Chicken Stuffing Casserole for Make-Ahead Dinners

Ingredients

• 3 cups pulled cooked chicken (510 g)
• 4 cups dry seasoned stuffing cubes (240 g)
• 2 1/2 cups lower-sodium chicken stock, divided (600 g)
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced (160 g)
• 2 celery stalks, diced (100 g)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided (42 g)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (30 g)
• 1 cup whole milk (240 g)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (210 g)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley (8 g)

Instructions

1. Soften onion and celery. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease a 9-by-13-inch dish. Melt 28 g butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion and celery for 6 minutes until flexible and translucent at the.
2. Make the light gravy. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables left in the pan and stir for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in 360 g stock and the milk. Add thyme, salt, and pepper. Simmer until the gravy coats.
3. Build the chicken layer. Fold chicken and frozen vegetables into the gravy. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared dish. The gravy should cling to the meat with only a thin film at the edges. If it.
4. Moisten the stuffing. Add stuffing cubes to the reserved onion and celery. Melt remaining butter and toss it through the bread. Drizzle in 180 g stock gradually, lifting with a fork. Stop when every cube is.
5. Cover without compressing. Scatter stuffing over the chicken layer in an uneven blanket. Do not press it flat; raised pieces become crisp while lower pieces absorb savory gravy. Cover loosely with foil so it does not.
6. Brown and settle. Remove the foil and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the tallest stuffing edges are golden and gravy bubbles at the perimeter. Let the casserole stand for 5 minutes within the cook.

Notes

• Use the visual texture cues in the instructions instead of relying on the timer alone for every stage.
• Refrigerate leftovers for 4 days, and freeze only the suitable components for up to 2 months.
• Measure wet additions carefully because extra liquid changes how the finished filling, sauce, or coating holds.