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Homemade Chicken Noodle Casserole. Swapping the canned goods once used in this recipe, and making my family’s favorite chicken noodle casserole just a little healthier, plus so much tastier! Think of this casserole as a creamy baked version of chicken noodle soup, with shredded chicken, vegetables, noodles and topped with salty, crunchy Kettle Brand Potato Chips. Comfort food at its best, this recipe is sure to become a family favorite.
There are a few foods I ate a lot of while growing up, chicken and rice, pasta with butter, pot roast, tacos, and chicken noodle casserole. Typical kid friendly foods, typical midwest foods, Gerard classics. You’ve probably noticed, but I don’t really share that kind of food here on HBH. Yes, plenty of chicken and rice, ok, pasta and tacos too, but the casseroles are not something I dive into all that much. That said, I still make these foods every so often, especially when a brother comes into town…because they are family favorites.
With the official start of fall coming next week, and my older brother’s recent visit, I thought it was the perfect time to take one of his favorite recipes and make it 100% from scratch. If you’ve ever made chicken noodle casserole, then you know it’s typically filled with a lot of canned soup and processed ingredients. I’m really not a fan of using canned soup (and definitely don’t like using processed ingredients). So I ditched the cans and made a completely homemade version of our longtime family favorite, chicken noodle casserole. This recipe is simple to make, healthier, and so comforting.
My goal when I set out to make this casserole was to make it as close to the original as possible, but without using any weird ingredients, and also to bump up the vegetable content.
Here’s all the nitty-gritty details.
Basically we’re making chicken noodle soup, so the recipe starts with the usual onion, garlic, and carrot combo. You’ll season everything with fresh herbs and sprinkle in a little bit of flour to help thicken the soup base. To make things creamy, but not too rich, I stirred in whole milk instead of heavy cream.
The key to making this dish delicious is the noodles, chicken, and bread ratios. You’ll want lots of egg noodles, some chicken, and good bread to make the flavors and textures spot on, and just like the classic casserole I grew up eating. Also, if you wanted to add in more veggies, I would recommend stirring in frozen peas or chopped broccoli florets.
So that’s the base of the dish, chicken noodle soup, thickened up and made creamy. Delicious.
But, no casserole is complete without a crunchy topping. Enter in the Kettle Brand potato chips. Oh my gosh. If you’ve never used potato chips as a crunchy topping for baked casseroles like mac and cheese, potatoes, and of course chicken noodle casserole, you are totally missing out.
Side Note: you can really see my midwest roots shining through in today’s recipe. I kind of love it.
I’ve been crunching up potato chips and using them in place of breadcrumbs for years. They just make baked casseroles that much better and give them a whole new, deliciously salty finish. SO GOOD. I use Kettle Brand chips because they’re perfectly salted (this is very important). They’re also sturdy enough to hold up to oven baking.
I’ve made this several times since first testing the recipe. It is now safe to say that all of my family (and friends) love this homemade chicken noodle casserole soo much. Therefore, I’ve decided that going back to my mom and dad’s outdated “retro” recipe is just not an option.
As I always like to say, homemade is best.
Excited to have this recipe in my back pocket for cozy fall and winter dinners to come. Best part? I can make it ahead of time and then just bake before dinner, AND, this recipe works perfectly to freeze and bake later as well!
You see, perfection.
Watch the How To Video:
If you make these homemade chicken noodle casserole, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Homemade Chicken Noodle Casserole
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 723 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 of a yellow onion, chopped
- kosher salt and pepper
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 3 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 3 cups cubed whole grain bread
- 2 cups uncooked egg noodles
- 1 1/2 cups cooked shredded or cubed chicken
- 1 cup crushed Kettle Brand potato chips
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9×13 inch baking dish or large round baker.2. Add the olive oil to a large skillet set over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and cook until softened and slightly caramelized, about 5 minutes, season with salt + pepper. Add the butter, carrots and garlic and continue to cook another 5 minutes. Stir in the thyme and cayenne. 3. Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and cook, stirring to incorporate, for another minute. Slowly pour in the chicken broth and milk, season with salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a low boil and then reduce the heat to medium, simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat, stir in the parsley. Let cool until no longer hot to touch, then stir in the eggs.4. Add the cubed bread, noodles, and chicken, tossing to combine. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top evenly with Kettle Chips. Transfer to the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes or until the filling is bubbling and the the top is golden. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.
{This post is sponsored by Kettle Brand. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!!}
Okay so I made the homemade chicken noodle casserole and it was a big hit and tasted just like you described. My only complaint was the leftovers. The recipe makes a lot and we had leftovers for the next night but I was very disappointed in them. Most of the time I love leftovers…they often taste better than the first time around, but the bred cubes in this casserole were now soggy and mushy and the potato chips on top were mushy as well. I added more chips which helped, but it still was not what I hoped for. Other than though, the recipe was very good the first time around and the chips on top were wonderful!
Hi Bobbi! I am so glad you loved this recipe and apologize that the left overs were not too great for you! The only thing I would suggest is to make less of the recipe, so it is fresh every time for you.
I made this today and my spouse thought it was delicious, except a bit too much cayenne. I thought it was okay, loved the fresh thyme and parsley. Made it according to the recipe but added mushrooms and used cream instead of milk because my milk was bad. Takes much longer than the 1 hour 10 minutes referenced in the recipe because there is a lot of prep, the need to cool it before adding the eggs and many dishes to clean up. But all in all, if I make it again I will still follow the recipe, bread potato chips nand all, because it is a good casserole dish.
Hi Suzanne! I am so glad you both enjoyed this and I hope it turns out better for you with a few modifications next time! Thank you for trying this!
My husband is allergic to carrots, so I substituted zucchini. Unfortunately it made the dish soggy. (I just didn’t think of the water content in the zucchini.) I know this recipe is amazing though because of all the comments!
This is the first casserole I’ve ever made for my husband. He really liked it! He loves carrots so I added one more to the ingredients and tossed in some frozen peas just before baking for color and extra veg. I used a hearty bakery whole grain bread and traditional egg noodles. It turned out PERFECT! The only downside is that I had extra potato chips left and I have a savory-tooth so I ate the rest of the bag the next day. :-/ I am reheating the rest of this for dinner tonight. I plan to drizzle in a bit more broth so it stays moist and cover it while heating. If the chips get soggy, i’ll uncover for a bit to re-crisp them. I KNOW this will be even more delicious the second time around. We both thought it was very much like a chicken pot pie — sans the gross condensed soup! Thanks again Tieghan!
Hi Martie! I am so glad you both loved this recipe, that is so amazing! Thank you for making it!
This was everything I wanted it to be. A little time consuming but the ingredients were very affordable and the taste was outstanding!
That is so great to hear! Thank you Dawn!
Can I make this ahead of time and than make later? Looks delicious
HI! Yes, you can make ahead of time and then bake off later. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan ?
Can i make this ahead and than cook a few hours later? Looks delicious
I drafted my son into helping me make this since the night before I cut my thumb as I was chopping up the carrots. He wants to learn how to cook so he did the rest of the chopping and it took us forever to make this since he’s not experienced, but thankful for his help we made this dish together which made it special (thank goodness no stitches, but too close of a call.) It was worth it all! It was so delicious, will definitely be making again.
Hi Lou! I am so glad this turned out amazing for you! Thank you so much for making it!
Very nice recipe, but when I make it again, I will cook the noodles about halfway. We had too many noodles rise to the top and become super hard. Possibly we should have had more potato chips…? (but we wanted to minimize the sodium and fats)
HI! How many potato chips did you add? Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I’m not much of a cook so this question might sound kind of dumb, but, how do you recommend I cook the chicken before using it in the casserole. I have boneless, skinless chicken thighs that I thought I would try it with. Suggestions?
HI! Toby, yes you should cook the chicken before adding to the casserole. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
I cut this recipe in half so as not to have any leftovers in case it didn’t go over well. I am not happy with myself for that decision because this casserole is a flavor explosion!!! Next time I just might double the recipe!
Thank you for a new top hit dinner for my family!
Wow that is so amazing! I am so glad you loved this recipe, Dyan! Thank you!
I went on the Google hunt today for the perfect chicken casserole recipe and stumbled upon yours. Made it for dinner and let me say, it’s absolutely divine! Exactly the homemade comfort food I was looking for! Thanks so much for sharing one of your oldest (and amazingly updated) family recipes with us ❤️??
I am so glad you loved this Erin! Thank you so much!
Hi! Not sure if my recent post just posted so apologies if this is a repeat! We are making this for the local firehouse dinner for my daughters preschool and wanted to know what instructions to give if I freeze it before baking (I.e cooling time, should it be defrosted before baking etc.?) thanks so much looks amazing!!
Hey Sarah! To freeze, pre-bake the casserole without the potato chips for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cook, then warp and freeze. To cooker, thaw overnight in the fridge, then add the potato chips and bake until warmed throughout, about 15-20 minutes. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thanks! xTieghan
Looks amazing! My daughter and I are bringing this tomorrow with her preschool for the local firefighters dinner – can you provide instructions for if I want to freeze before baking and give to them frozen (should it be defrosted first/cooking time)? Thanks so much! Can’t wait, hope we get to glory some too 🙂
Hey Sarah! To freeze, pre-bake the casserole without the potato chips for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cook, then warp and freeze. To cooker, thaw overnight in the fridge, then add the potato chips and bake until warmed throughout, about 15-20 minutes. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thanks! xTieghan
Just tried your recipe. I just don’t know what I did wrong, but maybe too many noodles… What does 2 cups of dried noodles look like? I added a 9 oz bag Italian egg noodles. I have about 1/2 pan left. Any suggestions on adding something to rebake again tomorrow, or just forget it…
Hey Dorothy, can you tell me what was wrong with the dish? Not sure how to advise as I need a little more info. It sounds like you did us too many noodles. 2 cups is roughly 4 ounces or half a bag of noodles I would say.