Hamdi Saidani Pioneer Woman chicken biscuit casserole layers a creamy chicken filling with carrots, celery, peas, and heavy cream under golden buttermilk biscuits, ready in about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
This recipe combines two of Ree Drummond’s recipes from Food Network: her Chicken Pot Pie from the “Fill the Freezer” episode and her Biscuits from the “Kidswap Sleepover” episode. Ree herself has mentioned testing biscuit toppings on her pot pie over the years, so this casserole version puts those two recipes together on one pan.
The butter roux is the step you cannot rush. Cook the flour into the butter and vegetables for a full two minutes before adding any liquid, because undercooked flour leaves the sauce thin and gritty instead of thick and smooth.
Pioneer Woman Chicken Biscuit Casserole
Description
A creamy chicken and vegetable casserole topped with tall, flaky buttermilk biscuits that bake golden right on the filling. The biscuit dough soaks up just enough of the sauce underneath while staying crisp on top.
Ingredients
For the chicken filling:
For the biscuit topping:
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).
- Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Saute the diced onion, carrots, and celery until the vegetables start to turn translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Add the shredded chicken and stir to combine with the vegetables.
- Sprinkle the flour evenly over the chicken and vegetables, stirring constantly for 2 full minutes so the raw flour taste cooks out.
- Pour in the chicken broth slowly while stirring, working out any lumps as the sauce thickens.
- Stir in the heavy cream, frozen peas, thyme sprigs, salt, and pepper, then let the mixture simmer on low heat until it thickens, about 4 minutes.
- Taste the filling and adjust salt as needed, then pour it into a 9×13 inch (23x33cm) baking dish.
- Combine the flour, powdered milk, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Cut the cold butter and shortening into the dry mixture using a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Fold in the buttermilk until the dough just comes together. Do not overmix.
- Drop large spoonfuls of biscuit dough over the hot filling, spacing them evenly to cover the surface, about 8 to 10 mounds.
- Brush the biscuit tops with melted butter.
- Bake until the biscuits are golden brown and the filling is bubbling around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Cool for 10 minutes before serving so the sauce sets and does not run everywhere.
FAQs
Why use drop biscuits instead of cutting out rounds for the topping?
Drop biscuits spread and seal together as they bake, forming a continuous crust that traps steam from the filling below. That steam keeps the chicken mixture hot and saucy while the biscuit tops stay dry and crisp.
Cut-out biscuits leave gaps between each round, which lets moisture escape and dries out the filling. The drop method also skips rolling and cutting, so you get the dough onto the hot casserole faster before it cools down.
Why does Ree cook the flour for two minutes before adding liquid?
Raw flour mixed directly into liquid creates lumps and leaves a pasty, starchy taste in the finished sauce. Cooking it in the butter first coats the flour particles in fat, which prevents clumping when the broth hits the pan.
Those two minutes also toast the flour just enough to remove the raw cereal flavor. If you pour in the broth too early, no amount of simmering fixes the grainy texture, and the sauce never thickens properly.
Can you use rotisserie chicken instead of boiling a whole chicken?
A store-bought rotisserie chicken is the fastest shortcut for this casserole. Pull about 3 cups of meat from the bird, shredding it by hand so the pieces are uneven and catch more sauce in their folds.
The only trade-off is you lose the homemade stock from boiling a whole chicken. Compensate by using a good low-sodium broth and adding half a bouillon cube to the pot when you pour in the liquid.
Why add the peas frozen instead of thawing them first?
Frozen peas go in at the end because they only need a few minutes of heat to warm through. Thawing or cooking them longer turns them army green, mushy, and bitter, which drags down the whole casserole.
The cold peas also help bring the filling temperature down slightly before it goes into the baking dish. That small drop in heat keeps the sauce from bubbling too violently under the biscuits and pushing them sideways during baking.
How do you store leftover chicken biscuit casserole?
Cover the baking dish tightly with plastic wrap or transfer individual portions to airtight containers. Refrigerate within two hours and eat within three days for the best texture and food safety.
Reheat in a 350F (180C) oven for 15 to 20 minutes so the biscuits re-crisp. The microwave works in a pinch, but the biscuit topping goes soft and loses its flaky layers. This casserole does not freeze well because the biscuits turn dense and gummy after thawing.
