Chicken Noodle Casserole
This casserole, slightly adapted from Cook’s Country, is a comforting from-scratch recipe that's perfect for family dinners.
Servings servings (One 9x13 casserole)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles 7 ¾ cups
- salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 red bell pepper stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine
- 1 small onion chopped fine
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 2 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise and trimmed, raw
- 4 ounces deli American cheese chopped coarse
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 ½ cups frozen peas thawed and patted dry
- 25 Ritz Crackers crushed coarse
Instructions
- Bring 4 quarts water to boil in a Dutch oven. Add noodles and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until just al dente, about 4-5 minutes. Drain noodles and rinse with cold water until cool. Drain again and set aside.
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter in now-empty pot over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl; set aside.
- In now-empty pot, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in half and half, a little at at time as you whisk to incorporate flour mixture and smooth out lumps. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink, 8-10 minutes. (Chicken won’t be cooked all the way through, that’s okay.)
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425℉. Remove pot from heat, transfer chicken to plate, and shred into bite-size pieces once cool enough to handle.
- Whisk American and cheddar cheeses into sauce until smooth. Stir shredded chicken, noodles, bell pepper mixture, peas, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and 1 ¼ teaspoons pepper into cheese sauce.
- Transfer mixture to 9x13 inch baking dish and top with crackers. Bake until golden brown and bubbling, about 15 minutes. Let casserole cool on wire rack for about 15 minutes. Serve.
Notes
- Nutrition facts were calculated for a serving of 1/8th casserole.
- If you use salted butter, reduce final salt addition by 1/8th teaspoon. If you use regular chicken broth, reduce salt by 1/4 teaspoon.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- If you want to prep this ahead, you could definitely make it up to the point where you top with crackers. I would put it in the pan and then cover and refrigerate. Before you bake it, give it a stir to distribute the sauce, and then sprinkle the crackers on right before baking.
Nutrition
Calories: 562kcal, Carbohydrates: 49g, Protein: 31g, Fat: 27g, Saturated Fat: 14g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 0.5g, Cholesterol: 131mg, Sodium: 514mg, Potassium: 624mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 1322IU, Vitamin C: 31mg, Calcium: 362mg, Iron: 3mg
Calories: 562kcal
Cost: $12
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