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
-
- Ground Beef Stroganoff
-
- Pizza Pasta
-
- Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
-
- Broccoli Cheese Soup
-
- Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits
-
- Chicken and Gravy
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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)
- 8 oz. sour cream, equal to one cup
- 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 recipe was amazing. My kids loved it and even ask when I’m going to cook it again! Thank you cozy cook.
Nothing better than getting that approval from the kiddos Angel, nice work!🙌 Thanks so much for the great comments!
This recipe was delish. My husband doesn’t like vegetables so I chopped the broccoli extra fine and he enjoyed it and said it was so good until he figured out there was broccoli in it. Lol. Only thing I did different was I put smashed up ritz on the top with some butter. It was really good though.
I’m so happy it was such a hit Angela, I like your little sneak attack with your husband 🤣. Thanks so much for the great review!
Your thoughts on using egg noodles instead of rotini??? Thanks
It can be done, but they’re much thinner and less likely to hold up as much as rotini will with this creamy sauce 🙂
Can I use raw broccoli for this? How would the cooking time change?
Hi Nicole, the broccoli in this recipe is raw, so you are set to follow the recipe as outlined 🙂
This casserole is a big hit at our house. I love putting tobasco on my serving yum!! I short cut and get a rotisserie chix, strip it down and chop it. I season it as listed, throw it in the skillet with broccoli and proceed as normal. I also vouch for purchasing block cheese and shredding it instead of buying shredded.
Using rotisserie chicken is definitely a great short cut, yummy too! And you’re definitely right, fresh cheese from a block is so key! Thanks so much for the great comments and for taking the time to leave a review!❤️
This was really yummy! I added onions and garlic when I cooked the chicken. I used cream of chicken instead of cream of mushroom because I don’t like mushrooms.
I’d like to try this with Swiss cheese the next time I make it.
I bet swiss would be so yummy! I’m so happy you enjoyed this Amy, thanks so much for the great review!😀
Can I use bread crumbs as topping instead of fried onions?
You sure can!
I made this for my family and it was a hit! I think next time I’ll double up on the sauce. Everyone went back for seconds!
I’m so happy this was a hit Kate! Such a great family meal. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and review!❤️
Made without chicken and added 1/2 tsp of dry mustard. Added a little more cheese to use up some random packages in the fridge. Omitted the fried onions. Baked, covered, 20 minutes. Hit the spot!
I’m so happy you liked this one Jennifer! You can never have too much cheese 😋! Thanks so much for the great review!
I did enjoy this, but next time I think I’ll use less noodles since it seemed kinda dry after baking. 🙂
Hi Andrea! I’m glad that you liked it! I’m surprised to hear about the pasta as I’m always careful to ensure the pasta is always covered in plenty of sauce. (Dry pasta is not okay in my book!)- Did you make any modifications? And you definitely used 3 cups of dry pasta in this? (A 1/2 lb. or half of a box?) Thank you so much for leaving a review, I really appreciate it! -Stephanie
Do you mix the sour cream and the cream of mushroom while its still on the stove top or take it off and mix it all together?
Either way is fine, the heat is already off 🙂
I think I cooked the pasta too long – can I bake the casserole less overall??
Yes, you can bake until the cheese is just melted!