Discover the ultimate comfort food with this delicious Potato Chicken Casserole! Tender potatoes, carrots, and savory onions come together, topped with juicy chicken and a golden, cheesy crust.
This Potato Chicken Casserole has been a beloved staple in our family for years, and I still can’t get enough of it! It has a delightful Soviet flair that instantly transports me back to my warm, nostalgic memories of our beloved Belarusian cuisine. Unlike many casseroles that can feel heavy, this dish strikes the perfect balance—it’s hearty yet not too heavy, combining potatoes and juicy chicken in one delightful pan.
The potatoes are tender and full of flavor while still holding their shape, and I love cutting them into long strips for that perfect texture and presentation. To elevate their taste, I sauté onions, carrots, and garlic, which infuse the potatoes with a rich, comforting flavor. They cook in a creamy dairy blend that makes every bite feel like a warm hug.
As for the chicken, it’s the crowning glory of the dish! Using chicken thighs ensures that it stays juicy and moist, while a spread of mayo and cheese creates a crispy, golden crust that’s simply irresistible.
This casserole is truly one of my favorites—honestly, it beats Lasagna any day! It may not win any beauty contests, but what it lacks in looks, it makes up for in flavor. Every time I serve it, I get rave reviews from friends and family. There’s something magical about the aroma wafting through the house as this dish bakes away in the oven, making it feel like home.
Potato Chicken Casserole Video
Ingredients:
The complete list of ingredients and their exact measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
- Potatoes
- Yukon gold potatoes are my top choice. They have the perfect balance of starch and a buttery flavor that’s simply unbeatable. Plus, they hold their shape beautifully while baking.
- Onions
- Part of the onions are sauteed along with the carrot and garlic and then rest are sliced thinly and placed in a layer between the potatoes and the chicken. You can skip the sliced onions if you prefer.
- Carrot
- Garlic
- Sautéed onion, carrot, and garlic create the “holy trinity” of Belarusian cooking 😀. This step enhances their flavors, making them richer and sweeter. Trust me, don’t skip it!
- Butter or Oil (for sauteing the veggies)
- Use whatever you prefer—both work great!
- Half-and-Half
- This creamy blend of half whole milk and half heavy cream is perfect for the casserole. If you can’t find it, you can easily make your own. I’ve tried just milk, but it turns out too thin and curdles. Heavy cream is too rich, so half-and-half gives you the ideal flavor and consistency.
- Dry Herbs and Spices
Use any combination of your favorite herbs and spices—garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, thyme, rosemary, and more. Fresh herbs like parsley, dill, or chives also add a lovely flavor boost. - Boneless, Skinless Chicken
- I recommend chicken thighs for their juiciness and tenderness. They don’t dry out as easily as chicken breasts, which can become tough by the time the potatoes are done cooking.
- Here's a tutorial on how to debone chicken thighs.
- Mayonnaise
- A thin layer on top of the chicken adds richness and helps the cheese stick better.
- If mayo isn’t your thing, you can substitute unflavored Greek yogurt or olive oil.
- Grated Cheese
- Choose any cheese that melts beautifully—mozzarella, cheddar, colby jack, provolone, or Gruyère are all fantastic options.
How to Make Potato Chicken Casserole
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Prepare the potatoes.
- Peel and julienne the potatoes into about ¼-inch thick strips. Place them in a 9 x 13 inch deep baking dish.
- Sauté the vegetables.
- In a skillet, melt some butter/oil and add the minced onion, grated carrot, and minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 5-7 minutes on medium heat until the veggies are softened and slightly golden.
- Combine the potatoes and veggies.
- Add the sautéed vegetables to the potatoes. Season everything with ½ teaspoon of salt, ground black pepper, and your favorite dry herbs or seasoning mixes. Mix well to combine.
- You can also thinly slice some additional onions and layer them on top of the potatoes for added flavor—totally optional!
- Prep the chicken.
- Season the chicken with salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, paprika, and any other spices you enjoy.
- Heat the half-and-half until it’s almost boiling—this step is crucial!
- Pour it over the potatoes; it should just barely cover them without overflowing. If it’s not hot, your potatoes will take much longer to cook.
- Assemble the casserole.
- Place the seasoned chicken thighs on top of the potatoes.
- Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on top of the chicken, then sprinkle with grated cheese.
- Bake the Casserole
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil or a lid, but spray the foil with oil first to prevent the cheese from sticking.
- Bake for 1.5 to 2 hours until the potatoes are tender.
- In the last 5-15 minutes of baking, remove the foil to let the cheese brown.
- If you want an extra crispy topping, feel free to broil it for a few minutes—but keep a close eye on it! Cheese can go from perfectly golden to burnt in a flash.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Helpful Tips and Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re looking to mix things up, there are plenty of tasty alternatives to chicken! You can try using pork or turkey, or even ground meats like ground chicken, ground pork, ground beef, or ground turkey. If you opt for pork or turkey, I recommend slicing them into cutlets so they cook evenly on the potatoes. For ground meat, I love giving it a quick brown in a skillet first to boost the flavor—trust me, it makes a difference!
Absolutely! You can use chicken breast, but keep in mind that it tends to be drier than chicken thighs. To help with that, slice the breast into thinner pieces before layering it over the potatoes.
For perfectly sliced potatoes, start by halving the peeled potato. Then, slice each half into ¼-inch strips lengthwise. Stack those slices and cut through them again to create nice, even strips. This method ensures they cook evenly and soak up all that yummy flavor!
Adding an extra layer of sliced onions is totally optional, but if you’re a fan of onions, it brings a juicy, flavorful punch to the casserole. As it bakes, the onions become incredibly tender and delicious. If onions aren’t your thing, feel free to skip the sliced onions—this dish is still amazing with just the sauteed onions. 
Get creative with your casserole! Adding sautéed mushrooms can give it a lovely earthiness, and if you’re feeling adventurous, try mixing in some sweet potatoes along with the gold potatoes for a delicious twist. The combination is not only colorful but adds a hint of sweetness, too!
Serving Suggestions
This potato chicken casserole is a true comfort food delight, so I love pairing it with something light and fresh. A crisp salad makes a perfect side, and I often reach for something briny, like pickles. The crunch and tang of pickles contrast beautifully with the hearty casserole!
- Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad
- Homemade Dill Pickle Spears
- Russian Carrot Salad
- Crisp Cucumber Salad
- Tomato Avocado Salad
Potato and Chicken Casserole
Experience the ultimate comfort food - potato and chicken casserole. Juicy chicken, tender potatoes, & cheesy crust make this dish a winner.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Entree
Ingredients
- 2 lbs potatoes, Yukon gold (about 6 medium)
- 1 onion, minced
- 1 carrot, grated
- 2-4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tablespoon butter or oil
- 1- 1 ½ cups half n half (heated until simmering)
- salt, pepper, poultry seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon dry herbs, seasoning blend
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1-2 onions, thinly sliced, optional
- 8-10 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
- 3-4 tablespoons mayonnaise or Greek yogurt (you can also brush the chicken with olive oil or avocado oil instead)
- 6 oz grated cheese (Mozzarella, Provolone, Monterey Jack, Colby, Gruyere, etc.)
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Peel and and julienne the potatoes, about ¼ inches thick. Place the potatoes in a 9 x 13 inch deep baking dish.
- Melt the butter in a skillet and add the minced onion, grated carrot and the minced garlic. Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Cook for 5-7 minutes, on medium heat, until the vegetables are softened and slightly golden.
- Add the cooked vegetables to the potatoes. Season with ½ teaspoon salt, ground black pepper, and any combination of dry herbs and/or seasoning mixes that you like. Mix to combine.
- Top the thinly sliced onions on top of the potatoes. This step is completely optional. If you're not a fan of onions, you can skip it.
- Meanwhile, prep the chicken thighs.
- Season on both sides with salt, ground black pepper, poultry seasoning, paprika and any other seasoning mixes that you like.
- Heat the half n half until it's almost boiling. Pour over the potatoes. It should barely cover the potatoes, but still not come to the top.
- Place the chicken thighs on top of the potatoes.
- Thinly spread the mayonnaise, yogurt or oil on top of the chicken and then sprinkle with grated cheese. You can use any cheese that melts well and use as much or as little cheese as you like.
- Cover with aluminum foil or a lid. To keep the cheese from sticking to the foil, spray it with oil first. This is a good trick to keep in mind when making anything that's topped with cheese, such as lasagna.
- Bake for 1 ½ - 2 hours at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, until the potatoes are cooked through.
-
In the last 5-15 minutes of baking, remove the foil to let the cheese brown. If you want an extra crispy topping, feel free to broil it for a few minutes—but keep a close eye on it. Cheese can go from perfectly golden to burnt in a flash.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Love this recipe. I only now just realized it says to use Yukon Gold. I always thought Russet potatoes were the ones that held their shape well. Have I had it wrong all along!? Oh well, mushy potatoes here we come!!
Russet potatoes fall apart much more easily than Yukon Gold potatoes, but it should still taste good, Tanya:).
If i divided this dish in half how long do you think it would take to bake?
It should take almost the same amount of time, just a little bit less. Since the potatoes are raw, they need quite a bit of time to cook through. As long as you cut the potatoes thin and heat up the dairy, that will speed up the process a lot.
Tomorrow is my nephew's 15th birthday and because of his fascination with different cultures, we are having an 'International Potluck'. I recently told him about this recipe and he has been begging me to make it for him. It's in my oven now and looks amazing already!
I'm curious: how would you suggest reheating it? Temp and duration?
Hi Katrina,
Sorry for not responding for so long. I've been quite ill for a while.
You can reheat it in the microwave, in a skillet or even in the oven.
Hi Olga, I don't remember if the recipe i found before was on your website or natashaskitchen. The recipe included chicken breast cut in pieces and fried. then separately mushrooms and onions fried. And finally a broth including whipping cream and other ingredients. then all this was placed in the oven. I can't find that recipe. Maybe you can help me with that...thank you and Merry Christmas 🙂
I don't think it was on my blog, Vera. It doesn't sound familiar to me. Sorry.
Hi Olga, would you think this recipe will taste the same if I prep everything the night before;and bake it first thing in the morning? I also in prefer this over lasagna any day
Yes, you can prep it the night before.
I would recommend storing the different components separately. Place the peeled and cut potatoes in a bowl covered to the top with water. Potatoes will turn brown otherwise.
Put the sautéed carrots and onions in a separate bowl, along with the shredded cheese. Season the chicken and store it separately too. The next day, it will be very easy to assemble and bake.
You can assemble the whole dish, refrigerate it over night too, but the results won't be as great. Mainly because you have to use more half n half to cover the potatoes completely, which will cause the cooked dish to be very watery and also, the casserole will have to cook twice as long because it will be cold. I like to add warm dairy to the casserole, which speeds up the cooking process a lot.
Hi Olga,
Do u think this recipe would work if I prep everything the night before; and bake it first thing in the morning? In time for lunch.... Thanks ahead! And I absolutely love this over lasagna any day! Lol
This is one of my family's favorite! So delicious, filling and light. And very easy to make! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
I just love how you share a little bit about yourself before each recipe. You are a terrific story teller! (You should really consider writing a book some day :))
Thanks for taking the time to write, Tanya. I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the casserole and that you like my stories:).
Made it tonight. And it was super yummy My family loved it. Thanks
I have been meaning to try this and am I glad I did! I added some shredded red bell pepper just because I happened to have some in the fridge and that added an amazing aroma and taste (if you like bell peppers, that is). Paired with some sauerkraut= perfect comfort food!
That's awesome, Liliya! I'm glad you enjoyed the dish. Bell peppers and potatoes are a great combination. Sauerkraut is definitely a great side dish to pair with the potatoes too:).
I made this for dinner last night. I don't know what I did wrong! I followed the recipe exactly & the 1/2&1/2 curdled & it wasn't as creamy as I thought it would be. It was certainly rich, maybe too rich for my & my husbands tummies... That won't stop me from trying more of your recipes!
I'm sorry you were disappointed in the recipe, Anna Maria. I guess everyone has different tastes. I haven't run into the problem of curdling.
I didn't intend for this casserole to be creamy. If you're looking for a creamy potato casserole, you will need to use heavy creamy. Or try my recipe for Scalloped Potatoes.
Hi Olga, the other day i made this meal. We liked it.
It's one of our favorites, for sure. I'm glad you enjoyed it as well:).
Have you ever tried Fat Free Half & Half for this recipe?
No, I've never tried it, Virginia. I personally think that the potatoes will be too watery.
Hi Olya,
I discovered your blog last week and have tried 3 of your recipes already, including this one 🙂 I made it with pork, cause that's what I had in my freezer. It was so yummy! My hubby was very happy too, he said "it was fantastic!" 😉
Ты молодец! So young and so gifted! God bless you and your family.
Thanks for such a sweet comment, Elena! I'm glad you and your family enjoyed the casserole. It's one of the top recipes that I make, since everyone in my family loves it so much.
Made this tonight, it was delish! i was worried potatoes would get mushy since i used russet potatoes but it came out wonderful! thank you.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Anna:).
Hi Olga!
This looks absolutely delicious!! Quick question for you. Do you think using heavy cream would work as well as half of half?
I've tried it with heavy cream and didn't like it, Sveta. It turns out too gloppy and very heavy. Half n half works best.