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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!

Easy Chicken Noodle Casserole served on a white plate with parsley.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

What can I substitute for canned chicken?

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.

Can I use other cream soups?

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!

What else can I use besides panko bed crumbs?

Just use regular bread crumbs, crushed Ritz crackers or crushed saltine crackers.

Can I make this in the crock pot or Instant Pot?

I have not tried making this recipe in a crock pot to Instant Pot, but if you try it, please let me know!

Can this casserole be frozen?

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.

How do I store leftovers?

This chicken noodle casserole is so good as leftovers! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Easy Chicken Noodle Casserole recipe from The Country Cook. Serving shown on a small white plate.

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.
egg noodles, cheese, canned chicken, mayonnaise, peas and carrots, cream of chicken, panko bread crumbs.

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.

chicken, cream of chicken soup, mayonnaise, pease and carrots all mixed together in a bowl.

Gently stir in cooked egg noodles.

egg noodles stirred in with creamy filling mixture in a bowl.

Pour in baking dish. Sprinkle top with bread crumbs.

panko bread crumbs sprinkled on top of chicken noodle casserole in a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Pour melted butter evenly over top of bread crumbs.

pouring melted butter on top of panko bread crumbs.

Bake uncovered for about 30-35 minutes until bubbly and top is golden brown. 

finished, Chicken Noodle Casserole, shown with serving spoon.

CRAVING MORE RECIPES?

Originally published: June 2012
Updated & Republished: January 2020

Easy Chicken Noodle Casserole

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!
4.95 from 466 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

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.
    Chicken Noodle Casserole
  • Stir until combined. Gently stir in 12 ounce package egg noodles, cooked and drained.
    Chicken Noodle Casserole
  • 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.
    Chicken Noodle Casserole
  • Bake uncovered for about 30-35 minutes until bubbly and top is golden brown.
    Chicken Noodle Casserole
  • Dig in and enjoy!
    Easy Chicken Noodle Casserole served on a white plate with parsley

Video

YouTube 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!
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Calories: 745kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 51g | Sodium: 1050mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g

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.

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Recipe Rating




298 Comments

  1. 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?

    1. 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. 🙂

  2. Looks like a great recipe. However, Pinterest is blocking all my pins from your site, saying they could lead to spam 🙁

      1. 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 🙂

  3. 5 stars
    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.

  4. 5 stars
    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.

    1. 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. 🙂

  5. 5 stars
    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.

  6. 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.

  7. 5 stars
    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.

  8. 5 stars
    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.

  9. 5 stars
    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

  10. 5 stars
    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!!

  11. 5 stars
    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!