Creamy, cheesy, and loaded with comforting flavors, this chicken noodle casserole is a great hearty meal your family will love!
Shredded chicken, veggies, bacon, plenty of cheese, a rich creamy sauce, and a crunchy onion topping… hungry yet? This chicken noodle casserole is so hearty and perfect for a family meal!
This post was brought to you by the makers of French’s®. I received compensation to write this post through the #RealFlavorsHaveCrunch program. All opinions expressed are my own.
After the holidays I’m all about the easy dinners. No long involved meals, no long prep times, no 5 pans to wash, etc. That’s why I wanted to share with you all my favorite family-pleasing (and easy) Loaded Cheesy Chicken Noodle Casserole!
Even my picky kiddos eat this casserole, which makes this a major winner in my house. Not only because we all love the casserole, but because we all absolutely LOVE the topping.
I make this casserole with plenty of French’s Crispy Fried Onions, which are a staple in our household. I keep a can or two of them in my pantry at all times, because when my kids are being picky, I can sprinkle some of the onions on top… and voila! They magically love the meal!
French’s Crispy Fried Onions are made with real onions for great flavor and crunch, and make a fabulous topping for casseroles, mashed potatoes, burgers or salads!
I’ve seen a couple other chicken noodle casserole recipes, and they tend to stay pretty close to the traditional chicken noodle soup flavors.
Nothing against those recipes, but I wanted some big, bold flavors here! So I added things like plenty of crispy bacon, garlic, sautéed mushrooms, and plenty of cheese!
This chicken noodle casserole is made with cooked, shredded chicken, so you have a few options here.
- Leftover chicken – if you have 2 chicken breasts left over from another meal, you can shred it up.
- Rotisserie chicken – the option I usually choose, just shred the meat and it’s good to go.
- Raw chicken – if you don’t have either of those two options, after you cook the bacon, go ahead and cook 2 chicken breasts in the bacon drippings. Let it cool slightly and shred.
- Use turkey – if you have some leftover turkey from a holiday dinner, it makes a great substitute!
The next time you want an incredibly easy weeknight dinner, give this loaded cheesy chicken noodle casserole a try!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 oz cremini or baby portobello mushrooms, chopped
- 10.75 oz can cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 1/4 cups half and half
- pinch kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 10 slices bacon, diced (divided)
- 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken (leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken is great for this)
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 12 oz extra wide egg noodles, cooked 1 minute shy of al dente and drained
- 1/2 cup shredded Colby cheese , (divided)
- 2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese , (divided)
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese , (divided)
- 4 oz French's Crispy Fried Onions , (divided)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Spray a 9x13" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a skillet, cook diced bacon over MED heat until golden and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate, reserving the drippings. Add diced onion and chopped mushrooms to bacon drippings and cook over MED HIGH heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon to a large mixing bowl.
- To large mixing bowl, add cream of chicken soup, sour cream, half and half, salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Whisk or stir until smooth. Add shredded chicken, 2/3 of the cooked bacon, frozen peas, 2 oz of the French's crispy fried onions, most of the shredded cheeses (reserving a few Tablespoons of each type), and cooked egg noodles.
- Gently stir to combine well, then transfer to prepared baking dish. Top with remaining cheeses and remaining bacon. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Remove foil, add remaining 2 oz French's crispy fried onions in an even layer, and bake an additional 5-7 minutes, until onions are lightly golden brown.
- Sprinkle casserole with minced parsley if desired and serve hot.
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Chef Tips
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
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Lisa says
Can I make it without sour cream?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for sure if that would work. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
Lisa says
This is probably the best casserole I have ever made in my life. I left out the bacon because I’m not a fan and it didn’t seem to affect the taste at all. Incredible!!
Carolyn says
I used spinach instead of peas……the family loved it!
Thank You!
Debe Savage says
Can you split this casserole into 2 pans and freeze one for later? Maybe not add the French onions until you bake it.
Debe
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, absolutely 🙂
Victoria Summerfield says
Love your recipes. Keep them coming.
Tammi Caldwell says
I made this recipe. I wanted to make it more heart healthy. Left off the bacon. Used 4 T butter to cook the veggies No half and half just whole milk. Substituted small bits of chopped ham.
Rachael Reed says
This is now my husband’s favorite meal that I make! Thank you for sharing all of the deliciousness! 💗
Suzie says
Okay I made this for supper tonight. I have a super picky eater js ! So I needed to modify this recipe. NO bacon,onions or mushrooms! I even had to put the Frenches onions on half. Like I said super picky! I reduce the recipe by half, I used chicken tenders cooked in the Air Fryer. But everything else remained the same. This was very creamy and tasty.. picky one liked his portion and ate everything. I will make this again and I will post a pic on Pinterest.
Angie says
Absolutely delicious! Used 2 cans of cream of chicken because we like our casserole’s saucey. Used 1-1/2 cup of heavy cream because that’s what I had on hand and 1/2 cup of whole milk to thin out the 2 cans of soup. 8 oz of cremini mushrooms because I didn’t want to split up a package of mushrooms. I’d recommend draining off some of the bacon fat – my onions and mushrooms were super greasy. Will definitely add to my weekly rotation!
Tyler Roach says
Making it for the second time tonight! I’ve gone on a binge of cooking casseroles from this site, and my wife decided this is her favorite. Make it exactly as is! Thank you!
Sara Miles says
Do you use condensed cream of chicken soup?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes 🙂
Amy Salter says
Oh.my.goodness…. this was so good. It’s now my go to chicken with noodles recipe. I couldn’t wait for next day lunch leftovers. Excellent flavors and textures. I didn’t have the frozen peas but it was still fabulous.
Jessica says
Made this tonight and it was very tasty. I added an extra can of cream of chicken and left out the bacon and mushrooms. I think I’ll add more cheese next time during the last step. I will probably make this again as it is quick and delicious. Good comfort food! Thanks!
Meeska says
I have made this many times and my family loved it! Made it with Turkey also. I leave out the bacon though. Thanks for the recipe!!
Crystal says
I thought this recipe was delicious, but I did have some in my family that complained. My youngest hates bacon and mushrooms. So, she picked them out. My other 2 children ate it, and told me they thought it was ok. My husband said he thought it was really good, but he doesn’t care for bacon in casseroles. So, overall, if ur wondering if u should make this, I would say at least over half ur family will like it and eat it. Oh, I made no changes to the recipe.
LeeAnne Loveless says
Made this last night and it was delicious! I will definitely make again. Thank you for sharing
Sara c says
Made this for dinner tonight, and it was a big hit! Hubby ate 4 helpings! My 2 1/2 yr old grandson said ‘no, no, no’ for about 10 min, but when I walked away, he started eating it, and scarfed down the whole bowl! I used frozen broccoli, instead of peas, and I didn’t have half & half, so I used skim milk. I also added a can of cream of mushroom soup, because I thought it looked a little dry. Other than that, I stuck to the called for ingredients, and it was absolutely delicious!! I will definitely make this again!
Jaime Omary says
Really good. Exactly what i was hoping for. Came out exactly as pictured. No modifications made. My family gobbled it up. A great way to use up the rotisserie chicken we had left!