This easy Chicken Noodle Casserole recipe is the ultimate comfort food! Made with egg noodles, chicken, and veggies in a creamy sauce just like Grandma used to make.
Grandma’s chicken and noodle casserole is the ultimate comfort food!
Cozy Soup Vibes Baked Into a Chicken and Noodle Casserole!
I love a good soup for dinner, like our crockpot chicken and dumplings, tomato soup recipe, and crockpot vegetable beef soup!
Soup tends to be hearty and filling, warm and cozy, and almost always easy.
But what if we turned soup into something even more hearty…like a chicken noodle casserole? All the components of our favorite crockpot chicken noodle soup, but without all the bowls and spoons and broth. This is chicken and noodles that you can eat with a fork.
This recipe reminds us a bit of our chicken pot pie casserole, but with noodles in place of biscuits.
When you want something thick and hearty, packed with chicken and veggies, and all mixed up in a creamy sauce, this is the one.
Plus it’s simple to make and quite possibly the easiest way to get my kids to eat peas and carrots, which is no small feat.
What We Love About This CHICKEN NOODLE CASSEROLE Recipe:
This is simple comfort food: tender noodles, chicken, and veggies with just enough creamy sauce to bring everything together. No cheese needed! The sour cream and cream of chicken soup coat the noodles without making the casserole overly thick or heavy.
It’s also a great way to use leftover chicken (or turkey!), and you can have it on the table in about 45 minutes.
Ingredient Notes:
Egg Noodles – Dried or frozen egg noodles both work here. Cook according to the package directions until al dente before mixing them into the casserole.
Chicken – Use cooked chicken, chopped or shredded. Rotisserie chicken keeps things easy, but this is a great use for our crockpot shredded chicken or Instant Pot Whole Chicken. Leftover turkey also works great here.
Veggies – We use frozen peas and carrots, thawed first. Drained canned mixed vegetables are an easy swap, or use whatever canned vegetables your family enjoys.
Cream Soup – Canned soup keeps things simple, or use our homemade cream of chicken soup substitute. Cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup also works.
Sour Cream – This adds a little tang and helps make the sauce creamy without adding cheese.
Spice – Spicy brown mustard adds a little depth to the sauce. Dijon works too and has less bite, or leave the mustard out entirely if you prefer.
How to Make Chicken Noodle Casserole:
Cook the egg noodles according to package directions. Drain them and pop them in a mixing bowl.
While the pasta cooks, cook the onion and garlic in the butter to soften them up.
Add the onion and garlic along with the rest of the ingredients to the noodles and give them a big stir to combine.
Spread this into a 9×13 baking dish and bake at 350 for 15 minutes to warm it all through. Serve this with a side of our quick dinner rolls!
Helpful Tip!
Adding Flavor
The spicy brown mustard isn’t the most traditional ingredient for a recipe based on chicken noodle soup, but we like that the acidity and bit of spice helps to cut the richness of the casserole a bit and adds another layer of flavor. It balances out the flavors nicely. Feel free to omit or use 1/2 teaspoon of dry ground mustard instead.
Swaps & Tips:
- Like it extra creamy? Stir an extra can of cream of chicken soup into the filling. The recipe as written has a light, creamy coating of sauce on the noodles.
- Use what you have: Leftover turkey works just as well as chicken, and either can be chopped or shredded.
- Swap the veggies: Drained canned mixed vegetables are a great shortcut. Other canned vegetables work too, so use your favorites.
- Don’t overcook the noodles: Cook dried or frozen noodles just until al dente, since they’ll spend a little more time in the oven.
- Adjust the mustard: Use spicy brown for a little bite, Dijon for a milder option, or skip it entirely.
Can You Make Chicken Noodle Casserole Ahead of Time?
Yes! Assemble the casserole up to 24 hours ahead, but add an extra can of cream of chicken soup to the filling. The noodles soak up some sauce as they sit overnight, and that extra sauce helps keep the casserole from drying out.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to bake. Bake covered at 350°F for about 45 minutes, or until heated through.
Serving Suggestions:
This chicken casserole with noodles is pretty much a complete meal all by itself but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it with a variety of sides!
Try it with our cheesy jalapeno bread, sweet cornbread recipe, or our famous beer bread.
A simple side salad is another choice here. It’s a light option which will contrast nicely with the hearty casserole. Enjoy a salad with my homemade Greek dressing or our honey mustard dressing!
Chicken Noodle Casserole
Ingredients
- 16 ounces dried egg noodles
- 1/2 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
- 10.75 ounces cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup sour cream
- 12 ounces frozen peas and carrots thawed
- 2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon cracked pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the egg noodles and cook according to package directions. Drain and place in a large mixing bowl.
- While the noodles are cooking, dice the onion and mince the garlic.
- Heat the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute.
- Add the onion and garlic to the bowl of noodles along with the chicken, soup, sour cream, peas and carrots, mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Spoon into a 9×13 baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes or until heated through.
Tips & Notes:
Video
Nutrition Information:
This recipe was originally published in August 2015. It was updated with new photos in January 2022. Original photo below:
Kathleen S says
Hi Karly I really enjoyed this meal thanks for posting this recipe! Was easy to prepare
Carla Penny-Skidmore says
My husband and I ate a lot of tuna noodle casseroles when we were dirt poor. We ate a lot of mac and cheese, too. We still like them but not nearly so often. Now, we can afford beef, pork, chicken, but I cook the chicken cutlets and I do not care for shredded chicken. We eat a lot of chicken as it is so versatile you can cook it in many different ways.
Melanie Julsonnet says
This is my new favorite casserole. I made it just as the recipe said.
Karly says
That’s awesome! Thanks, Melanie!
Judith Bonanni says
Tasty, easy and filling! For a variation, on another occasion , I used some curry powder rather than mustard powder… really good!
Karly Campbell says
Sounds delicious!
Tracey wilson says
I love to get all the recipes
Val says
I made this tonight with leftover turkey. I didn’t fry the onion with garlic. We like onion with a bit of crunch and I used 2 teaspoons of garlic powder instead of the clove. It was absolutely delicious! My boyfriend enjoyed it just as much.
Sherry says
What are the nutrition details for it ?
Why don’t you ever contain nutrition details? I am watching my carbohydrate intake.
Karly says
I choose to spend my time developing new recipes to share here. If you’re interested in nutrition info, you can easily plug the recipe into a nutrition calculator.
Kathy says
Please tell me what the casserole tastes like, not what it looks like!!!!!
Karly says
Well…I did. I mentioned that the peas and carrots made the dish a bit sweet, the spicy brown mustard helps to cut the sweetness and add a little tang, and the whole dish is creamy. I believe the ingredients speak for themselves here…it’s not a complicated dish.
Karen Gilloon says
I would LOVE this as is, but hubby won’t eat sour cream…would that be a disaster if left out? Â Karen
Karly says
I would swap in plain 0% Greek Yogurt. 🙂
Doris Talcott says
Can I leave out the sour cream…do not like yogurt either.
Karly Campbell says
If you leave it out, you might want to add another can of soup. It will be dry otherwise.
Ann Anderson says
I love chicken and I am going to try all of these .
Ashley says
This was so great with leftover Thanksgiving turkey! Yummy – thanks for sharing!!
Karly says
Glad you enjoyed!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
This is perfect comfort food. Definitely craving a bowl now.
Medeja says
Yummy! Looks like a lovely comfort food! I should try it 🙂
LaDonna says
This looks so great, who doesn’t like a homemade chicken anything, definitely making this soon. Thanks for posting this along with your homemade cream of chicken soup.
Sammie says
I’ve never made a casserole with noodles before but this looks delicious. Perfect for the colder months up ahead. Great post. Sammie www.feastingisfun.com