Ultimate Chicken Casserole
The Ultimate Chicken Casserole Recipe has a super creamy cheesy sauce, and is loaded with tender noodles, chicken, bacon, and corn topped off with some crispy fried onions.
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Hearty, savory chicken casserole is a foolproof easy dinner recipe and one the whole family will love even if you have a picky eater. It can be the perfect way to warm up on a chilly evening or to serve a crowd at a potluck or dinner party with some of my Parmesan Roasted Broccoli or Oven Roasted Asparagus.
Why this recipe works
It's a satisfying hearty casserole that uses simple ingredients, like my Mushroom Chicken and Rice Casserole. It's very versatile and easy to throw together, and will be your new family favorite. This comforting chicken noodle casserole is an easy weeknight meal like my Cheesy Tuna Casserole or my Ham and Cheese Hash Brown Casserole and is perfect for leftovers.
Ingredients needed for the ultimate chicken casserole recipe
Ingredients Notes
- Pasta: Egg noodles cooked to al dente so they aren't mushy in the casserole.
- Chicken: You can use rotisserie shredded chicken or leftover chicken like from my Slow Cooker Whole Chicken
- Bacon: I like to use good smoky bacon.
- Cream of chicken soup: low sodium Campbell cream of chicken soup
- Onion: Yellow onion or sweet onion.
- Corn: White or yellow frozen corn works great, but canned (drained) will also work.
- Cheese: I used cheddar cheese any kind of cheese will work just make sure to shred it yourself and not use prepackaged shredded cheese.
How to make Ultimate Chicken Casserole
- Step 1: Cook pasta to al dente and preheat the oven. Heat a skillet on medium-high heat and add the bacon cook until crispy, remove to a paper towel, and drain.
- Step 2: Add in the diced onion and garlic and cook just until translucent and soft.
- Step 3: In a large mixing bowl add the cans cream of chicken soup and half n half and mix until combined.
- Step 4: Fold in the cooked pasta, cooked chicken and remaining ingredients into the soup mixture until mixed.
- Step 5: Pour mixture into an oven-safe dish.
- Step 6: Sprinkle the french-fried onions on top and place in the preheated oven, bake until bubbly.
Recipe tips
- Cream of celery or cream of mushroom soup can be substituted for cream of chicken soup.
- Make sure egg noodles are cooked to al dente so they aren't mushy in the casserole.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
Chicken Casserole Variations
- Toss in some broccoli, diced carrots, and or peas.
- Top your chicken casserole with crushed ritz crackers or crushed potato chips instead of fried onions.
Recipe Faq's
Half and half is simply a mixture of equal parts of whole milk and cream found in the dairy section of your grocery store. You can also make your own by mixing 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of heavy cream.
Yes, chicken noodle casserole can be made ahead of time stored in the refrigerator then topped with fried onions, and pop it into the oven making it a convenient meal for busy weeknights or meal prep.
Yes, you can freeze this easy chicken casserole recipe. Just leave the fried onions off and freeze for up to 2 months. Remove and let thaw in the refrigerator overnight top with the fried onions and bake.
Ultimate Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 cups dried egg noodles
- 6 slices of bacon diced
- 1 cup onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 (10 ounce) cans of cream of chicken soup
- 1 1/2 cups half n half
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 2 cups cooked chicken diced or shredded
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups French fried onions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook pasta to al dente according to the package directions, drain and set aside.
- Heat a skillet on medium-high heat and add the diced bacon, cook until crispy then remove to paper towels to drain.
- Remove all but 1 tablespoon of bacon grease and add in the diced onions and garlic and cook 2-3 minutes until softened, remove from the heat and set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the cream of chicken soup and half n half until combined.
- Fold in the cooked pasta and remaining ingredients except for the fried onions and gently mix them together.
- Pour the mixture into a 9x13 baking dish, and sprinkle the fried onions on top.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve
The recipe calls for 3 cups dried egg noodles, boil according to the pkg instructions and add to the casserole. If a recipe calls for 3 cups of cooked rice it means just that.
I loved the recipe and followed it but I do understand the frustration of the people asking the question about the cooked or uncooked pasta.
Yes the pasted should be cooked when added into recipe but should you boil 3 cups of pasta or should you cook 2 cups of pasta that ends up expanded when cooked to 3 cups of cooked pasta. I see this problem in many recipes, it’s the same when told to add so many cups of cooked rice.
I answered that other question already, it clearly says on line 2 of the recipe card which is located at the bottom of the page to cook pasta to al dente. (there is a jump to recipe button at the top to take you there and skip and extra recipe tips and instructions!)
Hope that helps!
Well I’m not going to make this without knowing if the 3 cups of pasta is cooked or uncooked. Someone else asked the same question. It would be nice if the question was answered by the author!
You need to add cooked egg noodles to the casserole.
Are the 3 cups cooked egg noodles or uncooked egg noodles?
You could add in a 4-5 cups of cooked rice.
What could I use instead of pasta? My husband doesn’t like pasta but this recipe looks delicious? Thanks