Chicken Mornay

This chicken mornay is really family friendly and easy to make.

It makes the perfect midweek dinner and you can use up all the leftovers from roast chicken to make it even easier.

Chicken, bacon, broccoli and mushrooms smothered in a rich cheese sauce. Just serve it with potatoes, rice or pasta, for a fuss free meal.

Bon appétit!   

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you will love this dish
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• ⏲️ Baking Time
• 🥗 Side Dishes
• 🥙 Substitutions
• 📖 Variations
• 🍣 Storage
• 🍱 Prepare in Advance
• 📋 Recipe
• Chicken and Turkey
• 💬 Comments

❤️ Why you will love this dish

• Great for leftover roast chicken or vegetables.
• Family friendly.
• Make ahead and reheat.
• Bacon makes everything better!
• Easy to vary the ingredients.

🤔FAQs

If you like cheese like me you probably love cheese sauce, slathered on cauliflower or smothered over fish. However, it occured to me that people love cheesy pasta dishes dishes with bacon, so why not throw some chicken in there too?

I've given instructions for cooking the chicken mornay from scratch, but this recipe is begging to use up veggies and chicken leftover from the Sunday roast, without it feeling like a leftover meal. It would definitely take the strain out of Monday evenings to have an easy meal that is family friendly.

All you will need to do is cook some rice or pasta for a great meal. And, if you have more time on your hands, have a look at the crspy potato ideas too. They are great for dipping in the sauce.

So, please try this recipe and have a look at the variations for using canned or frozen vegetables too.

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🥘 Ingredients

• Chicken - I tend to buy frozen skinless and boneless chicken pieces. These are much better value than fresh chicken breasts. I also use them in pasta dishes, curries and stir fries. If you are using leftover chicken, use any part of the bird but remove the skin as it will become slimy in the casserole.
• Mushrooms - I've used mushrooms as they go so well with chicken and bacon. Use whatever variety you have.
• Bacon - smoked bacon lardons give a huge amount of flavour to this dish. If you can't find lardons use smoked bacon rashers and cut them into pieces.
• Cheese - a classic sauce would use Gruyère cheese and it gives a really creamy and nutty flavour.
• Stock - chicken stock to poach the chicken. If you are using leftover chicken, there is no need for the stock.
• Milk - semi skimmed or whole milk for the white sauce.
• Butter - salted or unsalted butter. If you use salted butter make sure that you taste the sauce before adding extra salt.
• Seasoning - freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste. I also like to add a few grates of nutmeg.
• Flour - plain or all purpose flour to thicken the sauce.
• Broccoli - a head of broccoli.

The printable recipe card with full ingredient quantities and instructions can be found at the bottom of the article.

🍽 Equipment

• oven proof casserole dish - approx 25 x 35 centimetres
• sharp knife
• chopping board
• cheese grater
• saucepan
• wooden spoon
• frying pan or skillet
• colander

🔪 Instructions

Cut the broccoli into small florets.

Slice the mushrooms into 1 centimetre slices.

Grate the cheese.

If you are using raw chicken, cut it into large pieces and place in a saucepan with the chicken stock.

Bring the stock to a simmer and cook with the lid on for 10 minutes.

Add the broccoli to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes.

Drain the chicken and broccoli in a colander.

Allow the chicken to cool for a minute and use two dinner forks to pull the meat into bite sized shreds.

While the chicken is cooking place the sliced mushrooms and lardons into a frying pan over a medium heat.

Cook for about 5 minutes. There will be enough fat in the bacon to cook the mushrooms.

Put the chicken, broccoli, bacon and mushrooms in the bottom of the casserole dish.

For the béchamel sauce, place the butter and flour in a saucepan over a medium heat.

Stir continuously with a wooden spoon as the butter melts and mixes with the flour.

Cook for a minute. This ensures that the flour is cooked through.

Gradually add a small amount of milk and continue to stir.

Continue to add the milk gradually, while stirring, until the sauce comes together at a simmer.

It should be thickened and shiny.

Turn off the heat and stir through half of the cheese.

Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the mornay sauce over the chicken mixture and top with the remaining cheese.

⏲️ Baking Time

If the sauce and chicken is still warm you can place this under a preheat grill for about 5 minutes until golden and bubbling.

Alternatively, if you have made this in advance, preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F / 160 FAN / Gas 4 and cook for about 20 minutes.

💭 Top tip

• Vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli tend to leach out a lot of water if left in the oven too long. This will make the sauce watery and split, so don't be tempted to leave it in the oven longer.

Scatter over some fresh chopped parsley if you like or just dive in.

🥗 Side Dishes

Simply serve with new potatoes, mash, rice or pasta or try some of these side dishes.

• Easy Roast Potatoes
• Confit Potatoes
• Crispy Potatoes Pavé
• Potatoes Dauphinoise
• Chateau Potatoes
• Crispy Smashed Potatoes
• Boursin Mashed Potatoes
• Fondant Potatoes
• Potatoes Aligot
• Potatoes Rissole
• Potatoes Boulangere
• Boursin Mashed Potatoes
• Sarladaise Potatoes
• Potatoes Parisienne
• Parmentier Potatoes
• Duchess Potatoes

🥙 Substitutions

• Lardons - use smoked bacon cut into pieces or some ready cooked ham.
• Gruyère cheese - use mature cheddar.

📖 Variations

Try these different vegetables, straight from the tin, cooked from frozen or fried.

• Peas - tinned or cooked from frozen.
• Sweetcorn - tinned or cooked from frozen.
• Green beans or broad beans
• Asparagus
• Peppers or courgettes - sliced and cooked with mushrooms.
• Any leftover cooked vegetables.

🍣 Storage

• Refrigerator
• Freezer  - I don't reccommend freezing this dish as the sauce tends to split on defrosting.
• To reheat - reheat any leftovers in the microwave until hot.

🍱 Prepare in Advance

• Assemble the chicken mornay, cool cover and store in the fridge for up to a day before cooking. You may need to add a few more minutes cooking time to cook from chilled.

Let me know what you think in the comments or you can post a picture and tag me on Twitter @chezlereve, Instagram @chezlerevefrancais, or Facebook @chezlerevefrancais

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📋 Recipe

Food Safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
• Wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
• Never leave cooking food unattended.
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
• Always have good ventilation when using gas.

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