Chicken Noodle Casserole

8 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Chicken Noodle Casserole is all the comfort of chicken noodle soup and chicken casserole in just 45 minutes with a bonus cheese sauce and crispy topping kids will love!

Similar to our super popular Million Dollar Baked Spaghetti but more of a classic than our 5 ingredient Cheesy Taco Pasta that went crazy viral on Pinterest, this Chicken Noodle Casserole is a classic kid favorite!

Chicken Noodle Casserole spooned onto a plate CHICKEN NOODLE CASSEROLE

This chicken noodle casserole recipe is a good one for first time cooks in the kitchen, since it is easy to make and you will be impressed with the result. It’s also a great weeknight dinner for when you have a million other things you have to do. This casserole recipe takes our easy Chicken Casserole recipe just a couple steps further by adding some mixed vegetables and noodles to the mix.

We include a breadcrumb (well, it is Ritz crackers which is essentially buttery breadcrumbs) topping, so this takes the casserole immediately over the top. Plus it creates a second texture to your food. Texture is important in creating a sense of fun with food, especially with kids.

How to Make Chicken Noodle Casserole

You start by preparing your pasta. Always boil the noodles for a minute less than what the instructions on the package tell you, because you will also be baking them and you don’t want them overcooked.

Once the noodles are cooking, cut your chicken breasts into cubes and cook them in a skillet in olive oil, making sure they cook all the way through. You can also use a rotisserie chicken if you don’t want to cook your own chicken breasts.

You can even use what leftover rotisserie chicken meat you have. Some stores (Costco and Sprouts immediately come to mind) even sell specific rotisserie chicken breast meat already taken off freshly cooked chickens.

Once they are done, set them in a large bowl and add the cooked pasta and all of the other ingredients, leaving the crackers and butter for last.

Crush the crackers and combine them together with the butter, then spread the mixture over the top of the chicken casserole. All that’s left to do is set the pan in the oven and let it cook until its golden brown.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH YOUR CASSEROLE

Roasted Vegetables: And these are perfectly Rainbow hued, what’s not to love!
Garlic Bread: The perfect crunchy, bread or Dinner Rolls, the perfect soft bread option.
Olive Garden Salad: This delicious recipe is as easy as making cereal!
Peach Cobbler or Apple Crisp: A delicious baked dessert you can bake along side this dinner!

If you are craving something sweet after dinner, follow your casserole up with some Oreo Cheesecake.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

WHAT DOES CASSEROLE MEAN?

It comes from the French word “casse,” which means “pan.” Casseroles started looking the way we picture them in the 1800s, and American chefs fell in love with the idea of a complex dish baked and served in one pan in the 1950s, says Wikipedia. Seriously, what’s not to love about not having to clean up a bunch of dishes?

SAFE TEMPERATURE

According to the USDA’s webpage, a casserole should have an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (73.9 degrees C). You should check with a probe thermometer before chowing down just to make sure everything has cooked through.

STORING YOUR CASSEROLE

Serve: If you leave your chicken noodle casserole out at room temperature for longer than two hours, you definitely shouldn’t eat it. Get your food covered and refrigerated as soon as it cools.
Store: Your casserole can be in the fridge for three days before it goes bad, due to the meat in it.
Freeze: Chicken noodle casserole is absolutely freezer friendly, and can stay good for up to 4 months once frozen.

More Easy Recipes for Dinner:

Creamy chicken, veggies, noodles and cheese make this Chicken Noodle Casserole a perfect weeknight comfort food casserole the whole family will enjoy.

Chicken Noodle Casserole with Ritz Cracker Topping in baking dish

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Chicken Noodle Casserole

Chicken Noodle Casserole is all the comfort of chicken noodle soup and chicken casserole in just 45 minutes with a bonus cheese sauce and crispy topping kids will love!
Yield 8 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 12 ounces egg noodles , uncooked
  • 2 chicken breasts , boneless skinless
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 cloves garlic , minced
  • 20 ounces cream of chicken soup , (2 cans)
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables , (corn, peas and carrots)
  • 20 Ritz Crackers , crushed into fine crumbs
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Cook the pasta 2 minutes shy of the directions then drain (do not rinse).
  • Cut the chicken into 1" cubes and cook in a skillet on medium high heat with the olive oil.
  • Cook for 3-4 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked, then remove from the pan to a large mixing bowl.
  • Add the pasta, salt, pepper, garlic, soup, milk, cheese and vegetables and carefully mix then place into a 9x13 baking dish.
  • Add the Ritz crackers and butter to a small skillet on medium heat until the butter is melted, stirring occasionally until the cracker crumbs start to toast, about 2-3 minutes.
  • Add the cracker crumbs over the chicken noodle mixture and bake for 30-35 minutes uncovered.

Nutrition

Calories: 412kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 103mg | Sodium: 862mg | Potassium: 409mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 435IU | Vitamin C: 0.9mg | Calcium: 216mg | Iron: 1.9mg

Noodle Casserole with creamy chicken

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. This sounds awesome! I am definitely trying this one!
    But, I’ll use my trusty Tyson frozen, grilled breast strips. They’ve changed my cooking life. It’s like having rotisserie chicken in the freezer whenever I need it!

    1. I know your meal is long gone now, sorry for the delay. You could certainly skip the cheese, but it sort of binds things together a bit better and helps it be more “Casserole” like. Maybe a different cheese?

  2. Loved it! I added green pepper and used panko bread crumbs for the top. I will make this casserole often. Thanks for posting it.

  3. So good, the toasted Ritz make it. I added some garlic and parsley to the crackers while roasting. Husband and son loved it.

  4. I love this casserole. I used canned vegetables instead of frozen. (Just what I had on hand). It turned out perfect. I recommend this to all my friends. Excellent, you really should try it!

  5. Great recipe!! Love some of the suggestions that were given and the casserole was a hit, will make this again.

  6. What a terrific recipe, Sabrina! I’m anxious to try it later this week, but with some changes, …. due to my family’s needs & preferences. I plan to use Whole Grain Egg Noodles, since that’s what I always buy. I will use ‘Heart Healthy’ soup, and I’ll also add in several large fresh sliced Baby Bella (Crimini) mushrooms, some diced Celery, diced Onion, and a small shredded Carrot. When making any casserole which calls for milk, I ALWAYS use Evaporated Milk, since it provides a creamy texture, and you won’t find water at the bottom of your casseroled dish when it finishes cooking. That’s because ALL of the water is extracted from the milk before it’s put into the can, so you’re using pure milk. I’m sure that we’ll all love this dish, but I hope that you aren’t upset that I changed it up to suit our personal needs. BTW, I’m SO looking forward to your new Friday posts.

  7. This casserole saved me this week when I needed to get a dinner together fast, luckily I had all the ingredients on hand! It was a hit, thanks!