Dairy Free Chicken Casserole

I found the original recipe in a church cookbook, but I've altered it so much I suppose I could claim it as my own. Here is my dairy free version:

approximately 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded into bite size pieces
2 cups rice cooked in chicken broth (I use instant rice and the broth from my crockpot chicken)
1 celery stalk, finely chopped in food processor
1 small sweet onion, finely chopped in food processor
2 cups dairy free cream of mushroom soup
1 1/3 cup mayonnaise substitute (like Veganaise)
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed (I use whole wheat)
dairy free margarine

Mix all ingredients except Ritz and margarine in a 9x12 casserole dish. (If you can make this ahead of time and let it sit covered in the refrigerator overnight, the flavors blend wonderfully, if not... it's still great!)

Preheat oven 325. Whether you let it sit for a few hours or not, before cooking sprinkle top of casserole with crackers and place small pieces of margarine on top of the crackers.


Bake 40 - 45 minutes. Enjoy!