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This is a quick and easy version of a chicken noodle casserole—perfect for busy nights!
This cozy creamy casserole has chicken, egg noodles, and green peas in shortcut sauce. It’s topped with crumbs and baked until bubbly.
The Easiest Chicken Noodle Casserole Ever…
- Minimal prep and few ingredients make this casserole a weeknight dinner winner.
- It’s creamy, flavorful, and totally effortless.
- It’s a complete meal in just one dish and a versatile way to use your leftovers.
- The topping is cheesy and slightly crispy with a buttery flavor.
- Enjoy this casserole dinner in just 30 minutes for a busy weeknight meal.
Ingredients in Chicken Noodle Casserole
Pasta: I love the light texture of egg noodles in this recipe. You can replace them with another medium pasta such as fusilli or penne.
Chicken: Use rotisserie chicken or leftover cooked chicken in this recipe. Diced ham or leftover turkey can be used to switch it up.
Veggies: Mix in your favorite frozen veggies like peas, carrots, or broccoli. To use fresh vegetables, cook them to tender-crisp before adding them to the dish.
Sauce: The quick version of this sauce uses cream of chicken soup. Cream of celery or cream of mushroom soup are also great in this chicken noodle casserole recipe.
How to Make Chicken Noodle Casserole
One of the things I love best about this family favorite recipe is how easy the prep is!
- Boil noodles in a large pot until al-dente.
- Combine all ingredients in a casserole dish (recipe below).
- Sprinkle on toppings and bake until golden brown and bubbly.
Variations
- Swap out cheddar cheese for anything you have on hand. Try pepper jack for a kick!
- Crushed Ritz crackers can be used as a substitute for Panko bread crumbs.
- Add herbs like fresh thyme or parsley to the sauce for extra flavor and color!
More Cozy Chicken Favorites
Did you enjoy this Chicken Noodle Casserole? Leave a rating and a comment below.
Easy Chicken Noodle Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups egg noodles uncooked, 4 ounces
- 2 cups cooked chopped chicken
- 10.5 ounces condensed cream of chicken soup 1 can, see notes for homemade version
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 cup frozen peas or frozen mixed vegetables
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Topping
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese optional
- 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon melted salted butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the egg noodles al dente (firm) according to package directions. Drain well.
- In a 2-quart casserole dish, combine the cooked egg noodles, shredded chicken, chicken soup, milk, frozen peas, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
- In a small bowl, mix the cheddar cheese, breadcrumbs, and melted butter. Sprinkle the mixture over the casserole.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly. If desired, broil for 1 minute to brown the topping.
Notes
- Seasonings such as thyme or poultry seasoning can be stirred into the sauce. I find canned soup salty enough but you can add additional salt if desired.
- If substituting fresh vegetables, add them to the pasta water during the last few minutes until tender.
- Cook pasta just until it is just al dente.
- If you don’t have cooked chicken, simmer chicken breasts in water or broth for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Save the chicken water for cooking the pasta or for soup.
- 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese or Monterey jack can be added to the sauce if desired.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for 4 days and in the freezer for 4 months.
- ¾ cup milk
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- ½ cup light cream
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon each onion powder and garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter
Place over medium heat and continue whisking until thickened. Stir in butter and season with salt & pepper to taste and use in place of canned cream of chicken soup.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Casserole, Chicken, Main Course, Pasta
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This was the perfect, delicious antidote to a dreary, chilly October evening. I loved the recipe for the homemade cream of chicken “soup.” I had leftover traditional egg noodles and frozen rotisserie chicken pieces from Costco, so preparing this was simple (but oh, so satisfying!)
Thank you for the freezing casseroles hack. Brilliant!
Oh yeah, in addition, I had leftover mixed veges which I added into the mix! A complete meal!
I cooked this today using leftover chicken breasts I grilled last night. I did a few things differently: I sautéed onion and garlic together in butter and added the chicken to the pan. My mom always taught me to “season” the meat, and onion and garlic are almost always needed; then I mixed it all with the soup and noodles. I increased the noodle amount to 3 cups…2 cups just wasn’t enough. Then I put it all into a casserole dish. I melted a 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs, then added 1/2 cup cheddar cheese for the topping. Spread it on top, sprinkled with paprika and parsley, and baked for 25 minutes. Delicious!
That sounds delicious, Lynda! Thank you for sharing.
Will this work with canned chicken breast?
Canned chicken should work well in this recipe.
Can’t wait to try your chicken noodle cassarole (with left over; baked cornish game hen) Thanks for posting simple recipes.
great dish I just add my own homemade sauce with creamed cheese and yogurt it was brilliant thankyou
quick and easy for a busy weeknight dinner
I have made this casserole for YEARS, with minor differences. I use frozen egg noodles (aka Reames) and mushroom soup. I have always used just butter flavored cracker crumbs on top, but the addition of cheese intrigues me! oh, I’ve also substituted corn, green beans or mixed vegetables. All are equally and uniquely delicious!
This was perfect. Quick, simple and satisfying! My 16 year old son said “this is really good, mom”. The changes I made from the original recipe were minimal. I used cream of celery soup, 1% milk, penne regate pasta, and mozzarella cheese.
What a win! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Lindy!
Readers! This is a wonderful recipe! I have made it several times now and it never disappoints. Thank you, Holly for this recipes and many others. I love your website and it is a “goto” when I don’t know what to cook or am tired of my own repetoire.
Thank you so much for your kind words Sal. I am so glad you are enjoying the recipes!
This is a great basic recipe, that can be tweaked in many ways. I make it for my folks all the time. However, it drives me crazy that takes so long to find the actual recipe! Including important things like the ingredients, (which are separated by another ad) and instructions. You literally have to wait through pop-up advertisements, variations, videos and pictures. Most sites has an option to skip to recipe and it is printable. I did not find that here. I may have missed it, in which case I am sorry for the comment. Thank you.
Hi Mary, the “Jump to Recipe” button can be found in the top header bar with the title on the right hand side. I hope this helps!
I LOVE this new twist on a chicken casserole! I added sliced almonds to the mix, which gave it a little more crunch.
In the recipe for condensed cream of chicken soup, it doesn’t say when to add butter or how much chicken put in
Sorry for the confusion Terri, the butter is added at the end once the mixture is thickened. If using the cream of chicken soup in this casserole, I skip the chicken in the condensed soup (there is lots in the casserole). If using in other recipes, I stir in about 3 tablespoons of finely chopped chicken.
Delicious! Enough for 3 meals for 2 people. Freezing 2nd and 3rd portions for later date. Added frozen corn with peas.
It’s good to go back to basics. Ritz crackers is my new topping. Who would’ve thought…..
I give it 4 stars because it’s an easy to make and a good basic casserole. I added some pepper but next time would also add some salt, garlic and/or onion powder. I doubled everything except for the cream of chicken. I used 1 can because that’s all I had but added a little extra milk and used some of the pasta water. It gave it a creamy consistency but not too heavy. I also used fresh broccoli to use it up so steamed it a bit before adding it to the mix.
Can I used pre grilled/cooked chicken?
Hi Abigail, for this recipe we recommend using cooked chicken so you can use pre-grilled, pre-cooked, or even rotisserie chicken! Whatever works best for you.
Made this today for the first time It was tasty but was on the dry side. Not at all creamy. If I make it again, I will add more liquid.
Sorry to hear that, Rose. You can increase the milk or add additional cheese or condensed soup to this recipe to increase the creamy-ness of the sauce.
Made this casserole last night. It was great!
We both thought it was great! Significant other loved it, especially considering it was a chicken dish and a casserole, neither of which he’s too fond of. It was quick and easy. I baked 3 chicken breasts with some Seasoning Salt & Montreal Steak Seasoning. Used farfalle pasta, cream of mushroom w/garlic and mixed vegees as that’s what I had on hand. Threw a little grated cheddar on top and then a little more with the bread crumb mixture.