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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 9x13 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!!}
Hey Tieghan! I love this recipe and as well as many of your others. I did, however, have some trouble when making the sauce. You say to cook for about 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens but 10 minutes later my sauce was still very thin. It took adding in extra flour and eventually some corn starch for the sauce to begin thickening. Do you have any tips here? This has happened to me before on another recipe of yours. Not sure what I’m doing wrong!
Hi Sam,
Thanks for trying the recipe, I am so sorry you had issues with the thickening. I am wondering if your heat is up enough? Next time I would just add some corn starch right away. I hope this helps! xTieghan
The measurements for the pasta and chicken are confusing. Pasta comes packaged in ounces. I don’t think you mean you can use an equal serving of pasta in ounces compared to cups, but it is odd to measure pasta directly into a cup measurement without distinguishing the importance of this difference. As for the chicken, what if we don’t already have cooked chicken? The ingredients should include the measurement for raw chicken. I would also imagine shredded chicken versus cubed chicken would measure differently. Thanks.
Hey Jen,
You need 2 cups of uncooked eggs noodles for the recipe. Just measure the dry noodles in a 2 cup measure.
If you need to cook the chicken, cook 1 pound boneless skillet chicken breast with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, and pepper, in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, until cooked through. Let cool, then shred the chicken.
Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Great flavor but I found the bread soaked up the broth/milk, which didn’t allow the egg noodles to cook properly. Most of the noodles ended up dry and baked, not boiled.
Hi Todd! I am really sorry about that! Is there anything I can help with? xTieghan
Hi! Would there be any way to substitute some ingredients here to make it Gluten Free? Or would it just not quite work? Looks so good but I have a gluten allergy. Thank you!
HI! You can certainly use gluten free bread and your favorite gluten free noodles. I am sure that will work very well! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
This was a disaster for me. Dry, took much longer to make than anticipated, mostly due to having to wait for the liquid portion to cool before adding the eggs. The flavors were good, but no “sauce” at all. Too much bread, perhaps, though I used what was called for.
Hi KC! Is there anything that could have gone wrong while preparing this? I would love to help! xTieghan
Well, this tasted good so I will give it 3 stars only because 1 1/2 cup of chicken for 6 people equates to 1/4 cup per person. So I added 2 1/2 more cups chicken or it would have been very chintzy on the chicken. And it took at least 25 minutes to cool the mixture before I put the eggs in so the ’30 minute prep’ time actually took 55 minutes.I also added 1/2 cup of shaved Fontina cheese since I expected it to be bland. I dislike when people change the recipe but the amount of chicken in that recipe was ridiculous and a little cheese never hurt anything.. Making it for ‘company’ I had to guarantee it would not be bland.
Hi Jena! I hope your company loved this recipe! Please let me know if you have any questions on it! xTieghan
No gravy, too much bread and tossed the entire dish because it tasted that bad.
Hi Lynnie! I am so sorry to hear that you did not like this! Is there anything that could have gone wrong with this recipe? I would love to help! xTieghan
Yum!! This was the perfect comfort meal for a cold and stormy night! I added some extra veggies to use up what I had in the fridge, and used cashew milk as that’s what I had on hand. My husband’s comment was “This is a warm soup and sandwich, all rolled into one with the added bonus of chips!” Clearly a winner at our house. When I make this again, I will let my bread sit out for a few hours before baking so that it holds up to the broth even better. Thanks so much!
Thank you Genelle! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Loved it! Just finished and my son finished all of his as well. Many thanks! – we used 12 grain bread which held up well.
Amazing! Thank you so much Maura! xTieghan
Inedible! Too sweet for some reason. Maybe the whole grain bread had too much sugar? I don’t know, but the flavor of this did not appeal at all. The noodles were far too crispy and I almost broke a tooth.
Sorry- I really wanted to love this.
Hey Carol, I am sorry you did not enjoy this recipe. There really is no reason this should have been sweet in anyway. Was there anything you changed throughout the recipe? Something sounds pretty off, so I am really confused as to what might be happening. Again, sorry you did not enjoy. Let me know how I might be able to help. xTieghan
What type of bread did you use? Like whole wheat sandwich bread? Newbie at cooking here!
Hi Anne! Happy to hear you’re cooking and having fun! Yes you could really use any bread you have on hand. Let us know if you have any other questions as you go!
Hey Anne! Yes, just regular WW sandwich bread. Use your very favorite, but something softer is best 🙂 Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan ???
My husband and I loved this recipe. It was perfect for a cool fall Maine night. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for trying this Kelly! xTieghan
In the Midwest – this is a Hotdish (instead of a casserole) LOL!! I am so excited to make this… addition of cubed bread, such a great idea!! Thank you!! Best wishes always!
Really?! We always would call it a casserole back home. That is too funny! I hope you love this recipe Jaya! xTieghan
What did I do wrong? The noodles are crunchy. I’ve added some water and put tin foil over it and popped it back into the oven for 15 more minutes. I hope that does the trick. Maybe I put too much flour over the veggies?
Hi there! Was there anything you changed about the recipe? Any details you can give me would be helpful in problem solving. Hope the dish turned out! Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you! xTieghan
This recipe was horrible. The cayenne pepper was overwhelming. Some of the noodles didn’t get cooked. The chips gave a rancid, greasy taste when baked. I followed the recipe to the letter since it was the first time I made it. There will not be a second time. A total waste of food, money and energy.
Hi Jane! I am so sorry this did not turn out well for you. Are there any questions I can help you with? I hope this does not stop you from enjoying other recipes on my blog! xTieghan