Mary Berry's delicious one-pot chicken casserole recipe is perfect on weeknights

Deciding on dinner can be a real head-scratcher - but Mary Berry's "rather special" chicken and herb casserole might just be the answer to your mealtime dilemmas. Featured in her cookbook 'Love to Cook', Mary reveals that this scrumptious one-pan wonder is not only easy to whip up but also packs a punch with its rich flavours.

enthuses about the dish: "An all-in-one dish to cook and serve. Sage was often used as a dried herb in recipes but now it is readily available fresh and is simple to grow. It comes with either green or purple leaves – they both taste the same."

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The casserole combines creamy sauce, succulent chicken, smoky bacon, and a medley of tender veggies and herbs for a hearty yet wholesome feast.

It's an ideal midweek marvel, taking just 10 minutes to prep before you let the oven do the heavy lifting. And the cherry on top? Only one dish to clean afterwards.

How to cook Mary Berry's chicken casserole

Ingredients

• Eight chicken thighs
• Two large onions
• 250g of dry-cured bacon
• 200g of chestnut mushrooms
• 100g of full-fat creme fraiche
• 30g of plain flour
• 150ml of hot chicken stock
• 150ml of white wine
• Two tablespoons of olive oil
• Two thyme sprigs
• Two bay leaves
• Small bunch of parsley
• Small bunch of sage
• Knob of butter
• Salt and pepper

Kitchen equipment needed

• Ovenproof frying pan or casserole dish with a lid

Instructions

To kick things off, crank your oven up to 160C (140 Fan or Gas Mark 3). Then get your ingredients ready. Warm up the chicken stock, dice the onions, quarter those chestnut mushrooms, and put them to one side, reports .

Chop the bacon into bite-sized strips, toss them into a pan or casserole dish, and sizzle away on medium heat. Once the bacon starts to brown and its fat begins to ooze out, throw in the onions.

Start by cooking the onions and bacon until the bacon is brown at the edges, then transfer both to a plate and set aside. Next, pour the olive oil into the same dish. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, add it to the dish and brown on high heat on each side, then move it to the plate with the bacon and onions.

Sprinkle the plain flour into the dish, adding a bit more olive oil if necessary, then gradually pour in the hot chicken stock, stirring continuously until it thickens. Then, add the wine and return the bacon, onions and chicken to the dish.

Mix in the thyme, sage and bay leaves, ensure the sauce has thickened, then bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Cover the dish and transfer it to the oven for 30 minutes.

After this time, take the dish out of the oven, add the mushrooms and stir in the creme fraiche. Give everything a good mix, then put it back in the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes until the chicken is tender.

While that's cooking, melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat and fry the sage leaves until they're crisp. Once the dish is fully cooked, remove it from the oven and take out the bay leaves, thyme and sage sprigs.

Stir in the parsley, top with the crispy sage leaves and your delicious chicken casserole is ready to serve.