Chicken Noodle Casserole Ingredients
Egg noodles, cooked chicken, cream of chicken soup, milk, shredded cheese, frozen vegetables, parsley, seasonings, salt, and black pepper are needed to make chicken noodle casserole.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- I usually use egg noodles without yolks, but you can use any kind you like. Whatever you use, it needs to be cooked first.
- chunk chicken breast: As I mentioned previously, I wanted this to be a pantry recipe made with ingredients you could easily find in your pantry and not necessarily need to run out to buy. You can certainly substitute with your own cooked chicken.
- Any cream soup will work in this recipe as long as you enjoy the flavor, so try the cream of chicken soup first.
- mayonnaise: If you’re not a fan, try plain Greek yogurt or sour cream instead.
- milk – I prefer whole milk or 2 %.
- onion: No need to rush to the store if you don’t have a fresh onion. Just use 1 Tablespoon of dried minced onion.
- shredded cheddar cheese; as you can see in the photo below, when it came time to take photos, I actually used a triple cheese mixture. Therefore, feel free to use whatever you like—it doesn’t have to be just plain cheddar.
- You can use frozen mixed vegetables or pretty much any frozen vegetable you like in place of frozen peas and carrots.
- Any bread or cracker crumbs can be substituted for panko bread crumbs.
- Salted butter: real butter, not margarine, is what this should be. The topping won’t brown and crisp up like real butter does when made with margarine.
Tips For Chicken Noodle Casserole
- You can use leftover chicken, roasted chicken, or rotisserie chicken for your cooked, diced chicken, depending on your preference.
- I enjoy a frozen blend of carrots and peas among your frozen vegetables. If you are unable to locate that blend, you can substitute any frozen vegetable blend with small pieces, such as frozen broccoli or vegetable medley.
- This recipe contains cream of chicken soup. Some people don’t like cream soups. I use the lower-fat, heart-healthy style here. You could make your own white sauce using my recipe for shrimp alfredo instead of using cream of chicken soup.
- A crisp and light salad, such as my three bean salad or asparagus salad, would go well with a chicken noodle casserole. Savory bread would taste just as good as my garlic knots or cheese bombs with butter!
Extra wide egg noodles are what I suggest because I think they hold up better in the casserole in terms of texture. Wide egg noodles will work too.
You can prepare this chicken noodle casserole up to four hours before serving. Simply store it in the fridge covered, then bake. If it’s straight out of the refrigerator, you should increase the baking time by 15 to 20 minutes.
You can freeze this dish for up to two months as well. Completely assemble the casserole, then tightly cover with foil and freeze. Bake the frozen casserole covered for 45 minutes. After that, uncover, and bake for a further 20 minutes, or until thoroughly heated.
Typically, the binder in a casserole is a liquid that thickens while cooking and keeps all of the ingredients together. In this recipe, the cream of chicken soup serves as the binder.
Although this recipe is delicious, feel free to adjust the flavors to your preference:
- Optional toppings include cooked bacon pieces, buttered breadcrumbs, or French fried onions. Try adding these before baking the dish.
- Cheese: Although this recipe calls for cheddar, you could also use fontina, Monterey Jack, mozzarella, or even create your own custom cheese blend!
- Seasonings: A little roasted garlic, red pepper flakes, or Italian seasoning will give your casserole more flavor.
This casserole is a fantastic way to put a delicious supper on the table quickly and easily for your family. Your kids might even eat the veggies!.
