Cheesy Chicken Casserole is an easy, cozy dinner with tender pasta, chicken, peppers, and onions in a creamy cheesy sauce. It’s topped with more cheese and baked until hot, melty, and bubbly.
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Why I Love This Chicken Casserole
If you’re looking for a weeknight dinner, cheesy chicken casserole is your answer. It’s super quick to make.
You can use leftovers or rotisserie chicken or make poached chicken breasts (it’s great with baked chicken breasts too)!
Swap out the cream of chicken soup for cream of mushroom or celery in this dish.
This cheesy chicken casserole can be prepped ahead of time and kept in the fridge until you’re ready to bake it meaning you can make it tonight and cook it tomorrow!
Ingredient Notes
This easy chicken casserole can be adapted to use whatever you might have in your fridge:
- Chicken: Swap it for turkey or ham if it’s all you have on hand.
- Pasta: Any medium pasta will work in this recipe. Be sure to cook it al dente (so it’s still a bit firm), it’ll cook more in the oven.
- Vegetables: Cook and/or drain your veggies before adding to this casserole. Mushrooms, diced tomatoes (drained if using canned), leftover Grilled Zucchini or roasted veggies all work well.
- Sauce: Use cream of whatever-you-have-in-your-pantry (or make a homemade condensed mushroom soup). Of course any kind of cheese goes here!
- Topping: Chicken casseroles are a staple basically everywhere, usually topped with cheese. It’s also great with a bread crumb topping. Combine 3 tablespoons panko crumbs with 1 tablespoon melted butter (add a bit of garlic powder, salt & pepper too). Sprinkle overtop and bake as directed.
How To Make a Cheesy Chicken Casserole
The steps to make this chicken casserole are pretty simple:
- Boil pasta al dente.
- Soften onion and peppers in butter.
- Mix the sauce ingredients and cheese. Stir in chicken and pasta.
- Top with cheese and bake until bubbly.
Serve it with your favorite sides and enjoy!
How To Reheat
To reheat it, just pop it back in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes! If the sauce is a creamy sauce like a mac and cheese, I usually add a dash of milk and cover before heating.
If you are using the microwave to reheat the cheesy chicken casserole, add a splash of milk to the dish and stir it half way through cooking to keep it from drying out.
What to Serve with Chicken Casserole
Did you enjoy this Cheesy Chicken Casserole? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups medium shells uncooked
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion finely diced
- ⅓ cup diced red bell pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1⅓ cups milk
- 3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese divided
- ⅓ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 3 cups cooked chopped chicken
- 4 ounces canned mild green chiles
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F.
- Cook shells al dente according to package directions.
- In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and red bell pepper and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chili powder and seasoned salt.
- In a large bowl combine soup, onion mixture, milk, 2 cups cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese. Mix well. Stir in chicken, green chiles, and pasta.
- Spread into a 9×13 casserole dish. Top with remaining 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese.
- Bake 30-35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Casserole, Main Course
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My family loves this
Great recipe!
This came out delicious ! This was my very first ever casserole and it was super easy and absolutely tasty ! Thankyou so very much for sharing!!
I am so glad you enjoyed the casserole Alyssa!
Sond great!
Thanks Penny!
Great recipes
Thank you Nilsa!
Leftover KFC was transformed into a feast!
Such a good idea Teri!
Very very good and easy
Thanks Cyndee!
Can rotini pasta be used? And if so is it the same amount?
Yes it should be fine, you should be able to substitute it directly Shan. Enjoy!
Well I did some changes, i used 1 cn of cream of chicken plus 1 cn of cheddar cheese soups 1 and a half of those cans milk, i had frozen pepper and onion mix so added that to the soup mixture, i added the chicken( I had shredded) in the freezer, no chillis this time, I also used 12oz of Queso Panela half mixed in and other half sprinkled on top, with some bread crumbs for a crispy topping
That sounds delicious LaTina, thanks for sharing.
Great recipes
Thanks Melissa!
As always your recipe was a hit. My husband walked by as I was making and commented that it looked good. I used a different pasta ( did not have shells ) rotisserie chicken and sprinkled some chopped cooked bacon over before the cheese topping. I actually measured everything out per your recipe . Definitely a keeper
I am so glad your family enjoyed the recipe Randee and that you were able to make it work with what you had on hand!
This is delicious!
Totally agree Denise!
Will this recipe work with elbow macaroni? If so, can you suggest quantities?
Yes it should be fine, you should be able to substitute it directly Prissl. Enjoy!
Love the step by step videos!!
Yay! So happy you found it helpful Lidia.
I cooked up my veggies in a cast skillet and I added about a quarter cup of sour cream to the mix and it was a huge hit. We loved it. Thank you.
Next time we plan to try it with some taco sauce as well.
Mmmm, that sounds delicious Tammy! Let us know how it turns out.
This was easy and very tasty. I used cooked rice instead of noodles to make it gluten free and I also stirred in a heaping tsp of Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base to help enrich and deepen flavor. Yum!
Those additions sound delicious Lori!
Hey Holly, Just dropping by to tell you I love this recipe and I linked to it in one of my recipes for chicken that’s publishing soon.
So glad you loved the recipe Paula! Thanks!
Shredded or bite size chicken? Which is preferred?
Both work equally as well, so use whichever you prefer Kristina. Enjoy!
Which shells are better to use, the small or medium?
I prefer the small shells, but it is totally up to you. Enjoy!
Thanks!!!! Making this again tomorrow, i made it with the medium shells last time and it didnt seem right!!!!! This dish was a HIT with the family!!!!!!
Love hearing when dishes are a big hit with the whole family Carrie!
Do we had the can of water with the cream of chicken as well?
No water is needed, use the condensed soup right from the can.
Did you mean only 1 can of soup or is it really 10 cans??
This is one can (10.75 oz size). Enjoy!
This looks tasty! If you were to make it in a crockpot, would you put the milk in at the start or at the end? I’m thinking two chicken breast with all of the ingredients but the cooked noodles; add those at the end. Put the milk in then too?
The milk, soup and cheese all get mixed together to create a sauce. I haven’t tried this in the slow cooker so it’s hard to say, please let us know how it goes for you!