My Grandma Found This 'Ugly' Chicken Casserole Recipe In a Church Cookbook and It’s Still a Family Favorite

My Nana’s favorite casserole isn’t much to look at. To illustrate just how unappealing it appears on the surface, I’m including a photo I took below. 

Luckily, we have talented recipe testers and food stylists who gussied it up a bit for our purposes—but there’s only so much lipstick you can put on a pig. 

This is a classic “don’t judge a book by its cover” situation. What looks like a beige pile of slop is actually a wonderfully delicious (and super nostalgic) mix of modern and vintage ingredients that, when united in a 9x13-inch baking dish, result in the perfect comfort food dinner for busy weeknights. 

Like so many beloved Southern casseroles, this comes from a church cookbook. The 60-year-old, staple-bound collection from Grace Methodist Church in Birmingham, Alabama is overflowing with classic tried-and-true recipes, hand-drawn doodles, Bible verses, and folksy kitchen and life advice.

My Nana’s casserole, submitted by Mary E. Reed under the title “Chicken Devine,” is a combination of bacon-wrapped chicken, rich creamed soups, sour cream, and salty dried beef. Over the years, my family has omitted slivered almonds and added a hint of spice from jarred diced chile peppers and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Sorry, Mary! 

How to Make Nana’s Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

• 8-ounce block cream cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 10.5-ounce cans cream of mushroom soup
• 1 4-ounce jar hot diced chile peppers
• 8 small chicken breasts (or 4 large chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise)
• 8 slices of bacon
• 1 2.25-ounce jar dried beef
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Make the sauce: Melt cream cheese over low-medium heat. Stir in sour cream, cream of mushroom soup, and chile peppers. 
3. Line the bottom of the pan with dried beef. 
4. Wrap each chicken breast with one slice of bacon, then arrange the bacon-wrapped chicken breasts over the dried beef. 
5. Pour the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with cayenne pepper. 
6. Cover with foil. Bake in the preheated oven for two hours. 
7. Serve over cooked white rice.