Cheesy Chicken Noodle Casserole
Published 9/17/2024
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Cheesy Chicken Noodle Casserole is the epitome of Midwestern cuisine. It’s flavor-packed with juicy chicken, veggies, egg noodles, and a creamy cheese sauce made 100% from scratch! That’s right, no cans of soup were used in this recipe!
Baked all-in-one casserole dish, this easy weeknight meal is the ultimate comfort food the whole family will be scarfing down.
Raise your hand if you’re a fan of cozy family dinners. US TOO! This comforting chicken noodle casserole is like if this Creamy Chicken Soup and a cheesy, creamy casserole had a baby. It’s the best of both worlds and is sure to satisfy all your cravings.
To make this cheesy chicken noodle casserole recipe, add all of your ingredients to a casserole dish except the sauce. Then make your super-quick, creamy sauce and pour it over the casserole, bake, and dive in!
Simple Ingredients for Cheesy Chicken Noodle Casserole
- Egg noodles: We tested this casserole with regular and extra-wide egg noodles. Both will work, but the extra-wide noodles definitely stand out more in this delicious dinner than regular egg noodles.
- Frozen mixed vegetables: Any frozen mix will work! We used carrots, peas, green beans, and corn.
- White onion: We like the mild flavor of white onion, but if you prefer yellow or red onion, go right ahead!
- Cooked chicken breast: We do NOT recommend using raw chicken for this recipe as it will not bake for enough time to fully cook the chicken.
- Beef broth: We love the delicious flavor of beef broth, but if you prefer chicken broth or vegetable broth, both will also work!
- Cheese: We used a combination of Monterey jack, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese.
Can I use pre-cooked chicken for this recipe?
Don’t have time to cook up your own chicken breast? Shred or dice a store-bought rotisserie chicken instead. It’s a great way to save you LOADS of time.
What if I don’t have egg noodles?
Don’t have egg noodles? You can pretty much use any kind of cooked al dente pasta for this recipe. Try rigatoni, ziti, or any other kind of noodle!
Our Favorite
Casserole Dish
This le creuset casserole dish is our all time favorite casserole dish! The white color rocks, it has a cover, and it’s great for so many dishes.
Tips for Making the Creamiest Sauce
One of the key elements of this fantastic recipe is the creamy sauce that binds all the ingredients together. Here are some tips for making sure your cheese sauce turns out perfectly creamy every time:
- Use a whisk: Whisking the sauce constantly while it cooks will help prevent lumps and ensure a smooth texture.
- Add liquid slowly: When adding the broth to the roux (flour + butter mixture), be sure to add it in a slow, steady stream while whisking. This will help prevent lumps from forming.
- Don’t skimp on the cheese: I mean, this IS the Cheese Knees, after all! Cheese is what takes this sauce to the next level. Don’t be afraid to add a little extra for an extra creamy and cheesy result!
How to Store Chicken Noodle Casserole
Store this casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days.
Reheat instructions: Set the oven to 350ºF and cover the casserole. Reheat for 20-25 minutes, stirring a few times.
Can You Freeze Chicken Noodle Casserole?
Oh, the burning question: Can you freeze this casserole? Most of the time, we’d say HECK YES! However, we don’t ever suggest freezing a recipe that involves noodles.
Unfortunately, cooked noodles don’t hold up very well when thawing and reheating, so we advise against freezing this chicken noodle casserole.
Chicken Noodle Casserole
Ingredients
- 12 oz. egg noodles, uncooked*
- 20 oz. frozen mixed vegetables
- 1/2 white onion, minced
- 1 lb. cooked chicken breast, diced into bite-sized pieces
- 1.5 cups beef broth
Cheese Sauce
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups 2% milk
- 1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF and spray a 9×13-inch casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Place the noodles, vegetables, onion, and cooked chicken breast into the casserole dish and mix until everything is combined. Set aside.
- Next, heat a medium-sized saucepan over medium/high heat. Add butter.
- When butter is melted add the flour to the sauce pan and whisk them together until a paste forms.
- Slowly add the milk to the sauce pan and whisk until all the ingredients are combined.
- Continue to whisk the milk until it thickens and remove from heat.
- Add worcestershire, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to the milk mixture and mix.
- Finally, add the shredded cheese to the milk mixture and whisk consistently until all the cheese has melted.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the noodles, vegetables, chicken, and onion, and mix until combined.
- Lastly, add the broth to the casserole dish, mix, and cover.
- Place the casserole dish in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, mix, and return the casserole dish to the oven for an additional 20 minutes.
- Once most of the liquid has absorbed in the casserole dish, remove from the oven, stir, and let the casserole sit covered for 5 minutes before eating.
Tips & Notes
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Don’t forget to tag your posts on social media with the hashtag #cheeseknees, we’d love to see what you’re up to!
Made this and it was an absolute hit! So comforting and delicious!
I really wanted to love this dish. I made it to the tee but found it bland. It was pretty good to me. My husband hated the thick cheesy sause and my youngest son and daughter hated everything about it. The only one that loved it was my oldest son.
Such a great winter comfort dish and you feel good about it because it has veggies in it 🙂 I didn’t think it would cook properly because the casserole dish was so jam packed with goodness but it did! My husband has already asked for this again and it’s easy enough that he can make it next time 🙂
This is a favorite of ours too!
This was an accessible recipe for someone that gets easily stressed out in the kitchen. I loved the cheese sauce and the leftovers kept great for lunches throughout the week. I plan to make again!!
We are obsessed with this recipe!
This casserole is delicious. I loved making the cheese sauce. I added whatever cheese I had in the fridge, which was LOTS of pepper jack. My husband devoured this dish and exclaimed “HOLY SH*T” many times. Oh, I added MORE Worchestershire sauce (that’s my business, you do you). This Shizzzz is good. Make it.
You leave the best reviews. And also your husband is lucky because you’re a chef.