Easy Creamy Chicken Casserole
This chicken casserole with pearl barley is the perfect midweek dinner - proper winter food.

A few simple ingredients are all you need.
You can add mushrooms if you have any or you can use one onion and one leek, not everyone likes pearl barley but we love it and it adds another texture to the dish. Plus it's good for you!
What is pearl barley?
Pearl barley is the whole kernels of the barley grain which has been hulled (outer bran husk removed) and then polished. The polishing makes it easier to cook and digest.
How do you cook pearl barley?
As with most grains, it is a good idea to rinse pearl barley before cooking with it - particularly if adding straight to a soup or a stew.
For this slow cooker casserole, you must cook the pearl barley in boiling water for 10 minutes to give it a head start. If you don't, it will thicken the casserole too much.
Slow cooker
You will need a slow cooker, I love the Morphy Richards Easy Time Slow Cooker you select the time and it selects the heat setting!
Although you can, of course, set it manually if you prefer. But the big difference is it has a medium setting as well as the usual low and high. Once cooking has finished it auto goes to keep warm.
Plus you can put the removable aluminium hob-proof pot directly onto the hob to sear and sauté any ingredients first to add flavour.
With the ever-rising costs of energy, slow cookers are brilliant as they use so little electricity to cook a meal. Batch cooking is the way to go - cook more than you need and freeze the rest.
Ingredients in this recipe
- Chicken fillets
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrots
- Pearl barley
- Campbell's condensed cream of chicken soup
- Peas
- Best Bisto chicken gravy granules

Cook the peas in boiling salted water for a few minutes until almost cooked. Then run under cold water and drain well.
Cover with cling film and set aside. We'll add those 30 minutes before the end of cooking.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan (or in the cooking pot if you're using the Morphy Richards Easy Time Slow Cooker) add the cubed chicken - fry just to seal the chicken.
If you have time it's worth frying the onions, carrots and celery as well. I didn't have time on this occasion!

Add the onion, carrots, celery, pearl barley and the soup. Using the empty can, add ½ a can of water.
Mix 3 heaped tablespoons of Best Bisto chicken granules in a jug with 200ml of boiling water and add to the slow cooker.

Give it a good stir and put the lid on. Cook for 8 hours on LOW for 8 hours, 6 hours on Medium or 5 hours on High.

Have a taste to check the seasoning and add a little more Bisto if needed.
At 30 minutes before the end of cooking stir in the peas - you can make the mashed potatoes in the meantime.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Casserole with Campbell's Soup
Ingredients
- 3 large chicken breast fillets - cubed
- 1 large onion - chopped
- 2 large carrots - peeled and sliced
- 2 celery sticks - stringy bits removed and sliced
- 4 tablespoons pearl barley - boiled for 10 minutes and then drained
- 1 x 295g can Campbell's cream of chicken condensed soup
- Best Bisto chicken gravy granules
- ½ a teacup of frozen peas - cooked in boiling salted water for just 4 minutes and drained
Instructions
- Prepare the pearl barley. Cook the peas in boiling salted water for a few minutes until almost cooked. Then run under cold water and drain well. Cover with cling film and set aside. We'll add those 30 minutes before the end of cooking.
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan - unless you're using the Morphy Richards Easy Time Slow Cooker because the pot can go onto the stove top) add the cubed chicken - fry just to seal the chicken. If you have time it's worth frying the onions, carrots and celery as well.
- Otherwise add the onion, carrots, celery, pearl barley and the soup to the slow cooker. Using the empty can, add ½ a can of water.
- Mix 3 heaped tablespoons of Best Bisto chicken granules in a jug with 200ml of boiling water and add to the slow cooker.
- Give it a good stir and put the lid on. Cook on LOW for 8 hours, 6 hours on Medium or 5 hours on High.
- Have a taste to check the seasoning and add a little more Bisto if needed.
- At 30 minutes before the end of cooking stir in the peas - you can make the mashed potatoes in the meantime.
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Jan