Chicken Casserole with Gluten-Free Parsley Dumplings – the ultimate comfort food for a cold day
Nothing beats tender chicken pieces slowly cooked with an array of healthy vegetables, topped with delicious gluten-free parsley dumplings.
Stove-top or slow cooker
This recipe is designed to be prepared on the stove-top, but if you prefer to slow cook the chicken casserole in a slow cooker/crockpot, simply allow an extra 2 hours on High or 4 hours on Low.
Finished off in the oven
The chicken is then transferred to a deep-oven proof casserole, covered with a lid and finished off in the oven with the gluten-free parsley dumplings.
Chicken cuts
The recipe asks for chicken thighs with the bones and skin removed, but if you prefer to add chicken thighs with the bone, this will make your casserole even tastier. The only hassle is that you need to remove the bone from the chicken meat before adding the peas and topping off with the dumplings. This is necessary so that you are not messing around with the bone while eating the casserole. I recommend removing the skin off any chicken pieces, otherwise, the casserole will be too greasy and taste fatty.
Other toppings
The champion of this dish is the dumpling! Fluffy, herby and a satisfying element to the dish. However, if you prefer or would like to experiment with other toppings, try topping the chicken casserole with mashed potatoes or a mixture of mashed vegetables such as sweet potato, pumpkin and carrot, perhaps topped with some grated cheese or bacon bits and gluten-free breadcrumbs.
Chicken Casserole with Gluten-Free Parsley Dumplings
Equipment
- Stove-top deep pan
- Deep oven-proof casserole dish with a lid
Ingredients
CHICKEN CASSEROLE
- 650-700 g chicken thighs, bones & skin removed and cut into 5cm pieces
- 3 tbsp store-bought or homemade gluten-free plain flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 sprig fresh sage leaves, chopped finely
- 1 sprig fresh sage leaves, kept attached to sprig
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 large carrots, peeled and sliced 1 cm thick
- 2 celery sticks, sliced 1 cm thick
- 1 onion, chopped into 1 cm pieces
- 200 g brown or white mushrooms, sliced
- 250 ml store-bought or homemade chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp cornflour Known as cornflour in the UK and corn or maize starch in the USA
- 200 g frozen peas, thawed
GLUTEN-FREE PARSLEY DUMPLINGS
- 120 g store-bought or homemade gluten-free plain flour
- 2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- ½ tsp xanthan gum
- ½ tsp salt
- 150 ml milk
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
CHICKEN CASSEROLE
- Gather and measure the chicken casserole ingredients.
- Coat the chicken pieces evenly with gluten-free flour, salt, pepper and chopped sage.
Preparing the chicken casserole over the stove
- Heat the pan to medium and add the olive oil.
- Fry the carrots, celery and onions for 5 minutes, adding more oil if it appears dry.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and add the prepared chicken pieces and stir often until chicken is no longer pink.
- Add the sliced mushrooms and allow to simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour the stock in and the sprig of sage leaves. Cover and simmer on low heat for one hour.
- Mix the cornflour with some of the chicken casserole sauce to create a slurry.
- Remove the fresh sage sprig and add the cornflour slurry to the casserole. Mix well and allow to thicken slightly for approximately 5-8 minutes with the lid off.
GLUTEN-FREE PARSLEY DUMPLINGS
- In a medium bowl, combine the gluten-free flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt and parsley together.
- In a measuring jug, mix the milk and egg together.
- Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, mixing well using a fork. Stop mixing when no more flour is visible. Cover and set aside.
Finishing off the chicken casserole in the oven
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F.
- Add the peas, stir well and transfer the chicken casserole to a deep oven-proof casserole dish.
- Cover the casserole dish and place on the middle shelf to cook for 15 minutes.
- Remove the casserole dish from the oven and drop the dumplings over the chicken pieces. It is important that the chicken is slightly above the casserole sauce. If necessary, remove some sauce to lower the level below the chicken pieces *
- Cover and return to the oven to cook a further 25 to 30 minutes.
- Insert a toothpick into a dumpling. If it comes out clean, they are ready.
- Serve with roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes or steamed rice.
Notes
- Keeps for 3 days chilled
- Cooked chicken casserole is suitable to freeze
- Cooked gluten-free parsley dumplings are not suitable to freeze
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