Party chicken is a comfort food classic that was a staple at dinner parties. The chicken is wrapped in bacon and nestled in a bed of chipped beef before being baked in a creamy sauce. Serve it over rice or pasta for a filling meal.
Party chicken was a hit at many Midwesterner’s dinner parties in the 1970s. It can be assembled in advance and has a nice long bake time so you can enjoy your guests while dinner cooks.
Have you ever had party chicken? It was not something I grew up with.
In fact, when my mother-in-law mentioned it, I could hardly believe it was a thing. Chicken, bacon, dried beef, and cream of mushroom soup.
Who ever heard of such a thing? She pulled out the recipe card from her mother-in-law and told me about how it was a staple for family meals.
Of course, I knew I needed to give it a try. Pretty much anything cooked in a can of cream of mushroom soup is going to be good, even if that shouldn’t be the case.
So next time you pick up a jar of dried beef for making SOS or dried beef pickle dip, go ahead and pick up a second one. That way, you can give this recipe a try for yourself.
Assembling the Casserole
Luckily, the casserole is really simple to assemble. Just chop the chipped beef into bite-sized pieces and distribute them on the bottom of a 9×13-inch pan or casserole dish.
Wrap the chicken breasts in bacon. Grandma’s recipe called for 8 strips of bacon and 8 chicken breasts.
I assume the chicken breasts were quite a bit smaller when she was making this recipe. So, I used 5 larger chicken breasts and 10 strips of bacon.
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Arrange the chicken over the chipped beef. Then stir together the cream of mushroom soup and sour cream.
Spread the sour cream mixture over the chicken and bake in a low oven. You can follow grandma’s directions of using a 270F oven for 3 hours.
Or you can speed up the process a bit and bake in a 300F oven for 2 hours. You even get away with baking them at 350F for 1 and a half hours, but there is something to be said for the low and slow cooking method.
Serving Party Chicken
Finish your chicken with a little fresh cracked black pepper. Don’t add any salt until you have tasted it.
The soup, bacon, and chipped beef all have quite a bit of salt in them. So adding extra is likely unnecessary.
Serve the chicken over a bed of rice, some buttered noodles, or even some mashed potatoes. That way, you have something to help sop up the delicious sauce.
Then, just add a veggie or salad. We did some pan roasted brussels sprouts with some of the extra bacon and thought that was a wonderful combination.
For another fun chicken dish, try making some tangy ranch chicken. Or make some crockpot chicken and gravy to serve over mashed potatoes.
Grandma’s Party Chicken
Ingredients
- 5 ounces dried beef
- 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 10 strips bacon
- 1 10.5 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 270℉
- Chop 5 ounces dried beef and spread in a layer over the bottom of the pan.
- Wrap each of the 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts in two strips of bacon and arrange over the chipped beef.
- Stir together the 1 cup sour cream and 1 10.5 oz. can cream of mushroom soup. Spread over the chicken breasts.
- Bake uncovered for about 3 hours, or until the chicken is 165℉ in the center.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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I’ve been making an dish almost identical to this for 30+ years that is called Chicken Eden Isle ( or Style). It is a family favorite that I also make for company. I always get compliments on it.
How fun!
very easy and tasty
Thank you!
Can this be made ahead of time?
You could assemble it ahead of time and but it in the fridge until it is time to bake it. I have making a crockpot version on my list, just haven’t gotten around to trying it yet.
Our family makes this recipe, but we put it in the crockpot and cook all day on low using:
4 large chicken breasts
2 packages dried beef
2 cans cream mushroom soup (or 3 if you want)
2 cups sour cream
Throw everything in the crockpot. Shred chicken with a fork and serve over rice. Makes a lot of gravy!
What a great idea! I am making it that way next time!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. My mom used to make this for us when we were i. High school. I tried to replicate and got close but forgot to add sour cream and cooked it at 350 so it was so tough. I am cooking this for my family tomorrow. 💕
I love that! I hope it is just like you remember it!
My daughter’s all time favorite, especially when she’s home from college. She even cooks it for her bf at school. Just remember to never add salt bc of the dried beef. You may add at the end of desired, but we usually just use black pepper and everything else just as described in the recipe, with rice, a veggie, and Cresent rolls.
I love that! And definitely on the not adding salt. There is a fair amount in it already.
Of course I haven’t made it yet. But I’m also intrigued by the ingredients. So I have a question. When you serve this do you serve the dried beef along with it, or is it mostly just for flavor ?
We serve the dried beef along with it. We eat it with the rice or pasta and it’s all meaty, savory deliciousness.
@Carlee, thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I gotta try this soon.
I make this for Christmas Eve but my gravy is always so thin…what can I do to make it thicker….?
Hmmm. That is strange. Are you using a full fat sour cream? I could see light sour creams potentially being watery. Otherwise you could always stir a couple of teaspoons of cornstarch in with the soup and sour cream mixture before you bake it, that should thicken it up.
Mine does the same this hint to add cornstarch helps and will definitely try. Thank you…
What an interesting recipe! I will have to try it!
I hope you enjoy it!
Let’s Party! Yum yum yum. That dried beef just adds the best flavor!
I thought it was a surprising ingredient, but it is all so good together. Thanks, Andrea!