Neiman Marcus Chicken Casserole with Bacon: Step-by-Step Instructions

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 190 °C (375 °F, gas mark 5) and butter a 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13 inch) baking dish. Bringing the dish to temperature along with the oven is unnecessary here; the filling is already cooked, so you are only melting and browning.
2. Lay the bacon in a cold frying pan and set it over medium heat. Starting cold renders the fat slowly instead of seizing the meat, which is what gives you flat, evenly crisp rashers rather than curled ones. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, turning once, then drain on kitchen paper and reserve one tablespoon of the fat.
3. Shred the cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces with your fingers or two forks, pulling along the grain. Torn edges hold sauce far better than cubes cut with a knife, which stay slick and slide apart in the dish.
4. Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl until it is completely smooth before anything else goes in. Cold or lumpy cream cheese will never dissolve into the sauce later, and you will find white pockets in the finished casserole.
5. Stir in the sour cream, the reserved tablespoon of bacon fat, the garlic, onion powder, paprika, pepper and salt. Mix until the sauce is one even colour. Taste it now: this is the only point at which you can correct the seasoning easily.
6. Fold in the chicken, the white parts of the spring onions, two thirds of the cheddar, two thirds of the Monterey Jack and three quarters of the bacon, crumbled. If the mixture feels stiff and does not fall from the spoon, loosen it with the milk a tablespoon at a time.
7. Spread the mixture into the buttered dish and level the surface without pressing it down. A loose, slightly uneven top catches more heat and browns in patches, which is where the best bites come from.
8. Scatter over the remaining cheddar and Monterey Jack, then bake uncovered for 22 to 25 minutes, until the edges bubble steadily and the centre reads 74 °C (165 °F). Covering it traps steam and gives you a pale, loose casserole.
9. If the top is still blond at the end, slide the dish under a hot grill for 2 to 3 minutes. Stay with it; the cheese goes from golden to bitter in under a minute at that heat.
10. Rest the casserole for 10 minutes out of the oven, then crumble over the remaining bacon and the green parts of the spring onions. The rest lets the sauce set enough to hold its shape when you serve it, and the raw onion and crisp bacon stay sharp because they never saw the oven.

Recipe Variations

With a crumb topping. Mix 60 g of panko with the reserved bacon fat and scatter it over the cheese before baking. It adds a crust without changing the filling.

Jalapeño popper version. Fold in two deseeded, finely chopped jalapeños with the spring onions. The heat cuts the richness noticeably.

Over pasta. Stir 300 g of cooked penne and an extra 120 ml of milk into the filling before baking. It stretches the dish to eight servings.

Low-carb with cauliflower. Add 400 g of roasted cauliflower florets. Roast rather than boil them, or they will release water into the sauce.

Turkey after the holidays. Leftover roast turkey replaces the chicken one for one, though it is drier and benefits from the full 60 ml of milk.

Serving Ideas

This is a rich dish and it wants a plain, absorbent partner. Steamed white rice, buttered egg noodles or a baked potato all work, and each one soaks up the sauce that collects at the edges of the dish.

Beside it, keep things sharp and green. A dressed rocket salad, green beans with lemon, or roasted broccoli with a squeeze of lemon all reset the palate between forkfuls. Avoid creamy sides entirely; the casserole has that covered.

Served in smaller portions with tortilla chips or toasted baguette slices, the same dish works as a hot sharing plate for a party. In that format it goes straight back to its origins as a dip, and it will disappear faster than it does at the dinner table.

Keeping It Fresh

Cover the cooled dish and refrigerate for up to four days. The sauce firms up considerably when cold, which is normal; it loosens again as it heats.

Reheat portions in a 160 °C oven for 15 to 20 minutes, covered with foil for the first ten. A microwave works for a single plate but tends to separate the sauce, so stop at half power and stir once halfway through.

For freezing, assemble the casserole but do not bake it. Wrap the dish well and freeze for up to two months, then thaw overnight in the fridge and bake as written with ten extra minutes. A casserole frozen after baking survives, but the dairy goes slightly grainy on thawing.

Reader Questions Answered

Can I use raw chicken instead of cooked?

Not directly. Raw chicken releases water as it bakes and thins the sauce. Poach 750 g of breasts or thighs for 15 minutes first, or roast them, then shred and continue from step three.

Why did my casserole turn out greasy?

Usually pre-grated cheese or too much bacon fat. Bagged grated cheese is coated with starch and splits more readily under heat, and only one tablespoon of the bacon fat belongs in the sauce. Grate your own cheese from a block and drain the rest of the fat away.

Can I assemble it the day before?

Yes. Build it up to the end of step seven, cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Add the topping cheese straight from the fridge and bake for 35 minutes instead of 25, as the dish starts cold.

What can replace Monterey Jack?

Mozzarella for the same stretch with less flavour, or Gouda and Havarti, which both melt smoothly. Avoid using cheddar for the whole quantity; on its own it bakes oily and grainy.

Is this the same as the Neiman Marcus dip?

It shares the cream cheese, bacon and cheese base, but the dip is served cold with crackers and has no chicken. This version adds the chicken and bakes it, which turns a party dip into a main course.

Wrapping Up

Shred a cooked chicken, crisp some bacon, beat two dairy products smooth and bake the lot under cheese. There is no sauce to make on the hob and nothing that can curdle if you keep the oven at 190 °C and leave the foil in the drawer.

It is the kind of dish that earns its place on a weeknight because the shopping is simple and the dish comes out of the oven looking like it took longer than it did. Make it once and you will probably stop measuring the cheese.

Related recipes: Classic Apple Pie with a Lattice Crust, Overnight French Toast Bake with Cinnamon, Italian Pasta Salad with Mozzarella and Olives, Air Fryer Salmon with Lemon and Garlic Butter, Buffalo Chicken Dip with Melted Cheese.

Learn more: Casserole on Wikipedia · food storage & safety (FoodSafety.gov).