My Menu Mentor · mymenumentor.com/recipes/from-scratch-chicken-noodle-casserole
Back to the indexCasseroles
From-Scratch Chicken Noodle Casserole
A sturdy, reliable bake built on a homemade roux rather than canned soup, ensuring the noodles stay distinct and the sauce holds its structure.
- Prep
- 25 minutes
- Cook
- 45 minutes
- Total
- 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield
- one 9x13-inch pan
Print the card
The card carries the title, timings, ingredients and method. Add what you want beside them — currently one sheet.
Most chicken noodle casseroles fail in the oven because they rely on condensed soup and undercooked pasta. The starch from the noodles thickens the already dense soup into a paste, leaving the dish heavy and uniform. The fix is building a simple, loose velouté sauce from butter, flour, and chicken stock, which coats the noodles without turning them to glue.
Using wide egg noodles provides enough surface area to hold the sauce, while a mix of dark and light chicken meat keeps the protein from drying out during the bake. A sharp cheddar cheese is folded in off the heat, melting gently into the sauce rather than separating into grease. The topping is crushed butter crackers, which brown evenly and provide a necessary textural contrast to the soft interior.
This casserole requires about twenty minutes of active stovetop work before it goes into the oven. It can be assembled entirely the day before, covered tightly, and refrigerated. If baking from cold, add fifteen minutes to the covered baking time. Serve it alongside a sharp, acidic green salad to cut through the richness of the sauce.
What you need
Ingredients
Measurements
Metric converts only measures that are mathematically safe. Density-dependent cups stay as Nicole wrote them.
Scaling this one
This recipe is written to fill one 9x13-inch pan, so there is no batch slider: doubling the quantities would not give you a deeper pan, it would give you two of them — and the bake time and temperature below would no longer be right. To make more, run the recipe twice in separate tins rather than crowding one.
For the filling
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 stalks celery, finely diced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and finely diced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth, warmed
- 1 cup whole milk, warmed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded (about 1 pound)
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated (about 1 cup)
For the topping
- 1 sleeve buttery round crackers (about 35 crackers), crushed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
How it goes
Method
Read the whole thing once before you start. Nothing here is difficult, but the timing is unforgiving at the end.
Boil the noodles
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the egg noodles two minutes shy of the package directions, so they remain firm in the center. Drain well and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Undercooking the pasta prevents it from turning to mush when baked in the sauce.
Sauté the aromatics
In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened and the onion is translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Do not let them brown.
Build the sauce
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir constantly for 2 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Gradually whisk in the warm chicken broth and milk, ensuring no lumps form. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and cook until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes.
Combine the filling
Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the salt, pepper, thyme, and grated cheddar cheese until the cheese is completely melted. Fold in the shredded chicken, peas, and the drained egg noodles until everything is evenly coated in the sauce.
Prepare the topping
Transfer the chicken and noodle mixture to a greased 9x13-inch baking dish, spreading it into an even layer. In a small bowl, toss the crushed crackers with the melted butter until the crumbs are evenly moistened.
Bake the casserole
Sprinkle the buttered cracker crumbs evenly over the casserole. Bake uncovered at 375°F (190°C) for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling around the edges and the topping is deep golden brown. Let the casserole rest for 10 minutes before serving so the sauce can set.
On the bench
Equipment
2 of these change the result. The rest are conveniences, with a workaround given. Nothing here is a brand recommendation — the spec is what matters.
The search links are paid affiliate links. If you buy through one, My Menu Mentor may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. No prices are shown because we will not quote a price we cannot keep current.
Large pasta pot
Undercooking the noodles by two minutes requires a pot large enough that the water returns to a boil quickly and the pasta cooks evenly.
- What matters
- 6-8 quart stockpot with a wide opening to prevent clumping and allow rapid boiling.
- Search for
- “large 8 quart pasta pot” (paid link)
Heavy Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot
A heavy pot prevents scorching while you sweat vegetables and build a roux, ensuring a smooth, lump-free sauce.
- What matters
- 5-6 quart heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven that retains heat and distributes it evenly.
- Search for
- “5 quart dutch oven heavy” (paid link)
Box grater (medium holes)
OptionalFreshly grated cheese melts into the sauce; pre-shredded cheese resists melting because of anti-caking agents and will change the sauce's texture.
- What matters
- Box grater with medium-size holes for shredding a block of cheddar into consistent, meltable strands.
- If you skip it
- If you don't have a grater, cut the cheese into very small dice so it melts more readily.
- Search for
- “box grater medium holes” (paid link)
The list
What to buy
The same 16 ingredients, sorted the way a store is laid out rather than the order you cook them. Tick things off as you go.
0 of 16 gathered
Produce
Meat & Seafood
Dairy & Eggs
Pantry
Spices & Staples
Everything else
Shop these ingredients
One-tap grocery delivery for this list is planned, and this is where it will appear. Until it is connected, copy the list and paste it into whichever grocery app you already use.
Ticks stay in this browser tab only — nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
Cook's notes
What we would tell a friend
- To make ahead, assemble the casserole without the cracker topping, cover tightly, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Add the topping just before baking.
- Using freshly grated cheese is crucial; pre-shredded cheese contains anti-caking agents that prevent it from melting smoothly into the sauce.
- Rotisserie chicken works well here, but ensure you use a mix of white and dark meat for the best flavor and moisture.
- If the topping begins to brown too quickly in the oven, tent the dish loosely with aluminum foil for the remaining baking time.
From the kitchen
Loading notes…
Keep reading
Next in the index
Baked Spaghetti with Ricotta and Mozzarella
A sturdy, sliceable pasta bake that relies on a ricotta binding layer to prevent the noodles from turning to mush.
1 hour 40 minutes · 8 servings
Casseroles
Sour Cream and Cheddar Hashbrown Casserole
A sturdy, sharp-cheddar potato bake that relies on sour cream and a hot oven rather than canned soup.
1 hour 15 minutes · one 9x13 pan
Casseroles
