The Cozy Cookbook is here! This Chicken Noodle Casserole is easy to make with canned soup or with my homemade cream of mushroom! It’s got a delicious cheese sauce with sour cream, broccoli, and juicy chicken. This makes a great make-ahead meal and freezer food!
Try my Broccoli Cheddar Chicken and Rice Casserole next!
Chicken Noodle Casserole
If you’re familiar with The Cozy Cook, you probably know that casserole recipes are pretty common around here. This chicken noodle casserole is a classic comfort food. No fancy ingredients, and very easy to customize.
You can use peas and carrots instead of broccoli, use leftover rotisserie chicken, and play around with different cheese options. You can also make this with my homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup or cream of chicken soup!
PS- This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 181!
How to Make It
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the seasoned chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Toss, and add the broccoli. Continue to cook until chicken is cooked through, about 3 more minutes. Remove from heat.
Add sour cream, milk, cream of mushroom soup, and sharp white cheddar to the pot and toss to combine.
Cook pasta for 1 minute less than al dente (refer to box for cooking time). Drain, and add to the pot with the sauce. Use a silicone spatula to gently toss to combine.
If the pot isn’t oven safe, transfer it to the lightly greased 9 x 13 casserole dish and top with regular cheddar cheese. Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Remove cover and top with crispy fried onions. Bake for 8 more minutes. Serve with Garlic Bread with Cheese.
Using Frozen Broccoli
- 2 cups of frozen broccoli (and/or cauliflower) can also be used. Just be sure you thaw and pat it dry!
- Frozen broccoli is already blanched so you don’t need to cook it prior to mixing the casserole together unless you like your broccoli on the softer side.
- Frozen peas, green beans, or carrots make a great addition too. Thaw them out prior to baking or increase covered baking time by 5-7 minutes.
Make Ahead Method
- Follow assembly instructions and let the casserole completely cool. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Add 15 minutes to covered baking time.
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- 14-inch oven-safe nonstick pan. Perfect for preparing this recipe without having to transfer it to a casserole dish.
- 9 x 13 inch casserole dish– an Alternative baking vessel that’s the perfect size for most casseroles.
- Silicone Spatula– Makes it easy to gently incorporate the pasta into the sauce without breaking the noodles.
Try These Next
-
- Buffalo Chicken Pizza
-
- Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits
-
- Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
-
- Beefaroni
-
- Cheese Pasta
-
- Taco Spaghetti
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Chicken Noodle Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups diced chicken, about 2 small chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 3/4 teaspoon Garlic Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 3 cups dry Rotini
- 10.5 oz. condensed cream of mushroom soup, (cream of chicken works well too)
- 1 cup sour cream, (or 8 oz.)
- 1/2 cup milk, any kind
- 2 cups sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup regular cheddar, shredded
- 1 cup French’s crispy fried onions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Season the chicken with 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, 3/4 tsp. garlic salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper.
- Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes.
- Toss the chicken and add the broccoli. Cook for 3-4 additional minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat.
- Cook the rotini for 1 minute less than al dente, refer to package for cooking time.
- Meanwhile, add the cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, milk, and 2 cups sharp white cheddar to the pot with the chicken & broccoli. Stir to combine.
- Drain the pasta and add it to the pot. Use a silicone spatula to gently mix until combined.
- If the pot isn't oven safe, transfer to a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.
- Top with 1 cup regular cheddar. Cover and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove cover and add crispy fried onions. Bake uncovered for 8 minutes. Serve with Garlic Bread with Cheese.
Notes
- 2 cups of frozen broccoli can also be used. Just be sure you thaw and pat it dry!
- Frozen broccoli is already blanched so there's no need to cook it in the pot with the chicken unless you prefer very soft broccoli.
- Frozen peas, green beans, or carrots make a great addition too. Thaw them out prior to baking or increase covered baking time by 5-7 minutes.
Make Ahead Method
- Follow assembly instructions and let the casserole completely cool. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Add 15 minutes to covered baking time.
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 181!
Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. There are 6 servings in this recipe.
This was very good. This will be added to my keep recipes 🙂
Hi Misty! That’s great, I’m so happy that you enjoyed it! My mother in law gave me this recipe awhile ago and I’ve been making it ever since! 🙂
This was excellent! I was looking for something simple to make for dinner and I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand so I gave it a try. I followed the recipe exactly as written and my whole family loved it! Thank you for posting !!
Hi Kathy, I’m so glad the whole family enjoyed the Chicken Noodle Casserole! Like you said, I find myself making this one a lot because it’s easy and I usually have the ingredients already in the house.😀
Could I double the recipe (family of 6 here) and still fit in 9×13 and same cook time?
Hi Kim! You wouldn’t be able to fit it all in a single 9 x 13 dish unfortunately, it would not only overflow but you wouldn’t be able to get the cover on top of it, (even if you used foil it would be so tight that the cheese would melt on the foil). You would want to distribute it among 2 separate casserole dishes and keep the cooking time the same.
Got it, thank you!!!
Have you made this in the crockpot ?
Hi Aimee! I haven’t, if you want to give it a try I would boil the noodles for 2-3 minutes less than al dente and rinse with cold water after to stop the cooking process. Drain well and combine with the other ingredients and cook for 2 hours on high or 3 hours on low. I don’t like to fully cook the noodles in the Crock Pot because they end up being a bit “gummy”. I hope that helps!
Looks fabulous! What do you serve with it?
Hi Nancy! It would go great with my Cheesy Garlic Bread or Buttermilk Biscuits
Very nice casserole dish. Followed your directions and it came out perfectly!
Kari, NY
Hi Kari, I’m so glad you liked the Chicken Noodle Casserole and found the directions helpful! Thanks for sharing!😀
This is one of my new favorite casseroles. My husband and son are going back for thirds! Absolutely delicious !!!!
That’s great to hear Mindi! This is definitely a popular one in our house too. Thanks so much for the review!😊😊😊
What could you use if you can’t have chicken?
Hi Nicole! You could actually make this as a meatless meal if you’d rather!
I made this last night. It was delicious! I used 2 chicken breasts, a little more broccoli, and a little more of the fried onions than the recipe calls for. The rotini is great because it really helps hold all the cheese and other ingredients together. It makes 6 servings, and I was hoping to get 3 meals out of it, but my husband ate 2 servings last night! LOL!
Thanks so much Ashley, so glad you guys enjoyed it!!!😀😀😀
Will this work with no fired onions??
It sure will!! Enjoy!!