This Creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole is made with rotisserie chicken, mixed veggies, and noodles baked in a creamy sauce, topped with a buttery Ritz cracker topping.
A Few Ingredient Notes:
- Rotisserie Chicken: Shredded rotisserie chicken makes this recipe especially easy.
- Flour: Helps thicken the broth and cream into a gravy-like sauce.
- Frozen Mixed Vegetables: No need to thaw them first. Just stir them straight into the sauce.
Dietary Swaps:
- Gluten-Free: Use gluten-free pasta, gluten-free flour, and gluten-free crackers. Be sure to check your chicken broth and rotisserie chicken as well.
- Dairy-Free: Use dairy-free butter and an unsweetened dairy-free cream alternative that works for cooking.
Tips & Notes:
- Optional Additions: Shredded cheese, sauteed mushrooms, sliced celery, chopped broccoli.
- Don't overcook the pasta. Cook it just until tender since it will continue cooking in the oven.
- Let the sauce thicken. You want the sauce to be around the consistency of gravy or condensed soup before adding the noodles. If it's too thin, the finished casserole can be watery.
- No need to thaw the vegetables. Frozen mixed vegetables can go straight into the sauce.
- Watch the cracker topping. The Ritz topping gets golden quickly under the broiler, so keep a close eye on it.
- Let it rest: Give the casserole about 5 minutes to cool before serving. The sauce will thicken a little as it sits.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or oven until warmed through.
Recipe
Creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole
This Creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole is made with rotisserie chicken, mixed veggies, and noodles baked in a creamy sauce, topped with a buttery Ritz cracker topping.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces spaghetti noodles or short-cut pasta
- 3 tablespoons butter divided
- ½ onion diced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
- 1 ½ cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 10 Ritz crackers
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x9-inch baking dish.
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions until just tender. Drain and set aside.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the diced onion and cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the minced garlic and fresh thyme. Cook for another 2 minutes, stirring often.
- Sprinkle the flour over the onion mixture and stir until everything is well combined.
- Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and heavy cream.
- Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring often, until it thickens to about the consistency of gravy or condensed soup.
- Add the cooked pasta, shredded rotisserie chicken, and frozen mixed vegetables to the sauce. Stir until everything is evenly coated.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared 9x9-inch baking dish.
- Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a small bowl. Crush the Ritz crackers into the melted butter and stir until the crumbs are coated.
- Sprinkle the buttery cracker mixture evenly over the casserole.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until hot and bubbly.
- Turn the oven to broil and broil for a few minutes, watching closely, until the cracker topping is golden brown.
- Let the casserole rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Find ingredients notes, dietary swaps, recipe variations, and more tips in the notes above.
- Nutrition information is an estimate only.
Nutrition
Calories: 470kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 21gFat: 29gSodium: 650mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4g
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!
Must Love Garlic says
Easy, extremely flavorful. Even the kiddos will love it!