This ULTIMATE Chicken Casserole is loaded with flavor! Tender noodles, shredded chicken, bacon, corn, and more!
I know, I know….you’re probably thinking…”not another casserole”, right?! But trust me, you don’t want to pass this one up! Even my “non casserole loving” husband loved it!
Last week, I was in one of those moods where I just did NOT want to think about dinner. Being mom however, I needed to throw something together!
After rummaging through my freezer and finding a bag of pre-cooked, shredded chicken….I opted to go the casserole route! Simple, flavorful, kid-friendly, and typically….enough leftovers for the next day!
As I was tossing ingredients together, my hubby came into the kitchen asking what I was making. After realizing I was making a casserole, he wasn’t thrilled, but cautiously optimistic.
To give a bit a background to his dislike of casseroles, back when my kids were babies, I made casserole just about every night. Leftovers were for lunch the next day, so needless to say…we all got a bit burned out!
Over the years, I have gone away from making daily casseroles and now, I make them every now and then. Good ol’ comfort food! My hubby still hasn’t declared himself a fan of casseroles, but with this one….he had TWO helpings!
Not only was it flavorful, but this ULTIMATE Chicken Casserole can be a meal in one! Corn, pasta, and chicken…plus, bacon! What more can you want, right?!
Whether you’re serving as a dinner, or making for another friend/family….I definitely recommend giving this a try! We enjoyed leftovers for lunch the next day and it was just as tasty reheated!
Be sure to let me know what you think if you try it! Also, come connect with me on Instagram HERE!
Check out my other casserole recipes HERE!
9X13 Baking Pan: https://amzn.to/32ADEgm
ULTIMATE Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 cups egg noodles, cooked
- 2 cups chicken, cooked/shredded
- 2 cups corn *I used frozen, canned works too
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup *10 oz cans
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup cheese, shredded *I used cheddar, any type works
- 1/2 cup bacon, cooked/chopped
- 3/4 cup French fried onions
- salt/pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cooked pasta, chicken, corn, milk, cream of chicken, onion, garlic, cheese, bacon, and salt/pepper.
- Pour mixture into greased pan.
- Sprinkle French fried onions evenly on top.
- Place pan into preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and serve warm!
Nutrition
Sharon
Excellent I added celery and covered casserole dish when baking.
I didnt use bacon
Jessica
I stead of French Fries Onions could you use Ritz Crackers
Kristin
Absolutely! That works great too!!
Kristin
Great idea on the celery!! Hope you enjoyed!
Katie
Instead of using corn we used peas and carrots. Delicious!
Kristin
Great idea! Glad you enjoyed!
Darcy
Terrible! I made this exactly as recipe was written. Had a very odd taste and wasn’t good at all. Barely finished my helping and threw the rest of the casserole away. My husband did not like it either. Sorry I wasted my time. Will not make again.
Kristin
So bummed to hear this as its a favorite in my house! Do you know what the odd taste was by chance? Sorry it wasn’t a favorite!
[email protected]
Can you use chicken from a can like tuna fish.
Chrystal
How much is a serving size?
Kristin
About 1 1/2 cups per serving size
Kristin
Absolutely! That works great too!
Rox
Can the noodles be like the Reames frozen egg noodles,? , or bags of Amish noodles? Or are they the dry egg noodles in a bag?
Judie
This sounds good. It would be easy to cut in half. There is only my husband and me.
Kristin
This recipe calls for the dry egg noodles in the bag. I’m not sure that the frozen ones would work and haven’t tried the Amish noodles, so I’m not sure if it would still turn out!
Kristin
Yes!! That would work perfectly! Hope you both enjoy!
Cheryle Vadeboncoeur
Brought this recipe for my Mom to try on a recent visit. She made it for us and substituted crushed croutons for the dried onion rings and it was delicious. Making this for dinner tonight for my husband. Thank you for sharing a delicious recipe.
Kristin
Great idea on the croutons! Love it! Glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe!!
Debbie
Have you tried freezing this casserole before baking? I think it will turn out good, maybe adding the fried onions once it’s going in to the oven, before freezing.
Kristin
Yes! It works great to freeze prior to baking! Just omit the french onions until ready to place in oven! I tend to take a small bag and place the onions in there. Then, when ready to enjoy, I simply grab the casserole from the freezer and bag from pantry and dump/cook! Enjoy!
Lisa
Easy and tasty. I added Thyme and celery seeds to boiling water for chicken, then boiled the noodles in the same water. We added leftover mushrooms from pizza night. Has anyone tried adding broccoli?
Kristin
Yay! Glad you enjoyed and great idea on the addition of mushrooms! As for broccoli, I would definitely think you could add in about 1-2 cups of chopped broccoli (it cooks faster than large pieces)
Paul Stache
Do you bake this covered, or uncovered?
Kristin
This gets baked uncovered! Hope you enjoy!
Aubrey
Is it 2 cups pasta before cooked or w cups cooked pasta?
Kristin
2 cups of cooked pasta, prior to assembling the casserole!
CJ
I may cut this in half and use a square baking dish. Cooking for 2. And I will be using canned chicken breast. This recipe sounds good.
Kristin
Great idea! Hope you enjoy!
Betsy
We liked it! Next time I will cook the onions in the pan after the bacon,just to soften a bit. Overall,yummy!
Kristin
Yay! Glad you enjoyed!!
Ellen
Any reason why it came out runny? I drained the cans of corn, cooked pasta separate but it is basically a soup.
Kristin
Hmmm, good question. It shouldn’t have been like that. How was the consistency going into the oven? Was it soupy then? It should have been a thicker consistency going into the oven and then set up a bit more once cooked. Sorry to hear it was soupy!
Wendy
Mine is in the oven right now, I seared the chicken breast in the grease from the bacon and instead of using pasta, I chopped up red potatoes into cubes, can’t wait to try it 😋, next time I will use maybe carrots and green beans too and just use less corn.
Kristin
Oh yum!! Hope you enjoyed! Love the changes you made!
L.Talbot
Made as directed; baking now. Does it freeze well after baking (perhaps remove the onions on top)?
Kristin
Yep, typically I make this and freeze it prior to baking, but if you already have baked it, it should freeze good, the onion just won’t be as crispy on top once reheated!
Diana
Do you drain the cans of corn?
Kristin
Yes, drain the corn (I always rinse too, but that isn’t necessary) Enjoy!
Gayle
Any idea how many ounces of dry egg noodles equal 2 cups cooked?
Kristin
About 6 ounces
Debbie
Could you use Cream of Mushroom soup instead of Cream of Chicken?
Kristin
Absolutely! That would be just as yummy!
Connie.
I will try this. I am a widow, 83 yrs. old. Will freeze leftovers in individual containers for future meals. Will put fried onions only on portion I will eat and save rest for other warmup meals! Sounds really good!
Kristin
Great idea! Hope you enjoy! Kepe me posted!!
Tam
Could you make night before
Kristin
Absolutely! If chilled, add a few minutes to the cook time and make sure you cover with foil overnight to prevent the casserole from drying out in the refrigerator!
Robin
Could you use tuna instead of chicken?
Kristin
Absolutely! That works great!
Frances
Made exactly as recipe but cut everything in half as I was cooking only for myself and it came out very runny- more like soup- disappointed 🤔
Kristin
Oh what a bummer, I’m sorry to hear that as it should’ve set up!
Jackye
This was awesome and easy!!!! I added a package of dry ranch only because we are ranch seasoning freaks in our house! So so good and most importantly….EASY!!!!
Kristin
Yay! Love hearing this! Great idea on adding in the ranch, bet that was an amazing addition!
Charlotte
Mine is in the oven I added celery and used stove top stuffing in place of onion can’t wait to try
Kristin
Oooo yum!! How did it turn out???
Stephanie T.
We loved this casserole. Would highly recommend using a fresh rotisserie chicken using just the dark meat and a little of breast meat. I also used an additional can of Campbell’s Cream of Chicken and Herbs soup, added about a TBSP of Coriander, a little extra milk, and extra can of corn, Colby Jack cheese but added extra, and Light & Fluffy egg noodles. Delicious!
Kristin
Yay! Love hearing that you enjoyed it!
Juleen
For those saying it came out soupy, are you adding liquid to the cream of chicken soup?
Kristin
Good question, hopefully not as that would deifnitely cause the soup like consistency
Misty Beverly
Would this be ok doubled? I have 4 kids 🙂
Kristin
Absolutely! You may need an additional pan however!
Terry
Hooray, it’s casserole season, prefect timing! This will be fantastic for my family. I like reading all the suggestions for different toppings and chicken/tuna options. I think I shall try them all throughout the fall and winter months. Thank you ever so much for the recipe, and to all who added comments with their suggestions.
Kristin
Yay! Hope you enjoy! I just love a good casserole and this one is a family fav! Keep me posted if you try it!
Tami
If you use froze corn, do you cook it first? Was thinking of adding frozen broccoli, too, so answer would apply to both.
Kristin
Hi! No need to cook prior as it will cook once the casserole is baking! Hope you enjoy! Keep me posted! Great idea on adding broccoli!!
Stacy Dutton
It’s really only 2 cups of cooked noodles for a whole pan?
Kristin
Yes ma’am! Of course, I tend to add way too much and have to add more of the rest of the ingredients, but the base recipe is 2 cups of cooked pasta. Without increasing other ingredients, feel free to add up to 3 cups. Enjoy!
Sandy
Thank you for this great casserole. My family loves it just like the recipe is written.
Kristin
Yay!! Love hearing that! Glad you enjoyed!