Canned chicken noodle casserole
Egg noodles, chicken and peas in a creamy sauce under a crunchy buttered top, a cozy pantry dinner that freezes well.
- 45 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 6
- About $2.27 a serving
- 600 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 12 oz egg noodles
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cans canned chicken breast, drained
- 1½ cups frozen peas
- 1 cup shredded cheddar, divided
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp salt
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 600 calories, 40 g protein, 56 g carbs and 24 g fat, and costs about $2.27 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No egg noodles? Fettuccine or penne works.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No frozen peas? Frozen mixed vegetables work.
- No shredded cheddar? Cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese or Monterey Jack cheese works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 375°F. Fill a large pot with water, add the salt, and over high heat.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cook the egg noodles 2 minutes less than the package says, then them.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
High heatTimer: 5 min
the butter in the empty pot over low heat, in the panko, and tip it into a small bowl.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Low heat
Add the soup, cream cheese and milk to the pot and over low heat 2 to 3 minutes, until smooth.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Low heat
in the noodles, the chicken, the frozen peas, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper and ½ cup of the cheddar.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Spread it in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, then scatter the remaining cheddar and the buttered panko over the top.
20 to 25 minutes, until bubbling and on top.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 22 min
Dolly’s tip: To freeze, cover the unbaked dish tightly. Thaw it overnight in the fridge, then bake it and add 10 minutes.Food safety: Rotisserie chicken, deli meat, canned tuna and cooked shrimp are already cooked. Keep them cold until you use them, and heat them until steaming hot if the recipe warms them.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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