Chicken Casserole with Lattice Breadstick Top

Creamy white bean, chicken and bacon casserole is topped with a buttery cheddar lattice breadstick crust. If you are looking for comfort food, baby, life is about to begin!

Comfort food has never looked better! Breadsticks become a basket-inspired crust over a deliciously creamy white bean, chicken and bacon filling.
Comfort food isn’t known for being pretty.
Poor thing. It’s the sweatpants of the food world, but lawd almighty if we didn’t have it. These chilly autumn nights wouldn’t be nearly as tasty. And now, with our guurgeous Chicken Casserole with Lattice Breadstick Top, you’re about to have a hearty, happy dish that tastes as good as it looks.

• Start it off easy. Mix together Progresso Recipe Starters, chicken, bacon, white beans, and frozen carrots. A little salt and pepper and you’ve got your filling prepped and ready to go. Pour it into an 8×8″ baking dish and set aside.
• Now prep the breadstick lattice topper. Unroll a tube of Pillsbury breadsticks and open them right on top of shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
• Sprinkle with another 1/4 cup of sharp cheddar, then slice into 10 breadsticks.
• To make the lattice top as easy as can be, lay five of the breadsticks horizontally across your chicken filling.
• Start threading with the center of the vertical breadsticks. Just gently lift the horizontal breadsticks to make room for the vertical breadstick.
• Finish off by threading each of the sides. It looks so much more involved than it actually is!
• Gently tuck any leftover edges under the sides of your baking dish. They’ll get hot and cook into delicious little dumpling-textured pieces. Yes, life is this perfect sometimes.
• Chicken Casserole with Lattice Breadstick Top
• Almost finished! The most vital step comes next…
• BUTTER! Drizzle, drizzle, drizzle. This doesn’t just add some extra flavor to your breadsticks, it makes them turn extra golden when they bake.
• Pop in the oven, bake, then pop out of the oven. You’re gonna need a fork. And prolly a hot toddy.
• The great thing about this dish is it’s an all-in-one meal. Giant bowls is all you need, because you’ve got soup, casserole, and hot baked bread all coming out of the oven at once. Which means more time to sit under a blanket and cuddle with a book. Or someone you love…
• Or a really, really cute casserole.

Chicken Casserole with Lattice Breadstick Top

Ingredients

• 1 (14.5) ounce can white beans
• 1 tube Pillsbury pizza crust
• 1 1/2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
• 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 can Progresso Recipe Starters, Creamy Garlic
• 1/4 cup bacon bits
• fresh chopped parsley for garnish (optional)
• 1 cup frozen carrots

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together Progresso, chicken, white beans, bacon bits, and carrots. Add 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a 9×9" baking dish.
2. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheddar on a wooden cutting board. Unroll the pizza crust on top of the cheddar, sprinkle the top with the remaining cheddar. Cut into 10 thin slices.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make the lattice breadstick crust, place five of the breadsticks across the top of the baking dish. Thread one breadstick through the center, then work outward, all ten breadsticks are woven together.
4. Melt butter and drizzle over breadsticks. Tuck edges of the breadsticks inside the sides of the baking dish.
5. Bake in oven for 15-21 minutes, or until the breadsticks are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool slightly before serving. Top with parsley for garnish, if desired.

Recipe and Photo credit:tablespoon / CC BY-NC-ND