When I stumbled upon 4littlefergusons’ comforting recipe for Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole I knew I had to make it, especially since I was nursing my boyfriend back to health after a ski accident-induced shoulder surgery. Nothing says “get well soon” like a big pot of chicken noodle soup, and this casserole piqued my interest with the addition of yummy angel hair pasta, a creamy sauce and a buttery cracker topping.
So I gathered my ingredients and got in the kitchen. The whole cooking process took about an hour and afterwards, my house smelled just like Grandma’s as I lifted this heavenly golden casserole out of the oven. It’s comfort food at its finest and I think, just what the doctor ordered.
Here are the ingredients you need for success!
The ingredients are pretty standard to what you need for regular ol’ chicken noodle soup, except of course the Ritz crackers. Oh, Ritz crackers. Where have you been all my life?
Start by cooking the chicken breasts in boiling water with a little salt and a drizzle of olive oil. This should take about twenty minutes.
When they’re done, drain them and let them cool on a plate while you prep the rest of your ingredients!
Cook your pasta in another pot of boiling water. Tonya said she used angel hair so that’s what I used, too! Angel hair is by far my favorite pasta.
After cooking your pasta, your chicken should be cool enough to handle so chop it into ½ inch dice and then set aside.
Then, chop your carrots …
And your celery.
Dice your onion, too.
Melt four tablespoons of butter in a large skillet and sauté the carrot, celery, onion along with two minced cloves of garlic together for about six minutes, or until the onion has turned soft and translucent.
Your house should smell amazing right about now!
When the veggies are soft, add one can of cream of mushroom soup to the mix.
Plus one can of cream of chicken soup.
And a half cup of sour cream! I used reduced fat to lighten everything up a bit. Stir everything together to create a yummy, thick sauce and season with a little salt and pepper if you like.
Add the cooked pasta, dried parsley and diced chicken to the pan and toss it all together.
Then transfer everything to a greased 9 x 13 inch casserole dish and bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes, or until bubbly.
Now here’s the best part! When the timer goes off, pour on a whole sleeve of buttery, wonderful Ritz Cracker crumbs and continue baking for five to ten more minutes.
The casserole will smell delicious and be golden brown when it’s done!
We immediately dug in and couldn’t believe just how delicious this simple casserole was. Adam and I both agreed that the texture of the Ritz Cracker crumbs absolutely made this dish complete, and I didn’t hesitate to serve up seconds (for dinner and breakfast the next morning!).
Thank you Tonya for sharing this classic, comforting recipe. It’s definitely going to be a staple in my house from now on! (If you want to see just how cute those 4 little Fergusons are, head over to her blog.)
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Description
Chicken noodle soup reminds me of being sick. However, I love the flavors and this casserole was the perfect solution to my dilemma! It really hit the spot on a cold winter evening, and my kids gobbled it up!
Ingredients
- 4 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
- 12 ounces, weight Egg Noodles (I Prefer Angel Hair)
- 1 whole Onion, Chopped
- 2 cloves Garlic, Pressed
- ½ cups Carrots, Chopped
- ½ cups Celery, Chopped
- ¼ cups Butter
- 1 can (10 Oz. Size) Cream Of Mushroom Soup
- 1 can (10 Oz. Size) Cream Of Chicken Soup
- ½ cups Sour Cream
- Salt And Pepper, to taste
- 1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley
- 1 package (1 Sleeve From A Standard, 16 Ounce Box) Ritz Crackers, Crushed
Preparation Instructions
In a large pot of boiling water drizzle some olive oil and 1 tablespoon of salt. Boil the chicken until done, about 20 minutes.
Cook the noodles in boiling water according to package instructions.
While the noodles are cooking, cut up the chicken into 1/2 inch pieces. Drain pasta and set aside. Finely chop onions, carrots and celery.
In a pot saute onion, pressed garlic, carrots, and celery in the butter. Cook until the onions appear translucent, add the mushroom soup, chicken soup, and sour cream. Mix well. Salt and pepper if needed.
Add the noodles, chicken, and parsley. Stir until fully coated. Transfer to a greased 9×13 pan.
Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with crackers and bake 5 – 10 more minutes.
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Jenna is a food writer who has worked as a pastry chef and bread baker. Her blog Eat, Live, Run has great recipes, travel stories, and the perfect slogan: “Celebrating life, one crumb at a time.”
102 Comments
Comments are closed for this recipe.
Melissa Finn on 5.31.2011
This is heavenly. I’d like to taste this for myself.
Alberta on 5.14.2011
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It provided a base for me to make a pasta dish that I really enjoy. First, I tried this recipe as written. For those saying this dish is too dry, you might have used too much pasta. I accidentally made this mistake. With that said, when I used the right amount of pasta, the dish was plenty creamy for me. I thought the garlic clashed with the celery and the crackers didn’t do anything for me. Overall, the dish had a very good flavor and I found myself going back for more.
I then decided to make my own changes. I used Bow Tie pasta instead of the the Angel Hair. I omitted the garlic and chicken and used celery, onions and carrots in equal amounts (1/2 c each). I threw in 1 chicken boullion cube while I sauted the veggies. My measurements for salt (1 tsp) and pepper (1/4 tsp). I used Cream of Chicken Soup and Cream of Celery Soup. Everything else was the same. I now have myself a great little side dish that I can use with baked chicken, etc. Thanks again for sharing.
Luvey on 3.20.2011
YuM! Making this for dinner right now….it is in the oven! Thanks for the great recipe!
Delee on 3.19.2011
It was dry dry dry, and I even added a touch of the pasta water before baking it. Nothing soup about it! Dry!
Cynthia Sanders Hood on 3.18.2011
I made this last week, and it was delicious! Every one loved it. Thanks for posting the recipe – it’s a keeper!
Liz Aiello on 3.18.2011
I literally just finished reading the part in Pioneer Woman’s love story when she and Marlboro Man came home from their honeymoon and she made this. I was going “Mmmm I would love to have that for dinner tomorrow night.” And here it is! Man you’re good.
Patti on 3.16.2011
When I read this recipe I thought it looked good. NOT! It was awful, no amount of cheese of any kind made it better. It was thumbs down by everyone in my household. No I didn’t mess up the recipe. If you like eating your chicken noodle soup with a fork then this recipe is for you. It tasted just like chicken noodle soup and I just didn’t like it at all. My husband called it bland.
Tiffany on 3.16.2011
i made this for dinner last night and was completely in love. who doesn’t like chicken noodle soup?! i did some healthy substitutes; whole wheat thin spaghetti noodles, and 98% fat free cream soups, and vegetable Ritz crackers. Outcome didn’t seem to be lacking any. Thanks for the great meal
Alison on 3.14.2011
Made this for dinner tonight. It was really dry and I even added milk like some of the others suggested.
It is not a make again, for sure. It doesn’t taste anything like chicken noodle soup.
really disappointed….
Tiffany on 3.14.2011
Made this and added an additional 1/2 cup of sour cream because we’re sour cream fanatics around our house – WE LOVED IT!
Christine E on 3.14.2011
I made this last weekend and it was GREAT!
Cuddley Duddley on 3.14.2011
Just got done making this dish. I am a bit confused, my casserole never bubbled and was as dr y as the desert. Was I suppose to add additional liqid to this? I read on the back of the can your suppose to add either milk or water to each can of soup Once I discovered how dry the chicken noodle was i warmed up a can full of half and half in the microwave than poured half and half over the dryed dish and placed it back in the oven with foil over the dish and continued cooking for 15 minutes. This improved the dryness and made the noodle dish creamier. After reading your comment that we could use a different type of pasta I did change the type of noodle i used. I didnt have any angel hair on hand so i used 120z of rotoni noodles the (cork screw) kind. Could changing the noodles effected the recipe? If I had the angel hair on hand I don’t think i would have used it. The sauce was so heavy and the rotoni did a great job of holding the sauce around its curls. Thank you for sharing your insights and knowledge.
Erika (TK) on 3.11.2011
Betty, yes there is! Just click on the link to the printable recipe at the bottom of this post, and that will take you to the recipe on Tasty Kitchen. From there, you’ll be able to print the recipe using the “Print Recipe” link (found below the photo).
Betty on 3.11.2011
Is there a printer-friendly version somewhere? This is my first time at this website, and I haven’t found it.
Shae M on 3.11.2011
I made this for my family last night! Huge hit with my kids (even my 2 yr old) – and I loved it too!!!
Anna4 on 3.10.2011
It’s in the oven can’t wait…..
Becky on 3.10.2011
I made this last night. I loved it. The only thing, was it was a little too dry (i used reduced fat soups). I think I put too many noodles in it. I would add more something to it and definitely add more carrots. I love carrots! This is definitely a keeper!!!!
Cass on 3.8.2011
YUMM-O! I made this tonight for supper and my daughters and hubbie liked it very much. Super easy and most of the ingredients I had on hand. Will def make this again. Thanks so much!
Becky G on 3.8.2011
I made this last night and found it to be extremely dry. Loved the ingredients, and the taste was very good. Before I baked it, I added a half cup of the chicken stock left from poaching the breasts as it looked too thick to me, and I think I should’ve covered it with foil to bake. I added several ladles of broth before storing it last night and will see if that helped. Just wondering if anyone else had this problem or is it just me? Thanks.
michelle a on 3.7.2011
I overate and now nursing an aching tummy…. Divine.
Niteowl Nancy on 3.7.2011
When I was stirring the cooked angel hair (exactly 12 oz. weighed before cooking) into the soup mixture, I thought the mixture was a bit thick so I added some milk. I’m glad I did, based on other commenters’ observations. It tasted great and is definitely going into the meal rotation! Thanks for featuring this recipe, EatLiveRun!
GinMT on 3.7.2011
I followed this recipe to the T and it was so dry/tacky. I ended up adding milk (maybe 1 cup) until slightly moist, heating slightly, then sprinkling on the bread crumbs.
I will NOT be making this recipe again.
Elizabeth on 3.7.2011
Just made this yesterday. Put the chicken in the crock pot before church and came home and whipped it up. I did use egg noodles instead of angel hair. My husband and son LOVED it (and so did I). It’s a keeper!
rebeccah5 on 3.7.2011
@ Tracy: I used to think that, too, but for me the time between after school and supper is crazy busy and I don’t always have a lot of time to actively prepare anything. However, my mornings are a lot calmer (once the kids are at school and the baby has been fed!), so I can prepare a dish in the morning, then cover it and refrigerate (or freeze, if it’s going to be more than a day or two), so when I get ready to fix supper all I have to do is pull it out of the refrigerator, pop it in the oven, and wait!
I do have a question about the recipe. Has anyone tried it using frozen noodles? I was just wondering if I am preparing it ahead of time if I would still need to boil the frozen noodles, or if I can just put the frozen noodles in with the other ingredients in the dish, then refrigerate. Would baking the frozen noodles in the oven take up too much of the moisture from the other ingredients?
sandyp218 on 3.7.2011
Made this last night and we loved it.
After everything was mixed, I divided it between two 8×8 dishes. One was dinner, the other went in the freezer for another night. The smaller portion easily feeds a family of 4 with enough left over for my hubby’s lunch.
Meagan on 3.6.2011
I made this dish for dinner tonight and everyone loved it, including our 4 year and 1 year old daughters! I would highly recommend you make this tonight for dinner, yum! I did change one thing because of the supplies I had – I used a mix of spaghetti and linguine because that is what I had available in the pantry. The dish came out perfect regardless!
harve13108 on 3.6.2011
I made this for my family this weekend…so good! We only ate half, so there will be plenty of leftovers. Very good recipe, so easy!
momoftanda on 3.6.2011
I made this tonight! I was really good. My husband really enjoyed it.
EatLiveRun on 3.6.2011
Jennifer,
That’s very odd! Perhaps your chicken got a tad bit overcooked and that caused the casserole to be dry…are you sure you used a whole can of each cream of chicken and cream of mushroom? You could add a little bit of the pasta cooking water to the condensed soup to make it a little creamier, although I personally have not tried that method myself.
Bev on 3.6.2011
This casserole is in the oven right now. I’m pretty sure this one is going to be a “keeper”! I think this one is going to the next potluck.
Jennifer on 3.6.2011
Hi,
We made this last night & it came out super dry. The noodles had a good chicken soup flavor, but didn’t have any moisture. The noodles in the pictures look creamy. We looked back over the recipe & didn’t omit anything. Any ideas?
Lindsay on 3.6.2011
This is in the oven as we speak. My husband’s comment about it: “Can I just put my whole face in this bowl?!” We can’t wait!!
margaretnell on 3.6.2011
It is delicious so much so that I made it, my daughter made it and my son is going to make it later today. My only suggestion is to break the angel hair pasta in half. It was difficult to stir with the mass of pasta.
joy on 3.6.2011
I made this last night and it is soooo good. It totally has the taste of soup but more filling! Mine turned out dry but I think it is because I used too many noodles. We had left overs so when I warmed them up I added some cream of chicken soup and it was even more amazing since all the flavors blended together so nicely over night. Just one tip, saute the celery and carrots for a little longer if you want them to be soft. Mine still had a little to much firmness to them. Will definitely be making this again and passing it along to everyone I know!!!
Thanks for such a great recipe!
Cathy K. on 3.6.2011
Saw the post and made this for dinner last night – easy and all the ingredients were in house. My husband absolutely loved it. Makes a great big pan so I put aside a container to send to our elderly neighbor for his dinner. Comforting and filling. Thanks!
Sabrina Smeraldini on 3.6.2011
Looks like a really good dish for a cold night. Before I add water to the chicken to boil it I usually let it turn gold in hot olive oil. I think it gives a nice flavour. Sabrina.
Brenda Chilcott on 3.6.2011
I cooked the chicken breast in the crock pot with the 2 cans of soup so the chicken just falls apart. Used tri color sprial pasta and no sour cream because I was being good and using what I had on hand. Turned out very yummy, but on the dry side. Will add either some milk or another can of soup next time so its more creamy, but the flavor was wonderful. Even hubby had seconds, and he’s not much of a casserol person. Tons left over for another meal and several lunches. TFS!
Kristan @ The Stepford Wife on 3.5.2011
Thank you! I just made this and lightened it up a lot by using whole wheat pasta, fat free Greek yogurt (instead of sour cream), 98% fat free soups, reduced fat Ritz, and replaced the butter with 2 Tbsp of olive oil. If you follow Weight Watchers, it’s only 9 PointsPlus this way. I’m freezing half before baking since there are only two of us. It’s delicious!
mcthomp3 on 3.5.2011
I made it, it was Tasty! Thanks!
Wenderly on 3.5.2011
Oh how I would love to crawl inside a big heaping bowl of that and not come out for days.
cocinas integrales modernas on 3.5.2011
Tried to cook it…and failed! Trying again this weekend!
Sue G. on 3.5.2011
Thanks for the recipe! I used up some turkey to make this… even the dark meat (which isn’t liked much here), free formed a few parts to make it more eatable to the hard to please folks here… and it was delicious. It made a generous amount, so we’ll be having it for lunches for awhile. Wonderful dish.
agnes on 3.4.2011
woww.. this looks very yummy! i should try someday
Good job! and please say get well soon to your BF 
greetings from indonesia.
The Church Cook (Kay Heritage) on 3.4.2011
What great comfort food, Jenna! Great photos & tutorial!
Mel on 3.4.2011
Vegetarian-ized this tonight by just leaving out the chicken and using two cans of cream of mushroom (also swapped out the celery for peas cause I just wasn’t feeling celeryish tonight) and it was delicious!
Brittany on 3.4.2011
This looks delicious!!! On my list to make soon! Thanks for sharing!
ehammer on 3.4.2011
I made this last night and it was really good! I added mushroom because I had mushrooms to everything. I used egg noodles because that’s what I had onhand and it was yummy.
mcollins on 3.4.2011
I made this last night and it was AMAZING! Instead of 12 oz of pasta I used the whole box (16 ox) so it wasn’t as cream as I would have liked. Next time I make this I will add an extra can of cream of chicken soup as well as another sleeve or Ritz crackers (it was sooo good on top! Nice and crunchy). Also, my cohorts thought that some cheese melted on top would be nice.
This recipe was GREAT–definitely going in my recipe box.
Bratfink on 3.4.2011
I think it would be a tad more amazing with some boiled dark meat, since that really has most of the flavor. But I’m sure I’d eat it anyway, and I’m dying to try it. I’m also sending the link to my sisters.
Jess J on 3.4.2011
I made this recipe yesterday and it was amazing!! My boyfriend and i both went back for seconds! I substituted a potato for the onion the recipe called for (because i forgot to buy an onion and happened to have a potato!) and it was delicious! Perfect for a cold night!!