Oven Chicken Salad

This is chicken salad served hot, in a pie shell, with a creamy sauce that turns it into something closer to a pot pie than a cold lunch. Cooked chicken, canned mushrooms, and chopped pimentos get folded into a butter-flour roux thinned with chicken broth, then spooned into a baked crust and heated in the microwave until bubbly.

The roux-based sauce is what separates this from ordinary chicken salad. It coats every piece of chicken in a smooth, savory gravy that holds everything together without the heaviness of mayonnaise.

Pimentos add little bursts of sweet red pepper color and flavor throughout. They’re subtle but you’d notice if they were missing.

Kitchen Tips

• Use a pre-baked pie shell so the crust stays crisp. An unbaked shell gets soggy under the hot filling.
• Make the roux with equal parts butter and flour, cooking for a minute before adding the broth. This cooks out the raw flour taste.
• Add the chicken broth gradually, stirring constantly, for a lump-free sauce.
• Don’t overcook in the microwave. Six to eight minutes at full power is enough. The filling just needs to be heated through, not boiled.

Variations

• Skip the pie shell and serve over rice or biscuits for a quicker weeknight version.
• Add ½ cup frozen peas to the filling for color and a pop of sweetness.
• Stir in 2 tablespoons of dry sherry before heating for a more elegant, savory depth.