Easy Chicken Noodle Casserole (+Video)
This Easy Chicken Noodle Casserole is made with egg noodles, chicken breast, a creamy, tasty filling and topped with buttered bread crumbs! A family favorite dinner!
A FAMILY FAVORITE DINNER RECIPE
I love a good casserole. You just can’t beat a tasty and filling meal that is all in one baking dish. This one is made with easy to find ingredients. In fact, you probably have most of these ingredients in your pantry right now!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
I created this recipe to be a “pantry” recipe. Which means I wanted you to be able to pull almost all the ingredients from your pantry to create it. However, you could boil chicken and dice it. You could use a store-bought rotisserie chicken. You could use leftover roasted chicken. You have a lot of options depending on your personal preference.
Cream of mushroom or creamy of celery are also good substitutes for the cream of chicken. Or you can even try making your own cream of chicken soup!
Just use regular bread crumbs, crushed Ritz crackers or crushed saltine crackers.
I have not tried making this recipe in a crock pot to Instant Pot, but if you try it, please let me know!
Yes! Prepare the casserole as directed but don’t bake. Cover the casserole very well. I usually put on a layer of plastic wrap then another layer of aluminum foil before freezing. It will last up to 3 months. Let casserole partially defrost before baking. You will probably need an extra 10 minutes or so of baking time since baking it from cold.
This chicken noodle casserole is so good as leftovers! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- egg noodles – I generally use the no yolk noodles but you can use what you prefer. Whatever you use, it needs to be cooked first.
- chunk chicken breast – as I said above, I wanted this to be a pantry recipe with things you would have on hand and wouldn’t necessarily have to run to the store for. You can certainly substitute with your own cooked chicken.
- cream of chicken soup – any cream soup will pretty much work here as long as you like the taste.
- mayonnaise – not a fan of mayonnaise? Try sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.
- milk – I prefer whole milk or 2 %.
- onion – Don’t have a fresh onion? No problem, don’t run to the store. Just use 1 Tablespoon of dried minced onion.
- shredded cheddar cheese – as you can see in my picture below, I actually ended up using a triple cheese mix when I got around to taking pictures. So please use what you like, it doesn’t have to be just straight cheddar.
- frozen peas and carrots – you could also use frozen mixed vegetables or pretty much whatever frozen vegetable you like.
- panko bread crumbs – any bread or cracker crumbs can be used.
- salted butter – it really should be real butter and not margarine. Margarine won’t brown and crisp up the topping the same as real butter will.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN NOODLE CASSEROLE:
If you haven’t done so already, cook egg noodles and drain well. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine chicken, cream of chicken soup, mayonnaise, milk (or water), diced onion, shredded cheese and frozen peas and carrots. Stir until combined.
Gently stir in cooked egg noodles.
Pour in baking dish. Sprinkle top with bread crumbs.
Pour melted butter evenly over top of bread crumbs.
Bake uncovered for about 30-35 minutes until bubbly and top is golden brown.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Originally published: June 2012
Updated & Republished: January 2020
Chicken Noodle Casserole (+Video)
Ingredients
- 2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken breast, drained (or store-bought rotisserie chicken)
- 2 (10.5 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup milk
- ½ onion, finely diced
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 ½ cups frozen peas and carrots
- 12 ounce package egg noodles, cooked and drained
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 stick salted butter (1/2 cup), melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine 2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken breast, drained, 2 (10.5 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup, 1 cup mayonnaise, 1 cup milk, 1/2 onion, finely diced, 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese and 1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots.
- Stir until combined. Gently stir in 12 ounce package egg noodles, cooked and drained.
- Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle top evenly with 1 cup panko bread crumbs.
- Pour 1 stick salted butter (1/2 cup), melted evenly over top of bread crumbs.
- Bake uncovered for about 30-35 minutes until bubbly and top is golden brown.
- Dig in and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Feel free to use store-bought rotisserie chicken or any leftover chicken meat you may have (grilled chicken also tastes wonderful with this recipe.)
- Cream of mushroom or creamy of celery are also good substitutes for the cream of chicken.
- Regular bread crumbs or crushed Ritz crackers can be substituted for the panko bread crumbs.
- I have not tried making this recipe in a crock pot to Instant Pot but if you try it, please let me know!
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Family loves this! It’s simple to make and very satisfying.
Yay! Thanks so much Nellie!!
This was so good, and gave plenty of leftovers, and it was still just as tasty the next day!
One of my family’s favorites. It is amazing how much this makes.
Yay! Thanks so much for coming back to leave a review Katherine!
Question, Do you bake this and then freeze? Or prepare everything and then freeze it? What would the cooking instructions be for a frozen dish? Thanks 🙂
Hi Jennifer, prepare it all but don’t cook. Just wrap it really well to avoid freezer burn. I’ve never cooked it from frozen so can’t say for certain but try adding on an additional 10 minutes and go from there (same cooking temp.) 🙂
Simple, easy, darn good! This meal was a hit at home and in my office. Made a few modifications such as half & half instead of milk and used mixed frozen vegetables that included green beans!
Love that you added a few things to make it your own! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and comment Richard!
This was so good I can’t wait to find new recipes
sorry forgot the 5 stars
This is very good. I used mixed vegetables instead of peas and carrots, and also I added some paprika in the melted butter and poured it over the panko crumbs. Not only was it delicious but it looked nice too.
Hi Glenda, love the addition of the veggies and paprika! Great idea!
Delicious. Delicious. Delicious. And so stinking easy!
The ingredients says 1 cup of milk. I think there was a mistake in the directions saying water instead of milk. I am making this right now … sounds often … I will know son enough!! Enjoy!! Can’t comment on it for a couple of hours.
Have made this before and it’s so delish I’m making it for a friend having a baby soon! If i freeze a whole pan do i do that after cooking or before? And what cooking instructions would I give her if it’s frozen? Thanks!!
Awww – you are SO sweet Amanda! What a great friend you are! So, what you want to do is prepare it all then put it into a disposable baking pan. Don’t cook. Cover really well so it doesn’t get freezer-burned. If you use any kind of plastic wrap, make sure to tell her to remove the plastic before cooking. Mom fog is REAL after having a baby – LOL. Then bake on 350f degrees, top shelf, for about 45 minutes (or until top is golden brown and the edges are bubbly.) Hope that helps!
I replaced panko topping with whole wheat butter crackers. Love the ease and quickness of this simple casserole.
Great substitution!!
We just downsized and moved into a community with apartments. Being so tired I saw your recipe and with 1/2 of a rotisserie chicken in refrig, so easy and oh so good !! Will freeze the rest for quick meals. Thanks
I think my kids would love this but no peas and carrots. Do you think it would be ok without them?
Of course! Maybe you could toss in a vegetable you know they’ll love! 🙂
Hello,
About how much rotisserie chicken do you add to the recipe?
Thank you
Melissa
2 cups should work perfectly for this recipe.
So yummy! I halved the recipe, used crushed saltine crackers for the breadcrumbs, and drizzled with olive oil. Only thing I’d change is adding plenty of salt and pepper. Keeping this for my recipe box. 🙂
This was so delicious on a cold December day!!
Does there happen to be a sodium calculation by chance?
Has anyone substituted anything for the mayonnaise? Sour cream maybe? My family hates mayo & I'm not sure if they'll taste it in this or if I could sneak it by them.
I have substituted half the mayo with sour cream and it was great. Also, another commenter said she substituted sour cream for the mayo and her results were good.
I made this the other night for my husband and my best friend and we LOVED it!! My girlfriend asked for the recipe and my husband said that this recipe was a keeper! Thank you for sharing all your recipes!!
OMGoodness….I just made this cassrole for dinner yesterday
for the husband and I. It was totally delish…I did however add
about 1/2 cup sour cream to the mix and it truly turned out
magnificent…im constantly cooking my weekly meals based
on your recipes….oh they are all wonderful and so easy.
I vote u cook of the year in my opinion Brandie!!! 🙂
Im a true blue fan of ur blog and recipes etc. ..from up here
in good ol' West Virginia. THANKS SO Much FOR all YOU do.
I've made this twice – once with Panko (Asian sect. @ a Meijer store) and once with smashed potato chips and both were loved by all! The younger people preferred the crushed potato chips as a topping.
Just made this for dinner and was a huge hit. The only changes I were; I added a full onion because we love onions, 2nd change was I used Italian seasoned panko and boy was it good.
Do you happen to know if this would freeze well?
Jill, she posts that she freezes half because she has a small family and the 13X9 makes a lot. 🙂
Is there something I could substitute for the mayo?
We really enjoyed this tonight! I didn't have the right kind of bread crumbs or crackers, so just used regular bread crumbs and it was still fine. Look forward to trying it with the right ones next time, as well as cheese (totally forgot to add the cheese and didn't remember till halfway through dinner!). We all loved it! Thank you !
* I am not sure if my first comment got to you because of a gmail glitch*
I just recently found your blog. We tried this recipe and loved it. I was a skeptic about warm mayo mixed with soup, but hey, it worked great. I did sauté the onion and added some celery. I did not have the breadcrumbs you listed, but I did have Ritz. It tasted so creamy and good. Thank you for a new way to make an ole chicken noodle dish more appealing to my family.
Thank you for picking me as the winner! Love your blog and recipes!