking has become a bit hit and miss recently. It upsets me because it was one of the few things I was good at.

I never brown the meat because I think it tastes better. You had some great suggestions.

Just check that the casserole doesn’t dry out, half way through I usually add some chicken stock, or just water and stir thoroughly.

Could it have been the quality of the chicken? I made a beef casserole recently which was poor. Despite my usual recipe and long slow cook the meat wasn’t tender. I bought it at our supermarket (begins with M ) rather than the butcher

Some vegetables release more water than others. I always check seasoning and fluid levels with about 20-30 mins to go. Some cream can help

I have made chicken casserole today from stuff that has been hanging around and needed using
- a pack of lemon herb marinated chicken that's been in the freezer
- an onion
- a leftover leek
- snack carrots that I cannot eat because of emergency dental work
- chicken stock
- a ½ bottle of white wine I don't remember buying
- about 100ml of left over cream
- thyme and rosemary that I froze

browned the chicken and stuck everything but the cream in the slow cooker

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Me neither. And I only use chicken breast so I don't have to worry about little ones and bones. And none of us particularly likes the brown meat anyway.

A recent very successful addition recommended by a friend has been to add a can of Cross&Blackwell condensed Chicken soup to your usual recipe (as it is, not condensed - your stock will dilute it). It's delicious and also works wonderfully in a Chicken and Leek Pie.
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My mum was a self-confessed average cook but her chicken casserole was wonderful. I still make it a lot and so does my daughter.
Sauté some chopped onions then add chicken (always thighs) which have been dredged with a little flour. Cook gently for a few minutes. Then add 1 can of condensed mushroom soup and some chopped carrots and mushrooms. Can be cooked on the hob or in a medium oven - I generally allow a good 2 hours. A little salt and white pepper is good and you can add halved new potatoes if you like.
Simple but very good. I usually use cast iron lidded casserole when I make it.

I wouldn't normally brown chicken unless it had skin on it as it can simply make the outside go tough.

When I do mine I cook the veg in some water with a knorr chick stock cube, (or two, if its a bigger amount) together in a pot with some water for 15 mins or so then add chix thighs, and finally a tin of Campbells condensed chicken or mushroom soup so its nice and creamy S&P some dried Tarragon and whack it in the oven until chicken is cooked for prob half an hour…

I agree that it might have been over cooked. I also use chicken thighs and brown lightly before cooking. I use one or two Knorr stock cubes depending on amount.

I’m going to be trying out all these ideas. I don’t know what Od do without Gransnet.

I brown off all meat and vegs then chuck into slow cooker and cook with chicken stock, drop of white wine, thickening it at the end and keep the chicken and vegs quite large. Cooked on low for three hours.

teabagwoman

I’m going to be trying out all these ideas. I don’t know what Od do without Gransnet.

I agree, some yummy recipes from our wonderful gransnetters

Or possibly too much stock/liquid if the thighs were perhaps a bit smaller than usual?
(but i agree that the quality of the chicken may also be the problem.)

It'll be the chicken. So much of the chicken I've bought from supermarkets recently has been stringy, chewy and tasteless.

Most peculiar! I doubt it was the Donna - I always use Tesco chicken thighs for my weekly casserole & never have problems with flavour. I don't brown either, just chuck it in with an onion and whatever veg I've got plus a Knor stock pot then into the oven for a couple of hours at 170°. Pretty much the same as everyone else! Always tasty & a huge hit with my two DGSs .

for flavour you should (I think) leave the skin on. Buy free range chicken and never use breast, it is tasteless - the flavour is in the bones and the skin. If you find that too fatty make it the day before, refrigerate and the following day skim off any fat. Good luck.

If I remember, I always get the meat for a casserole out of the fridge a good few hours before cooking. I must have read somewhere that it's better to start from room temperature rather than very cold.

I often use the condensed mushroom soup, with extra mushrooms.

I always brine chicken in salt water for a while before cooking. Keeps it moist.