This easy chicken noodle casserole recipe is a meal your whole family will love. It makes a quick week night dinner or Sunday supper, and uses rotisserie chicken from the deli!
Casserole season is here. This comforting chicken noodle casserole is the ultimate comfort food, and has been a family favorite since my kids were very small. It was one of the meals I could make that EVERYONE liked. Over the years I have changed a few things to make it easier, but the taste is still the same.
This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure statement.
Why This Recipe Works
Even though this creamy chicken noodle casserole is made with simple ingredients, it tastes homemade. It’s literally a warm hug from the kitchen. The creamy sauce is delicious and the tender egg noodles melt in your mouth. Using rotisserie chicken from the grocery store is a great way to cut the prep time in half, and in under an hour, your family will be at the dinner table.
Ingredient Notes + Variations
- I have never tried it, but tuna can be substituted for the chicken. My girlfriend uses their own canned salmon, and she says it’s excellent.
- I always use fresh bread crumbs for the crunchy topping, but panko bread crumbs, crushed potato chips, or cracker crumbs are also great options.
- We love the taste that the cream of celery soup adds, but cream of chicken soup, or cream of mushroom soup can be substituted.
- Kluski noodles are wonderful, but wide egg noodles are also a good choice.
- Store-bought rotisserie chicken is so good and convenient, but any kind of cooked chicken can be used. (Baked and diced chicken breasts, or canned shredded chicken.)
- To make cheesy chicken noodle casserole, sprinkle shredded sharp cheddar cheese, colby jack cheese, or parmesan cheese on the top of this hearty casserole during the last 10 minutes of the baking time.
- For a richer version, substitute whole milk, half and half, or heavy cream, for the lower fat milk.
How To Make
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cook egg noodles over medium heat according to package directions. Drain.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together cream of celery soup, milk and mayonnaise.
- Remove the breast meat from the rotisserie chicken. Roughly chop and add to the soup mixture.
- If there is any juice in the chicken bag, add it to the soup mixture.
- Add the noodles to the soup and chicken. Don’t add them all at once. The mixture should be a little soupy so sometimes I don’t use all the noodles.
- Stir in the peas.
- Put the mixture in a prepared baking dish. Non stick spray works great.
- Make fresh bread crumbs by grinding two hamburger buns in a mini food processor. Put on top of casserole. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Bake for 25 – 30 minutes. When done, top will be golden and edges will bubble.
Tips For Success
- All the measurements featured in the recipe card can be adjusted. I’ve been making this casserole so long that I don’t even measure the ingredients!
- Keep in mind that you want the mixture to be soupy when it’s ready to go in the oven. It will thicken as it cooks and cools.
- Any kind of bread can be used to make fresh bread crumbs. I always use hamburger buns, and they work great. Just pulse the bread in a small food processor, and sprinkle the crumbs on the casserole. Don’t be afraid to be generous!
- It’s easy to make a double batch. Put it in a 9 x 13 baking dish, and plan for it to cook about 15 minutes longer.
- I used to bake this in a basic Pyrex casserole dish. I’ve upped my game a little since the old days…now I use this ruffled baking dish that was a Christmas gift a few years ago. The casserole doesn’t taste any different, but the presentation is much better!
What To Serve With This Creamy Casserole?
Keep it simple. I serve this casserole with fresh fruit or a side salad, and good dinner rolls or crusty bread. This combination is very easy and quick to prepare.
How To Store + Reheat
This chicken casserole is delicious the next day. Simply store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and reheat in the microwave. Leftovers will last up to three days.
I’ve talked many times about my difficulties as an empty nester, and truly, no one knows better than me that we can’t go back. Sometimes though, there’s no harm in thinking about it. On any given day, I would give pretty much anything to have just one meal with my family the way we were back then…before my kids grew up.
Since I can’t do that, I hope some family out there makes this easy chicken noodle casserole recipe for dinner. I hope they sit around a table and talk…and just enjoy each other’s company. At the end of the day, that’s what life is all about.
Shop + Source
*Affiliate links included. See my disclosure statement. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Other Main Dish Ideas
- Easy Baked Spaghetti
- Rosemary Parmesan Chicken
- My Mom’s Pot Roast
- Chicken Pot Pies with Puff Pastry Crust
- Small Batch Chicken Cobbler Recipe
JOIN THE OSP COMMUNITY
Sign up to get uncomplicated recipes, unlimited seasonal decor, and
understated ways to refresh your home sent straight to your email inbox!
The Best Easy Chicken Noodle Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 cups egg noodles (measured before cooking)
- 1 can cream of celery soup
- 1 cup milk (or just fill the soup can)
- 1/2 cup light mayonnaise
- 1 deli rotisserie chicken breast meat only
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- fresh bread crumbs ( I use 2 hamburger buns.)
- olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cook the egg noodles according to package directions. Drain.
- In a large bowl, or right in your casserole dish, whisk together cream of celery soup, milk, and mayonnaise.
- Remove the breast meat from the rotisserie chicken. Roughly chop and add to the soup mixture.
- If there is any juice in the chicken bag, add it to the soup mixture.
- Add the noodles to the soup and chicken. Don’t add them all at once. The mixture should be a little soupy so sometimes I don’t use all the noodles.
- Stir in the peas.
- Put the mixture in a casserole dish prepared with nonstick spray.
- Make fresh bread crumbs by grinding two hamburger buns in a mini food processor. Put on top of casserole. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Bake for 30 minutes. When done, top will be golden and edges will bubble.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you make this recipe, and love it, please come back to leave a comment and a 5-star review. I would really appreciate it, and it would help me so much. Thank you!
Thank you Ann for this recipe. Best time of my life was being home with my children . WE always had meals at the table and it was a good time to connect and talk of the days events. This was before cells phones and iPads! I had good eaters and tried different recipes all the time . Now they too have grown up and living their own lives – one is near raising his family – newborn is 1 week old and the other is on the other coast – my daughter and it’s so hard without her but thankfully we have cell phones, and can communicate easily. I plan on making his casserole for the new parents as well as many others . Do you suppose this would freeze well? Should I freeze precooked or after? Thank you for your lovely blog… I am a long time reader.
So many of our family memories are centered around food. We are empty nesters but are fortunate to see our two grandsons a couple times a week. I make an effort to keep the conversation interesting for them. I will be trying this recipe and the cinnamon bars. The ruffled pie plate is so pretty!
I made your casserole yesterday and it was quite the hit!!Delicious and so creamy and tasty. Bi will definitely make it again.
Thank you for sharing!!
Kathy
Newnan, GA
I’m so glad you liked it!
Ann, I am an empty nester, too. I agree with you about wishing you could bring back the kids to the table. Right now, they are too busy to even return a text or phone call. Sad, & it breaks my heart. But I have to go on. Thank you for your blog, your beautiful watercolor pictures & recipes!!
This chicken casserole looks so yummy and sounds easy to make; just my style!! Thanks for sharing. I’ll be sure to try it soon.
Hi Ann!
I’m going to make this dish tonight!!!
My little grand daughter (31/2) is staying over for her first sleepover!!! And though I too miss the family meals, I am anxious to ensure a legacy with these new little babies.
My grandmother is the one who loved me, and I have very early memories of eating homemade buttered bread and drinking sugar water(before we had koolaid).
God bless,
Carol
My heart is with you Ann!
Thank you for always sharing so honestly!
I know those days are coming quickly for me as well.
Even if from a distance, as Moms we are all in this together.
By being honest we encourage one another and somehow ease a little of the sadness ❤️
After being gone to a professional meeting for a couple of days this will be perfect for supper this evening. So easy and comforting for a meal in the winter and it will let me get caught up on laundry, etc. Will probably use panko bread crumbs – pantry is out of bread to use.
I hear ya’. I’ve been thinking a lot about when my kids we’re younger too. Time really did fly by. Family dinners were enjoyable most of the time especially when I cooked something everyone liked. Thanks for the recipe.
My daughter would love this recipe. I gave my daughter a crock pot last Fall and she loves making Pot Roast, family memories too, and now she can make her own with her family.
That’s one of things I enjoy about your blog, Family!
Have a beautiful weekend Ann,
Kathleen in Az