Hot Chicken Salad

If you’ve never had hot Chicken salad, get ready — it’s about to become a regular in your rotation. Creamy, savory, and topped with a salty, golden chip crust, this baked Casserole is one of those dishes that sounds simple and somehow tastes like so much more.

Why You’ll Love It

That crunchy chip topping — crushed potato chips bake into a golden, salty crust that puts any breadcrumb to shame
Incredibly versatile — serve it as a dip with crackers and veggies, scoop it onto rolls, or eat it straight from the dish like a Casserole
Simple, pantry-friendly ingredients — rotisserie chicken, a can of Soup, mayo, and chips do most of the heavy lifting
Easy enough for a weeknight, impressive enough for company — nobody needs to know how little effort went into it
Almonds on top — they toast beautifully in the oven and add just enough bitter crunch to cut through the richness

A Note on the Ingredients

The cream of Chicken Soup is non-negotiable for me. I know there are people who make everything from scratch and I respect that, I really do, but this is a recipe that was born in the era of condensed soups and I think you honor that. I use the regular full-fat kind — I’ve tried the low-sodium and it was fine but a little flat.
Mayonnaise: use whatever you use. I’m a Duke’s person and I will die on that hill, but if you’ve been using Hellmann’s your whole life you’ll be fine.
The pimentos are one of those things that look a little jarring in the ingredient list if you’re not used to them. They’re just roasted red peppers, essentially — mild, sweet, a little soft. They disappear into the dish more than they stand out. Don’t skip them, though. There’s something they’re doing in there.
Green pepper — I sometimes use half a green and half a red if I have one around. The color is nicer and red peppers are slightly sweeter. But honestly, either works.
The almonds on top are important. Don’t skip those either. They toast up in the oven and add this little bitter crunch that cuts through the richness. I’ve made it without when I forgot to buy them and something was just… missing.

Ingredients

About 3 cups cooked chicken, cubed — I usually use a store-bought rotisserie, pull it apart while it’s still warm
1 cup chopped celery (maybe a little more — I tend to go heavy on the celery)
½ cup chopped green pepper
1 jar pimentos, drained (4 oz)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup mayo
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of chicken soup — don’t add water, use it straight from the can
½ teaspoon salt
2 to 3 cups crushed potato chips — I eyeball this based on how thick I want the topping
½ to ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup slivered almonds

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13 casserole dish — I use glass, I feel like it matters somehow even though it probably doesn’t.
In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, celery, green pepper, pimentos, lemon juice, mayo, Worcestershire, soup, and salt. Mix it well. The soup makes it look a little strange at first, kind of gloppy, but it loosens up and everything comes together. Taste it before it goes in the dish — this is when you can adjust salt if you need to. The Worcestershire adds a depth that I love, that slightly fermented, almost beefy thing, and it plays really well against the lemon.
Spread it into the casserole dish. It’ll be thick. That’s right.
Now layer on your cheese. I go lighter on the cheese than the recipe technically allows because I don’t want it to get too heavy — but if you love a cheesy crust, go closer to the ¾ cup.
Then the chips. I crush mine in the bag before opening it, medium-fine — not dust, not big shards, somewhere in between. Spread them over the cheese in a relatively even layer. They’re going to brown and crisp up in the oven, so don’t skip this step thinking you can just use crackers. You can’t. Well, you can, but it’s different. I tried panko once when I was out of chips and it was fine, not the same.
Almonds go on top of the chips. This feels counterintuitive — won’t they burn? — but they don’t. They toast beautifully, and they’re my favorite part, honestly.
Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F, until bubbly around the edges and golden on top. Let it sit for five or ten minutes before scooping. It’s very hot in the middle and also it’s just easier to serve once it’s settled slightly.

Variations

Adding a little hot sauce to the filling — just a splash — is really good. Adds a little kick without changing the whole character of the dish.
I’ve also seen versions that use crushed Ritz crackers on top instead of chips. That’s more buttery, less salty, more like a traditional casserole topping. Both are good, both are different things.
You could also use cream of mushroom soup instead of cream of chicken. I made that substitution once when I was out of the chicken kind and it worked fine — the flavor shifts slightly earthier, which is not bad. Just different.

Leftovers

It keeps fine in the fridge for a few days, though the chip topping softens. I don’t mind that — it becomes this slightly chewy, salty layer, which is its own thing. If you want it crispy again, you can put it under the broiler for a couple of minutes, but watch it, because it goes from golden to overdone fast.
I wouldn’t freeze it. The mayo-based filling does weird things in the freezer. That’s been true every time I’ve tried.

I meant to mention this earlier, but this dish is really good as a dip situation — just scoop it out and put it in a bowl with crackers and vegetables around the edge, and it becomes a party thing.