Easy Chicken Casserole
This slow cooker chicken casserole with pearl barley is the perfect midweek dinner - proper winter food.
A few simple ingredients are all you need.
You can add mushrooms if you have any or use one onion and one leek.
Not everyone likes pearl barley but we love it because it adds another texture to the dish. Plus it's good for you!
What is pearl barley?
Pearl barley is the whole kernels of the barley grain which has been hulled (outer bran husk removed) and then polished. The polishing makes it easier to cook and digest.
How do you cook pearl barley?
As with most grains, it is a good idea to rinse pearl barley before cooking with it - particularly if adding straight to a soup or a stew.
For this slow cooker casserole, you must cook the pearl barley in boiling water for 10 minutes to give it a head start. If you don't, it will thicken the casserole too much.
Slow cooker (Crock pot)
You will need a slow cooker, I love the Morphy Richards Easy Time Slow Cooker; you select the time and it selects the heat setting for you!
Although you can, of course, set it manually if you prefer.
But the big difference is it has a medium setting as well as the usual low and high. Once cooking has finished it auto goes to keep warm.
Plus you can put the removable aluminium hob-proof pot directly onto the hob to sear and sauté any ingredients first to add flavour.
With the ever-rising costs of energy, slow cookers are brilliant as they use so little electricity to cook a meal. Batch cooking is the way to go - cook more than you need and freeze the rest.
Ingredients in this recipe
- Chicken fillets
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrots
- Pearl barley
- Campbell's condensed cream of chicken soup
- Peas
Cook the peas in boiling salted water until cooked. Then run under cold water and drain well.
Cover with cling film and set aside. We'll add those 5 minutes before the end of cooking.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan (or in the cooking pot if you're using the Morphy Richards Easy Time Slow Cooker) add the cubed chicken - fry just to seal the chicken.
If you have time it's worth frying the onions, carrots and celery as well, just for a bit more flavour.
Add the onion, carrots, celery, pearl barley and the soup. Using the empty can, add ½ a can of water.
Mix 3 heaped tablespoons of Bisto Best chicken granules in a jug with 200ml of boiling water and add to the slow cooker.
Give it a good stir and put the lid on. Cook for 8 hours on LOW for 8 hours, 6 hours on Medium or 5 hours on High.
Have a taste to check the seasoning and add a little more Bisto if needed.
5 minutes before the end of cooking stir in the cooked peas.
Serve with mashed potatoes. 😋
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe card below!
Slow Cooker Chicken Casserole with Campbell's Soup
Ingredients
- 3 large chicken breast fillets - cubed
- 1 large onion - chopped
- 2 large carrots - peeled and sliced
- 2 celery sticks - stringy bits removed and sliced
- 4 tablespoons pearl barley - rinsed, then boiled for 20 minutes and then drained
- 1 x 295g can Campbell's cream of chicken condensed soup
- Bisto Best chicken gravy granules
- ½ a teacup of frozen peas - cooked in boiling salted water, drained and covered with cling film
Instructions
- Cook the peas in boiling salted water, then run them under cold water and drain them well. Cover with cling film and set aside. We'll add those 5 minutes before the end of cooking.
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and add the cubed chicken. Fry to seal the chicken but if your slow cooker pot can go directly onto the stovetop, you can use that. If you have time, it's also worth frying the onions, carrots and celery for a few minutes, but it's not vital.
- Otherwise, add the onion, carrots, celery, pearl barley and the can of soup to the slow cooker. Using the empty soup can add ½ of the can of water.
- In a jug, mix 4 heaped tablespoons of Best Bisto chicken granules with just 200ml of boiling water to form a thick paste. Add it to the slow cooker, stir it well and put the lid on.
- Cook on LOW for 8 hours, Medium for 6 hours, or High for 5 hours.
- Have a taste to check the seasoning, you will probably want to add a little more Bisto.
- 5 minutes before the end of cooking, stir in the cooked peas. Serve with mashed potatoes.
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Jan