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.
Hi can I use sour cream instead of mayo.
Thanks
Yolanda
Hi Yolanda, you could – it would just give it a more tangy taste. I haven’t tested it out yet so if you try it – please let me know!
Can I freeze this in a foil pan and bake it in it?
Yep!
I am trying to pin your recipe from pintrest and my link is being blocked. Can you please help me? Thanks
So sorry Gayle! I have been reaching out to Pinterest and apparently it is a glitch in their system and they are working to get it fixed. Please bear with me. It should be fixed soon!
I want to make this for a luncheon in march. Can I make it ahead and freeze. Bake it the day of. Can I bake it frozen and how long? Do I bake it covered?
Hi Lanie, yes you can freeze it, then bake from frozen. Generally, my rule of thumb is to bake it covered for the first half of cooking then remove the cover for the last 10-15 minutes. Add about that same amount of time (10-15 minutes) to the cooking time if cooking from frozen. Every oven heats slightly different so keep an eye on it. 🙂
Sorry, I just saw that other people have said the same. Hope you get it fixed.
Thanks Susan!! Hang in there with me while we sort it out! 🙂
Delicious! It’s hard to find things my kids enjoy and this was a hit!
Looks like a great recipe. However, Pinterest is blocking all my pins from your site, saying they could lead to spam 🙁
I know! I’m sorry! I have a help ticket into them. I’ve heard it’s part of a recent update glitch. Bear with me – we’ll get it fixed!
Glad to hear you know this and are trying to fix. I tired to pin this and got the same Spam block. Looks like a recipe I will like 🙂
Thank you Elizabeth! I am beyond frustrated right now and Pinterest is so slow to respond. I am working on it though. Just hang in there with me!! 😉
Thank you for this great and easy receipe
Good recipe. I changed it up for “fun” I used Greek yogurt vs mayonnaise and half and half vs milk (needed to be used up). Also added Frozen peas and fresh shredded carrots. Added some green chili because I grew up in New Mexico and we add it to everything. Oh, and cooked chicken breast in onions and garlic. It was yummmmmy.
We LOVE this recipe. It received a stamp of approval from both my husband and my 14 month old. I used cream of mushroom and diced cooked chicken breast because canned chicken and the little chunks of chicken in cream of chicken freak me out. Anyway I’m wondering about freezing because it makes so much. Would you suggest freezing before cooking or after? And would it need thawed before reheating or no? How long would you suggest reheating? We have a 14 month old and 6week old so I’m trying to have some meals in the freezer for the days when I can’t really cook.
Yay!! So so thrilled to hear that!! You can actually freeze this before or after. If you are making this and have leftovers, you can freeze the leftovers. Or separate into two separate containers while making and then freeze one. You can cook from frozen, just add about 10 minutes of cooking time. Be sure to cover before cooking so that the outside doesn’t get cooked before the inside. 🙂
This was amazing! I read through the comments and did half sour cream and half mayo, pan fried chicken and onions and it was so yummy! My husband loved it and it’s now going to be a staple dinner in our home.
Can you freeze the leftovers?
Can you use cream of mushroom for this? I don’t have any cream of chicken.
Hello! Do you have to cook the noodles before hand? If I combine them uncooked should I double the sauce since they will probably absorb a great deal of the gravy? I only ask because I hate over cooked noodles even slightly.
Hi Frances, not sure if you can see it in the ingredient listing on my recipe card (it might be a little hard to discern) but the noodles should be cooked and drained. Hope that helps!
I have been looking for a good chicken & noodle casserole and this definitely fits the bill. I think I will take someone’s idea of using 1/2 c mayo & 1/2 c sour cream next time, that sounded good.
Hi I was wondering how the 1/2 mayo and 1/2 sour cream turned out. I am about to make this.
Thank You.
I have tried several chicken noodle casseroles, and this is by far THE BEST!! So easy, flavorful and delicious!!!
Awww wow – thank you so very much Deidre!
Very good. Have made this about 3 times and are having it again tonight. I have tried this per instructions and once used Greek yogurt instead of the mayo. It was great both ways.
Makes my day to hear that Joe! Thank you so much for coming back to comment! Also, thanks for the feedback about the Greek yogurt too 🙂
Made the recipe used fresh chicked breast that i chuncked. Everything else was per your recipe except i used dried onion bits. Personally the mayo was more than i would have used. Next time i will use half mayo and half sour crean and didnt have a pkg of peas and carrots so used pkg of mixed veggies. Anyway the casserole was great and family loved it. My wife does not like to cook so i make all the meals and thank you so much for your recipes. Next on the list is the Amish casserole. Again thanks
Delicious!! I substituted the Panko bread crumbs for crushed Ritz crackers.I also added a 3rd can of cream of chicken just make sure it wasn’t too dry! It was perfect!!
Great substitution! Love hearing that!! Thank you Ashley!
Love this recipe. Very easy to make and husband loved it. Will definitely make it again.
Thank you Donna! I appreciate you taking the time to come back and let me know!
This is a terrific recipe. I did use half sour cream and half mayo like another commenter. Also some smoked paprika on top. I had 2lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts in the freezer I needed to use, and fresh carrots along with the frozen peas. I diced and parboiled the carrots. The chicken got diced and browned in olive oil with poultry seasoning and salt. Everything else was pretty much the same and I had on hand for the recipe. It was really great! Thanks for the perfect idea I needed for dinner!
Love hearing that DJ! Always nice when folks can take a recipe and really make it their own! Love it!
Could I use celery instead of peas?
How much rotisserie chicken would you suggest to use?
Do I cook the noodles first?
Hi Terry – yes you do. 🙂
Can I use leftover chicken breasts instead?
Hi Vanessa, I don’t see why not! 🙂