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Our easy Chicken Noodle Casserole recipe is the ultimate kid-friendly comfort food! It is made from scratch with a simple white sauce combined with chicken and egg noodles and baked with cheese on top.
Classic Chicken Noodle Casserole, done right.
Classic Chicken Noodle Casserole, done right.I love to reinvent the classics and everyhting about this easy Chicken Noodle Casserole is better than Grandmas! The homemade sauce is key–no canned soups, or other processed ingredients–just wholesome, real ingredients that everyone usually has on hand.
It's definitely a picky eater approved recipe that my entire family loves. It has all of the flavors we love from Chicken Noodle Soup but even more of a “comfort food” vibe, with the pasta and and cheese. It's a great one for feeding a crowd, or perfect for a meal train for a friend. I also like to to meal prep this recipe with roasted vegetables.
For more comfort-food classics try our Cheese Enchiladas, Chicken Casserole, Meatloaf, Instant Pot Pasta and Meatballs, Hamburger Gravy, Fettuccine Alfredo, or American Goulash!
How to make Chicken Noodle Casserole:
Combine: Cook egg noodles according to package instructions. Make the sauce by melting butter in an extra large saucepan. Add flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried basil, then stir and cook for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in chicken broth slowly, stirring until thickened. In a separate mixing bowl, combine cottage cheese, egg, ½ cup parmesan, and 1 cup mozzarella.
Bake: add chicken, noodles, and cheese mixture, stirring to combine. Transfer to a large casserole dish and bake. Cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Serve With:
- Broccoli Salad
- Roasted Vegetables
- Whole Roasted Cauliflower
- Balsamic Roasted Carrots
- Wedge Salad
- French Green Beans
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: Prep the entire chicken noodle bake up to 24 hours in advance, just slightly undercook the egg noodles. Assemble then cover tightly with foil and keep in the refrigerator. Let sit on the counter for 30 minutes before baking as instructed.
To Freeze: Undercook the noodles and only boil them for 4 minutes then follow the recipe to assemble and bake. Allow it to cool completely then cover with a double layer of aluminum foil and keep in the freezer for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen for 1 ½ hours (still covered with foil). Take the foil off and bake for an additional 20-40 minutes until hot and bubbly.
More Must-Make Chicken Recipes:
- Chicken Pot Pie
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
- Easy Roast Chicken
- Garlic Chicken
- Grilled Chicken Sandwich
- Chicken Gyros
- Boursin Pasta
- Chow Mein
Chicken Noodle Casserole
Equipment
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.
- Sauce: 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.
- Cheese layer: In a large mixing bowl stir together cottage cheese, egg, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, and ½ cup parmesan cheese.
- Combine: Add chicken, noodles and cheese mixture to the saucepan and stir to combine. Taste and add additional salt, pepper or dried basil, if needed.
- Bake: 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe December 2017. Updated March 2020, November 2023 and January 2025.
Original recipe inspired from Betty Crocker.
I made this for a group for lunch. Everyone enjoyed it. I was going to add peas and carrots for color and a little more nutrition but forgot. Oops. Broccoli would be good as well. I will make this again.
Thank so much, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Made this lastnight for dinner and even my son who is fussy ate and loved it. Thanks for sharing
Cheesy and delicious, added a little extra seasoning and used gluten Free Pasta and flours! Perfect hit for the family
Made this for my family (husband and 9 year old twins) and it was a mega hit!! Pretty easy to make using ingredients that you probably already have! Thanks for the delicious meal idea!
I made this tonight and it came out delicious! The only change was that I added celery. I think it would be really good with beef as well. Great recipe! Thanks
I followed this recipe exactly as written and found it’s everything a weeknight dinner should be -easy, without sacraficing flavor. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
This was delicious, I made it tonight and we loved it. I think next time I will add some more seasonings just to bump up the flavor a bit, but the texture was great. Just enough sauce and cheese to make it creamy and yummy. I think more herbs would be nice. Thanks for a great recipe, it does taste better from scratch.
Looks delicious.
Question- the photo shows an orange cheese topping (almost like a cheddar), which is what enticed me. But in the video the casserole looks much whiter and wetter. Which is more accurate? Could you maybe make a cheddar version, instead of mozzarella and parmesan? Just wondering. Thanks.
You could substitute cheddar for the mozzarella if you want. In the photos, the mozzarella and parmesan are golden from baking in the oven.
Does it really take 24oz of cottage cheese?
Yes 🙂
Made some slight changes but was a hit. Very easy to make and assemble. I really liked the fact I can freeze for a later time & pop in the oven. I made more than enough to freeze for next time.