My Mom was known as the Casserole Queen when I was a kid, but I remember her preparing that special pot roast dinner every Sunday. While I have stuck with the family tradition of preparing a special meal on Sundays, I like to mix things up a bit and have deviated from the pot roast tradition. One thing that has stuck with me is my Mom’s love of casseroles. One of our favorites is a Chicken Noodle Casserole. It’s not one of those casseroles that is made with a can of soup, rather I make a bechamel sauce to bind the casserole. Family and friends always enjoy this meal.
Chicken Noodle Casserole
Ingredients:
12 ounces (7 3/4 cups) wide egg noodles
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons Country Crock Spread
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine
1 onion, chopped fine
3 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups half-and-half
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise and trimmed
6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
25 Ritz crackers, crushed coarse
Method:
1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add noodles and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until just al dente, about 3 minutes (or follow package directions). Drain noodles and rinse with cold water until cool, about 2 minutes. Drain again and set aside.
2. Melt 1 tablespoon Country Crock spread in now empty pot over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; set aside. In now-empty pot, melt remaining 2 tablespoons Country Crock over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, for about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in broth and half-and-half and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened, for about 5 minutes. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink – 8 to 10 minutes.
Did you know you can make a bechamel sauce with Country Crock spread?
3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove pot from the heat. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, transfer chicken to a plate, and shred into bite-size pieces. Whisk cheddar cheese into sauce until smooth. Stir shredded chicken, noodles, bell pepper mixture, mushrooms, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 1/4 teaspoons pepper into cheese sauce.
4. Transfer mixture to 13 by 9-inch baking dish and top with crackers. Bake until golden brown and bubbling, about 15 minutes. Let casserole cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Serve.
Recipe adapted from America’s Test Kitchen, Cook’s Country May 2013.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Chicken Noodle Casserole
Ingredients
- 12 ounces 7 3/4 cups wide egg noodles
- Salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons Country Crock Spread
- 1 green bell pepper stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine
- 1 onion chopped fine
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 1/2 cups half-and-half
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise and trimmed
- 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded (1 1/2 cups)
- 1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
- 25 Ritz crackers crushed coarse
Instructions
- 1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add noodles and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until just al dente, about 3 minutes (or follow package directions). Drain noodles and rinse with cold water until cool, about 2 minutes. Drain again and set aside.
- 2. Melt 1 tablespoon Country Crock spread in now empty pot over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; set aside. In now-empty pot, melt remaining 2 tablespoons Country Crock over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, for about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in broth and half-and-half and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened, for about 5 minutes. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink - 8 to 10 minutes.
- 3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove pot from the heat. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, transfer chicken to a plate, and shred into bite-size pieces. Whisk cheddar cheese into sauce until smooth. Stir shredded chicken, noodles, bell pepper mixture, mushrooms, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 1/4 teaspoons pepper into cheese sauce.
- 4. Transfer mixture to 13 by 9-inch baking dish and top with crackers. Bake until golden brown and bubbling, about 15 minutes. Let casserole cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Serve.
Oh I have to make this! This sounds so good! I might try using green beans instead of green peppers. the kids love green beans but not green peppers. The weather is supposed to get cold again next week 🙁 so this would be perfect. You have the best recipes!! I want to come to your house for dinner. LOL Thanks!!
Thanks Tammy! Green beans instead of peppers would be great or even peas. That’s what I love about a casserole – you can use whatever is on hand.
thanks for the green bean idea, that good too!!!
That looks delicious.
I really love casseroles for busy nights. They are a great way to have dinner in the oven quickly.
Sounds great, I love casseroles! I’m going to try it out, thanks!
I am a huge fan of casseroles and I just love this idea!
Looks delicious! This would be a recipe my family would enjoy.
This looks great! I love chicken noodle soup and never heard of a Chicken Noodle Casserole.
This sounds good to me. I am a fan of casseroles too! So many different varieties you can make.
I love this recipe – chicken, noodles, peppers…it spells comfort food to me.
This is so interesting!
That sounds really good!
Looks delicious! I like to do chicken casserole with crushed lays chips on top. I know it’s terribly unhealthy, but it’s so good, lol!
That looks really delicious!
This looks amazing!
I pinned this for later! Perfect work nights!
Looks good and I LOVE how the crust turned out. Country Crock is soooo tasty and I’m glad they don’t use hydrogenated oils any more!
This looks so yummy.
I don’t make casseroles often, since it is just my daughter & I and she is not into that kind of food. I suppose I could portion it out & freeze it though.
I think it would freeze very well, Robin.
Sounds delicious! My grandam swore by country crock!
This dish sounds amazing!
What a fun casserole!
This does look so good. I love casseroles and I make one similar but want to give this one a try.
That looks soooo good!
Does anyone know what I can substitute for half-and-half? I’m on a dairy-free diet, but this si almost too good to resist!
That’s a really good question, Shary. I’m not very familiar with gluten free diet and am not sure what you can use.
This is a delicious recipe and I have never made a bechamel sauce with Country Crock. I love the Ritz cracker topping
That looks delicious!
That sounds so good!
Sounds delish. I love Chicken and Noodles.
This looks so delicious!
This looks great, I will defiantly have to try this. Thanks for the recipe
Thanks for this. I stashed it in Evernote & Springpad under Winter Recipes. Looks delicious.
Thanks so much for sharing this receipe. I can’t wait to try it. I also have a love of casarolls.
This is comfort food at its best!
I love casseroles… they’re so adaptable, easy, and you get at least a couple of meals out of them. 🙂
This Chicken Noodle Casserole dinner sounds delicious. I’m always on the lookout for tasty chicken recipes. I think this one will be a hit. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing!This casserole looks so good.I love just about any thing made with chicken,and I love casseroles too.I will be making this recipe soon.I hope you don’t mind if I pin it to save in my recipes.
Mmmm Does this look delicious!!! I love casseroles & chicken noodle. I’m definitely remembering this for the cool winter months later in the year!
Now that’s what I’m talking about. My family will love this one
sibabe64 at ptd dot net
i would eat this every day I am sure of it–thanks for the recipe
This sounds very good! i love casseroles!
This recipe sounds so delicious. I love chicken and anything I can find to put it into a casserole I take note of. I like that you don’t use some canned soup to make it too. Thanks for the great recipe.
This is getting filed with my recipes as we speak!!!
This looks and sounds really good. Casseroles are great for when you need something to warm their tummys up on a cold day. Comfort food like this. thanks for the recipe. This would be good for a bring a dish party too. Cant wait to try it.
I love casseoles! They are easy to make, and you can throw them in the oven, and come back. This seems like something my boys would eat too!
This sounds so good. I’m always looking for a new chicken recipe.
Thsnk you for sharing
I just found your recipe on Pinterest. I can hardly wait to try it. I always have shredded chicken in the freezer. I do 10 or 12 chicken breasts in the crockpot then while still warm I use my mixer to shred it. Thanks so much for this recipe.
is that exactly how many cups of noodles you need? im trying to half this recipe and im not getting that 12 oz is 7 3/4 cups.
12 ounces of the wide egg noodles measured out to just under 8 cups for us. With a casserole like this, I wouldn’t worry about being exact on those measurements. Can’t wait to hear how it turns out for you!
That looks like a delish confort food dish.