Chicken, Mushroom and Buckwheat Casserole
As a girl with strong Slavic roots, I grew up eating buckwheat and I still love coming up with different recipes that will incorporate this nutty, flavorful and very nutritious grain. Even though my favorite way to enjoy buckwheat is as a kasha with mushrooms, I wanted to come up with a way to make it into an entree. Cooking the entree and the side dish at the same time is such an awesome idea. Not only do you save time, but there are less dishes to wash. I can appreciate that for sure.
I made this dish many months ago when I was still pregnant, and my husband and I both loved it so much, I knew I had to share it with all of you. The fluffy buckwheat groats are flavored with both dry and fresh mushrooms, which is a match made in heaven, in my opinion. I topped the buckwheat with juicy, lean chicken and it’s all baked together under a golden, cheesy crust.
You can even assemble it ahead of time and then just finish baking it in the oven. That’s especially convenient for Sunday dinners, when we come home from church hungry, but don’t want to spend hours preparing a meal. Of course, there are plenty other days of the week where a prepped dinner is such a life saver.
Ingredients:
1/2 oz. dry mushrooms (I used porcini)
1 Tablespoon butter or oil, plus 1 more Tablespoon to butter/oil the casserole dish
1 onion, chopped
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup buckwheat groats, roasted
1 1/2 cups water
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (you can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs)
salt, ground black pepper, to taste
2 Tablespoons sour cream or mayonnaise
3/4 – 1 cup cheese, finely grated (mozzarella, provolone, monterey jack, gruyere, cheddar, colby, etc.)
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Generously butter a 2 quart casserole dish on the bottom and sides.
Pour boiling water over the dry mushrooms to rehydrate. Set aside for 10 minutes, until they soften. When they soften, strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve lined with a paper towel. 
Dry mushrooms are very gritty, so you definitely want to take extra care to make sure you get rid of all the grit. This mushroom liquid is very flavorful, so we will use it to cook the buckwheat. Add enough hot water to the measuring cup to have a total of 1 1/2 cups of liquid. Set aside. Finely chop the dry mushrooms.
Meanwhile, heat the butter or oil in a large deep skillet on medium heat. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes, until the onions are tender.
Add the fresh mushrooms, dry mushrooms and garlic. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Cook for 6-8 minutes, until the mushrooms are golden. 
Add the buckwheat to the skillet and roast it in the skillet with the mushrooms for about 2 minutes. 
Pour in the mushroom liquid, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes, just until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Transfer the buckwheat mixture to the prepared casserole dish and spread it out in an even layer. 
Cut each chicken breast in half horizontally and then in half. It will be easier to serve it you cut it into smaller pieces. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. 
Place the chicken on top of the buckwheat.
If your skillet is oven safe, you can just leave the buckwheat in the same skillet you use to partially cook it and layer the chicken on top.
Spread the sour cream or mayonnaise over the chicken and top it all with the cheese. 
Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is bubbly and golden.
Chicken, Mushroom and Buckwheat Casserole
Ingredients
- 1/2 oz. dry mushrooms I used porcini
- 1 Tablespoon butter or oil plus 1 more Tablespoon to butter/oil the casserole dish
- 1 onion chopped
- 8 oz. fresh mushrooms sliced
- 1-2 garlic cloves minced
- 3/4 cup buckwheat roasted
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (you can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs)
- salt ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 Tablespoons sour cream or mayonnaise
- 3/4 - 1 cup cheese finely grated (mozzarella, provolone, monterey jack, gruyere, cheddar, colby, etc.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Generously butter a 2 quart casserole dish on the bottom and sides.
- Pour boiling water over the dry mushrooms to rehydrate. Set aside for 10 minutes, until they soften. When they soften, strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve lined with a paper towel. Dry mushrooms are very gritty, so you definitely want to take extra care to make sure you get rid of all the grit. This mushroom liquid is very flavorful, so we will use it to cook the buckwheat. Add enough hot water to the measuring cup to have a total of 1 1/2 cups of liquid. Set aside. Finely chop the dry mushrooms.
- Meanwhile, heat the butter or oil in a large deep skillet on medium heat. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes, until the onions are tender.
- Add the fresh mushrooms, dry mushrooms and garlic. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Cook for 6-8 minutes, until the mushrooms are golden.
- Add the buckwheat to the skillet and roast it in the skillet with the mushrooms for about 2 minutes.
- Pour in the mushroom liquid, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes, just until most of the liquid is absorbed.
- Transfer the buckwheat mixture to the prepared casserole dish and spread it out in an even layer.
- Cut each chicken breast in half horizontally and then in half. It will be easier to serve it you cut it into smaller pieces. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the chicken on top of the buckwheat.
- Spread the sour cream or mayonnaise over the chicken and top it all with the cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is bubbly and golden.
36 Comments
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Katy
I love buckwheat too! I’ve never had it in a casserole though, will have to make this soon!
olgak7
I don’t usually cook it in a casserole either, Katy, but this was really delicious:).
Eve
Can I omit the mushrooms?
olgak7
Yes, absolutely, Eve.
nata
Where do you buy dry mushrooms?
olgak7
I buy them online at nuts.com, Nata.
Natasha (@NatashasKitchen)
We eat buckwheat at home all the time, and this looks very simple. I’m printing this recipe to try :).
olgak7
We are buckwheat fans too, Natasha. I hope you like this dish.
Alla
Yum I love buckwheat. I’ll definitely be trying this recipe. I’ve never cooked with dry mushrooms before. Why do you use dry and fresh?
olgak7
Dry mushrooms have a much more concentrated, rich flavor that is absolutely incredible. I love using them in many recipes.
Oksana
How awesome! Great recipe! I will have to try it soon :))
olgak7
Super! I’d love to hear what you think once you try it, Oksana.
Lena
I wanted to ask you said roasted buckwheat , what’s the difference ? And do u buy it like that?
olgak7
Buckwheat is sold in raw or roasted form. If available, I always buy the roasted variety. If you can’t find it, it’s very easy to roast it yourself. On a dry skillet over medium heat, roast the buckwheat until it’s a golden brown color.
Lena
Hey Olga is it ok to omit the dry mushrooms? Or will it make a major difference?
Deanna
Olga, I just made this and it is absolutely delicious and so filling!! I love buckwheat and this is such a good way to eat it. I didn’t have fresh mushrooms so I just used canned. I also added some cayenne pepper for extra kick. Thanks so much for the recipe, I’m giving it to my mom to try 🙂
olgak7
Thanks for taking the time to write. I’m so glad you enjoyed this dish, Deanna.
Olga
Do you add just plain water in this dish or some flavored water, because yours looked colored.
olgak7
Hi Olga!
Did you get a chance to read the recipe instructions?
When I steeped the dry mushrooms in the hot water, I later drained the water, reserved it and then used it in the buckwheat. I specified all of this in the recipe. You can see it in the pictures as well.
However, you can use chicken broth, vegetable broth or plain water if you’d like.
I hope that helps.
Oksana
Hi Olga,
I love your website, you have inspired me to make a lot of different food:) The step by step instructions are awesome. I made this recipe yesterday, and the combination of ingredients was delicious! I wanted to experiment with different cheeses so I started with finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese for the topping. The chicken was so moist and flavorful. My husband loved it and said that although buckwheat is not his favorite grain, he was surprised at how good it tasted in this dish:) I’m happy:) Thank you for all you do!
olgak7
Hi Oksana!
Thank you so much for taking the time to write. I am so glad that the step by step recipes are helpful for you. I’m thrilled to hear that you and your family enjoyed this meal.
Diana
Thank you for this wonderful recipe, Olga! I appreciate your website. It has great recipe ideas when I am looking for inspiration. Just made this dish and it turned out tasting great! Keep up the good work. 🙂
olgak7
Your comment made me smile. Thank you so much for taking the time to write.
noel
hi i just made this but without the dryed mushrooms and cheese cause i didnt have the ingredients handy but it turned out amazing and delicious ill be back to this website
olgak7
Thank you, Noel. I’m so happy to hear that:).
ludmila
Hi Olga,
l just found your webside and I am goining to cook buckweet, but I have a guestion regarding cheese. Should I use one of them or all of them because you listed a few different cheeses. Thank you ,
ludmila
olgak7
You can use any kind of cheese that you like. I was just suggesting different options.
Lena
I just made this today, and we liked it. .. the only thing, it seemed like the chicken did not get cooked through. I used chichen thighs, since that’s what I had on hand, and I tried cutting the meat in thin pieces… is it normal for chicken thighs to take longer to cook?
Victoriya
Made this yesterday without mushrooms since I didn’t have any on hand, although I’m sure if would have been even more delicious. Anyways it turned out super good .Thanks for a great recipe!
olgak7
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Victoriya.
Sara
Is there a weight for the chicken breasts? Mine are huge….they look much bigger than yours so I’m wondering if I should use only one. I wish I knew how much chicken to use in weight. This is often a problem for me in recipes that don’t specify a weighted amount of chicken as the breasts vary so widely in size.
olgak7
Hi Sara,
In this recipe, the weight of the chicken isn’t as important. I actually don’t like writing the weight of the meat in a recipe in most cases, because they can vary and I want you to be able to work with whatever you buy. The most important thing in this particular recipe is to cut the chicken into even pieces so they all cook through at the same time. If your chicken breast are really big, you can cut them into more pieces or flatten them out more with a meat mallet. If your chicken pieces are thicker, you can also keep them in the oven longer. If you want to be sure that the meat is cooked through, you can use an instant read thermometer and chicken needs to be 160-165 degrees Fahrenheit.)
Lana G
I’m not a big fan of buckwheat but I still decided to give it a try and made it today and it turned out soooo delicious, so flavourful and juicy!!! 😋 thank you Olga for sharing this recipe!
olgak7
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it, Lana.
Julia
Hi Olga! Do you cover it?
olgak7
Hi Julia. No, I do not cover it.