The Best Easy Chicken Noodle Casserole Recipe
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.
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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
- Emile Henry ruffled pie dish
- Round 2 qt. casserole dish
- 9 x 13 baking dish
- Large wooden spoon
- Silicone whisk
Other Main Dish Ideas
- Easy Baked Spaghetti
- Rosemary Parmesan Chicken
- My Mom’s Pot Roast
- Hearty Potato Soup
- Chicken Pot Pies with Puff Pastry Crust
- Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
- Chicken Salad Fruit Plate
- Beef Barley Soup
- Chicken Noodle Soup
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.
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!
