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spoonful of grannys poppy seed chicken
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5 from 1 vote

Poppy Seed Chicken

Smooth, flavorful, easy to throw together and fun to look at, granny's poppy seed chicken comes together in about 15 minutes and it's all over except the waiting!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: main
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Granny's poppy seed chicken
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 270kcal
Cost: $8

Equipment

  • knife
  • cutting board
  • measuring spoons and cups
  • Oven safe 2 quart baking dish or cast iron skillet
  • oven
  • Medium sized bowl
  • rubber spatula or wooden spoon or large mixing spoon

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbs oil
  • 2 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1” chunks
  • Pinch Salt
  • Pinch Pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp thyme
  • 1 Cup Sour Cream
  • 1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup Can be any cream of soup: celery, mushroom, etc.
  • 4 Tbs Poppy Seeds
  • 1 Box Stove Top Stuffing any flavor.
  • 4 Tbs Butter melted - or not - see notes.

Instructions

  • In a skillet on the stove over medium heat, allow the oil and pan to come to temperature. Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a 2 quart oven safe dish with cooking spray and set aside.
  • Put the chicken into the skillet all at once and cook over medium heat until the chicken is cooked nearly through (when you see very little to no pink left in the chicken). Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper while it is cooking.
  • In a medium sized bowl, mix together the garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, sour cream and cream of soup. Set aside.
  • When the chicken is done, add the chicken to the sour cream mixture and mix well. Pour half of the mixture into your prepared baking dish and spread it out. Top with half of the stove top stuffing and half of the poppy seeds. Layer the rest of the chicken mixture onto the stuffing, sprinkle with poppy seeds and spread out over the pan. Top with the rest of the stove top stuffing. Pour the melted butter over the top.
  • Place into the hot oven on the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes until it is heated through and bubbly. The top should be browned.

Video

Notes

  • You can use any boneless skinless cut of chicken you like for this dish, but I whole heartedly recommend thighs because they are more forgiving and do not dry out like breast meat does. Either will work though.
  • Be sure to season the chicken when you are cooking it initially or you will note that your final product has a ton of flavor EXCEPT on the chicken pieces.
  • Do NOT be distressed that your stuffing package contents settle where a lot of the seasoning ends up in the bottom. That is actually a GOOD thing for this recipe. Use the pieces at the top for the middle layer and then the flavorful pieces will end up on the top of the casserole right where you want them.
  • This is made in a 2 quart baking dish (not a 9x13). If you are making in a 9x13, you will need to adjust the baking time. It's done when it is hot throughout (this might happen quicker in a larger baking dish).
  • I use a TON of poppy seeds when I make this recipe but that is totally adjustable to your tastes. Use less or more as you see fit. If you don't have the dried thyme, no worries, it will be flavorful enough. It also works to just lay pats of butter on the top of the casserole once it is assembled if you aren't into melting the butter. You can kick up this recipe by adding veggies (just be sure to add more sour cream and soup).
 
PRO TIP: You can add a TON more flavor by adding 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese or 4 oz of cream cheese to the sour cream/soup mix and then also sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese.
PRO TIP 2: If you brown the chicken in a cast iron skillet, you can use that same skillet to bake this dish in thus saving a dish in your kitchen (one less thing to wash!) plus, no need to spray with cooking spray because it will already have some oil in it from cooking the chicken.

Nutrition

Calories: 270kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 103mg | Sodium: 208mg | Potassium: 465mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 391IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1mg