Chicken Macaroni Gratin Recipe
Chicken macaroni gratin is a creamy dish made with chicken, onions, mushrooms, and a creamy sauce. I topped the gratin with cheese and panko to create a crunchy and flavorful topping. In this chicken macaroni gratin recipe, I also added spinach and broccoli to create a deeper flavor and add a splash of green color to balance out the brown from the panko and the yellow from the cheese.
You might be surprised to see to this recipe on a Japanese recipe website, but many Japanese enjoy western-style dishes in Japan, including chicken macaroni gratin. This dish can be found in western-style restaurants in Japan and is sometimes cooked at home as well. However, western-style gratin (cooked in the USA or other places) is quite different than gratin cooked in Japan. In the West, gratin is a chessy casserole dish. In Japan, macoroni is cooked with chicken, onions, mushrooms, but is not as cheesy as the Western version. Please try this dish and let me know what you think!
Tips for Japanese Chicken Macoroni Gratin Recipe
- After adding the flour to the finely chopped onions for the sauce, you need to make sure it is well mixed so small balls of flour do not form. To prevent the small balls of flour from forming, add the half & half in small batches and mix well.
- I recommend adding panko on top of the gratin before placing the dish in the oven. It adds a golden, crunchy topping making this gratin even more irresistible. (In the video, I forgot to add the panko, but it is included in the instructions.)
- You can also add seafood such as shrimp, tuna, squid or even clams to make a seafood gratin. Both chicken macoroni gratin and seafood gratin are delicious!
- If you have some leftovers, you can reheat the chicken macoroni gratin and place it on rice to make chicken doria.
- If you don’t like broccoli or spinach, they can be removed. You can also add green onions as a topping for color balance.
Chicken Macaroni Gratin Recipe
Equipment
- Frying Pan
- Pot
- Cutting Board
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 5 mushrooms
- 100 grams broccoli
- 1 bunch spinach
- 180 grams chicken thigh (about 1 chicken thigh)
- Small amount olive oil
- 1 tsp grated garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 150 grams macaroni (about 5.5 oz)
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2.5 cups half & half
- 0.5 tsp chicken stock
- Small amount cheese
- Small amount panko
Instructions
Ingredient Preparation
- Slice half of the onion into long slices, and finely chop the other half of the onion.
- Slice the broccoli, mushrooms and spinach
- Heat the spinach and broccoli in a microwave oven for 2 minutes covered
- Chop the chicken into bite-sized junks
- Add a small amount of oil and grated garlic into a frying pan. Add the chicken, sliced onions, and mushrooms into the frying pan and fry on medium heat until the onions change color. Afterwards remove from the heat and set aside for later.
- While frying the chicken, onions, and mushrooms, prepare a pot of boiling water with 0.5 tsp of salt for the macaroni
- Once the water is boiling, add the macaroni and cook for the recommended time on the package
- Use a strainer (or pot lid) to separate the hot water from the macaroni
Creamy Sauce
- Add 3 tbsp of butter and the finely chopped onions into a frying pan and cook until onions change color on medium heat.
- Add 2 tbsp of flour into a large frying pan and mix well on low heat
- Add the 2.5 cups of half & half in small batches and thoroughly mix
- After adding all of the half & half set to medium heat and slowly mix until the sauce thickens.
Add Ingredients to Creamy Sauce
- Add the other ingredients to the sauce (boiled macaroni, fried chicken, onions, and mushrooms, and spinach)
- Add 0.5 tsp of chicken stock and .5 tsp of salt to the sauce and mix well to finish making the gratin filling
- Place the gratin filling into a small baking dish. Top with a small amount of cheese, panko, and broccoli as shown in the picture.
- Bake for 10 minutes in an oven at 450°F (230°C)
- Remove from the oven and enjoy the chicken macaroni gratin!