2 Easy, Comforting & Cheap Casseroles for Large Families

Chicken and potato cornflake casserole (serves 8)

Ingredients:

• 10 peeled and cubed potatoes
• 1 8-ounce container of sour cream
• 1 10.5-ounce can of cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 2 bouillon cubes
• 1 cubed chicken breast
• ½ cubed onion
• 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup crushed cornflakes

I am doubling the recipe because I had 16 people feed. 

Instructions

I salted some water, which I brought up to a boil, and then added potatoes, which I peeled and cubed. Cook these until they are just starting to soften up. This takes about 15 to 20 minutes.

Next, drain the potatoes. Dump the potatoes into a pan. I used a 13 by 18 pan because I am doubling this recipe.

I added the onions into a pan, which I had heated the oil in, and I added crushed garlic and bouillon cubes. I added my chicken and stirred it, then added salt and pepper.

I cooked the meat until it was almost all the way cooked through. 

After baking in the oven, add your meat to your dish with your potatoes and then pour in the cheese, the cream of chicken soup, and the sour cream. 

Mix everything together. I just mixed it in the pan. 

Next, you will take some cornflakes, crush them up in your hands, and then pour them over the top. You can use as much or as little as you want. 

After crumbling the cornflakes on top, I popped it back in the oven for about 20 minutes just to heat everything through and make sure the chicken was fully cooked.

Here's the finished casserole.

Chicken and broccoli pasta bake

Next, we're making a chicken and broccoli pasta bake from mamagourmand.com. I made a few changes to her recipe, but if you'd like the original, check hers out.  

Ingredients:

• 3 cups dried rotini pasta, regular or gluten-free
• 3 cups broccoli florets (1 small head)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound boneless chicken breasts, tenderloins, or thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2½ Tablespoons all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon salt, divided
• ¼ teaspoon pepper, divided
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon dry mustard or Dijon mustard
• pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1½ cups milk (at least 2% milk fat for best flavor)
• 2 cups freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided

Instructions

I brought water to a boil, which I salted, then added the pasta. 

Once cooked, I drained off the pasta and added the pasta and the chicken into my pan that was on the side. 

Then I heated some oil in a pot and added in crushed garlic that I started browning, added in my butter, and a little bit of flour. 

Cook it for a few seconds until it's well incorporated. 

I added a little bit of milk. Add your milk a little bit at a time and stir it frequently, preferably with a whisk, so you don't get any lumps or clumps of flour. Stir it frequently as you slowly add in the rest of the milk, and then you're going to add in the seasonings. 

I added the salt and pepper that the recipe called for and a little bit of onion powder. The recipe also called for dry mustard, which I did not have. I substituted it with a little bit of Dijon mustard. Then I added a little bit of nutmeg and the bouillon cubes, which I added water to because the recipe calls for chicken stock. 

I added the cheese, stirred everything together, and ensured that the bouillon cubes had fully dissolved and everything had thickened up. I poured this mixture into my pan and went ahead and stirred it thoroughly so that everything was well incorporated. 

I decided to add the broccoli at the end of the recipe instead of while the chicken was cooking, as the recipe called for, because I wanted to keep broccoli on one side of the dish so that one side was broccoli free. 

I then sprinkled the rest of our cheese on top, then placed it in the oven just long enough to melt that cheese and heat everything through, which was about 15 to 20 minutes. 

This was a delicious dish and very filling.

Cheap casseroles for large families

I hope you've enjoyed these family-friendly casseroles that will feed a large group. They're cheap and easy to make and so delicious! If you've made one of the casserole recipes, share your thoughts in the comments below.