Comforting and easy Chicken Noodle Casserole recipe with a simple homemade white sauce, cheese, chicken, and egg noodles. My entire family enjoys every bite of this meal.
Want more kid-friendly recipes? Try these Pizza Quesadillas, Crispy Bean and Cheese Burritos, Mini Meatloaf, or Chicken Pot Pie!
What I love about this recipe:
A winner with everyone: it’s not often that everyone in our family of six loves what I made for dinner, but this Chicken Noodle Casserole is a big exception. It has those cozy and delicious flavors we all love from chicken noodle soup, but made even more “comfort food” worthy in casserole form.
Leftovers: It makes a ton, so I like to meal prep lunch the next day with roasted veggies on the side, or freeze the leftovers for another meal.
How to make easy Chicken Noodle Casserole:
Cook Egg Noodles.
Make Sauce and Cheese Mixture: Melt butter in an extra large saucepan then add flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried basil. Cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in chicken broth, stirring until mixture thickens. In a large mixing bowl, stir together cottage cheese, egg, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, then ½ cup parmesan cheese.
Combine: Add remaining ingredients; chicken, noodles and cheese mixture then stir to combine. Bake in the pot, if desired, or pour into a large casserole dish.
Bake: Add a sprinkle of additional cheese on top and bake until the cheese is golden and the mixture is bubbling at the edges. Allow this cheesy chicken noodle casserole to cool for at 10-15 minutes before serving, to allow it some time to thicken as it cools.
Serve With:
- Balsamic Roasted Carrots or Roasted Vegetables
- A green salad like our Brussels Sprouts Salad, Apple Pecan Salad or Radicchio Salad,
- Olive Garden breadsticks or Homemade Rolls
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: You can make this old fashioned chicken and noodles casserole up to 24 hours ahead of time. Slightly undercook the egg noodles then assemble, cover tightly with foil and refrigerate. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking.
To Freeze: Only boil noodles for 4 minutes then assemble and bake according to directions, and allow to cool. Cover really well with a double layer of aluminum foil and freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to eat, bake from frozen for 1 ½ hours (still covered with foil.) Then uncover and bake for another 20-40 minutes or so, or until it’s hot and bubbly.
Follow me for more great recipes
Recipe
Chicken Noodle Casserole
Ingredients
- 12 ounces egg noodles , cooked al dente
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 24 ounces cottage cheese , small curd
- 1 large egg , beaten
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese , divided
- 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese , divided
- 4 cups cooked chicken , chopped
- fresh chopped parsley for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Cook egg noodles in a large pot of boiling water, just until al dente, or even 1-2 minutes less. (The noodles will continue to cook later, when baked). Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Melt butter in an extra large saucepan over medium to medium high heat. Add flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried basil. Cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes.
- Slowly whisk in chicken broth, about a cup at a time, until mixture is thickened, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In a large mixing bowl stir together cottage cheese, egg, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, and ½ cup parmesan cheese.
- Add chicken, noodles and cheese mixture to the saucepan and stir to combine. Taste and add additional salt, pepper or dried basil, if needed.
- Pour mixture into a 9×13’’ baking dish (or you can bake it right in an oven-safe saucepan it is in). Top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
- Bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes or until golden on top and bubbly. Cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tag @TastesBetterFromScratch on Instagram with #TastesBetterFromScratch!
Follow Me
I originally shared this recipe December 2017. Updated March 2020 and November 2023
Original Recipe inspired from Betty Crocker.
This post contains affiliate links.
Made this for the 2nd time and we just wolfed it down tonight. It is sooo good, loved by all. I am thankful my family of 6 still had enough for leftovers tomorrow.
All your Recipes sound delish! Can’t wait to try some.
So I made this and it was AMAZING! A few things, it makes a lot!!! I have enough for another meal and I gave the other half to my parents and it will feed them two nights. I had to change pans twice because my dishes were not big enough. I wondered about the cottage cheese but I never even knew it was there. I measured and prepared all the ingredients in the morning and put it together an hour before dinner and I’m glad I did because it did take some time to prepare. I stuck to the recipe exactly as written. All that being said though, it was PERFECT, no need to change a thing. I would however consider bread crumbs for the top like some of the reviewers down the road to mix it up. This one is a keeper!!!!
What a gem of a dish! Tried this last night, and it was an absolute winner with my family too. The combination of flavors in this Chicken Noodle Casserole is like a warm hug on a chilly evening. Plus, the leftovers are a lifesaver for lunch the next day or a quick freezer meal for later
This sounds delicious with Ritz crackers crunched on top! 😋
Love this recipe! Perfectly seasoned and doesn’t dry out after being baked. This will be my go-to noodle casserole from now on.
Just made this for the first time to take down to my daughter and her family today along with an apple crisp from your recipe (it’s delicious by the way!). Can’t wait for the verdict on the casserole especially by my 2 yr old grandson but judging by the look and smell of it coming out of the oven, he will love it!
Made this for this first time and heading down to my daughter’s and her family today. Also made you apple crisp so we have dinner and dessert. The apple.cris is delicious – I’ve made it several times and can’t wait to sample the casserole! Will let you know my 2 yr old grandson’s take on it!