Olive’s Chicken Noodle Casserole – Vintage Recipe
A chicken noodle casserole recipe that is worth handing down through the generations, this side dish is good enough to stand on it’s own.
This is the sort of recipe made by church ladies all over the MidWest for Sunday potluck dinners. It’s hearty, inexpensive and will feed a lot of people! Yet, it’s simple to prepare.
Grandma Olive made this dish often and it is fondly remembered by my cousin, Joann. This is a chicken noodle casserole that is easy enough to make for a weeknight. The prep time is relatively minimal and the baking time can be used to prepare a main dish.
Like so many vintage recipes, this one relies on some tried and true ingredients of the 1950s and 1960s: cream of something soup and crushed cereal topping.
I’m sure many readers remember those classic, if not exactly high cuisine ingredients. Canned soups were a great time saver for busy cooks during the mid-century years. In all honesty, they still are today.
As for the crushed cereal topping, what is a better contrast to a creamy casserole dish than a crispy topping? Cereal, a mainstay in most kitchens, makes a quick topping that crisps up wonderfully!
My grandparents lived in Vermont, so visiting with them was a big deal for us. I grew up in Ohio and that 10-12 hour drive was a significant undertaking. Especially when the family included five children, some under school age and a station wagon.
My mom used to say she spent twenty-five years carrying either a diaper bag or at least a change of kid’s clothes in her purse. I’m not sure that math is exact, but I’m positive it felt like twenty-five years!
Trips to Vermont were a big deal for us and we did them only once every few years. My grandparents would make the trip to Ohio in the years we didn’t travel to Vermont.
Joann, my cousin, grew up in the same Vermont town as my grandparents. She spent lots of time visiting with my grandparents and I imagine was treated to this chicken noodle casserole dish at dinner often.
Recently, Joann and I were discussing recipes grandma used to make. I have one traditional holiday dish of grandma’s that I make annually, her Corn Pudding.
I love it because it’s creamy and warm and comforting and Grandma made it for the holiday dinners we shared with her. Grandma moved to Ohio about the time I entered high school, so holiday meals became more frequent.
When Joann told me about this chicken noodle casserole dish, I didn’t remember it. The more she talked about it, the more I felt like I had missed out! I asked her for the recipe and made up a dish the very next week.
Make It a Meal:
As a side dish, this chicken noodle casserole works well with Roasted Chicken, Slow Cooked Pork Roast or even Beef Stew. Put it on the table beside Cheesy Potatoes and Green Bean Casserole.
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Tips:
Joann shared some special instructions with me, so I could make the recipe exactly as grandma had:
- Grandma always used Mueller’s fine noodles for this dish. Never the curly or wide noodles.
- She typically used cream of chicken soup, but sometimes used cream of mushroom.
- Joann only remembers the minced bits of dark chicken meat in this dish. She presumes the “better” portions of white meat were used for other purposes.
- The fat grandma used to cook the carrots and celery was chicken fat, saved from the roasting pan.
- The carrots and celery were the end bits left from when grandma made sticks for grandpa’s lunchbox.
- The most important part of the recipe is the pan. Use a 9×13 Pyrex dish. This is not a deep dish casserole.
Olive’s Chicken Noodle Casserole Recipe
Ingredients:
Chicken, noodles, carrots, celery, cream of chicken soup, corn flakes
Recipe Directions:
Dice the cooked chicken. Prepare noodles then saute carrots and celery, mix. Top with crushed corn flakes. Bake.
Olive's Chicken Noodle Casserole
My grandmother's recipe for a chicken noodle side dish. The classic vintage casserole recipe in one dish.
Ingredients
- 12 ounce Fine Egg Noodles
- 10 ounce Cream of Chicken Soup
- 2 cup Chicken
- 1/2 cup Carrot
- 1/2 cup Celery
- 2 TB Butter
- 3 cup Corn Flakes
- 1/2 cup Milk
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Prepare noodles according to package directions. Drain.
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Saute the carrots and celery in the butter until soft.
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In a small saucepan, cook the soup with the milk.
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Mix the carrots, celery and chicken with the soup.
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Stir soup mixture into noodles.
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Spread noodle mixture into 9x13 baking dish.
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Top with crushed corn flakes.
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Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
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Garnish with sliced green onions if desired.
Approximate Nutritional Information:
Servings Per Recipe: 10, Amount Per Serving: Calories: 120, Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 20g, Sodium: 380mg, Carbs: 15g, Protein: 7g
(please remember these are approximate and will vary slightly based on your ingredient selections.)
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Gotta love old fashioned recipes just like Grandma cooked. Looks so delish and pinning for later.
You know, Grandma made these dishes all the time because they were eaten up by the family!
this looks like some amazing comfort food that my whole family would enjoy! Love this flavor combination – yum!
Traditions survive because the combinations work so well. There’s nothing like chicken and noodles … no matter what culture you grow up in!
I love discovering new comfort food dishes that I haven’t tried yet. This looks delicious, and I am looking forward to pairing this up with a fresh green salad for dinner this week!
Tina, this is perfect with a green salad for a lighter meal. Let me know how your family likes this recipe!
This looks so delicious and comforting!
Oh, it is that! I think my husband ate half the 9×13 pan in the first meal. I know it’s a good dish when that happens!
I love a good old fashioned classic dish like this, pure comfort food. I love the eas of this recipe also. I know the kids will gobble it up too!
They sure will. There’s nothing in this recipe to put kids off … I’m sure yours will like it as much as my family does!
The classic recipes were loaded with taste and convenience. The nice part is that if you want to take a little longer you can make your own cream of something addition to the recipe. This is the type of comfort food that the kiddos love.
so true, Marissa. The recipe I use for cream of celery soup really doesn’t take that long to make at home … and you know what you’re putting into that bowl!
This sounds like the perfect comfort food! Casseroles are a favorite of mine to make, I love how easy they are to throw together!
Casseroles are the perfect time saver for the busy cook. I like being able to put together a meal, then get several other chores done while it’s baking – and supper is complete!
I love a good casserole! This one looks easy to make and really yummy!
Casseroles are my go to for supper on busy days. This one is super easy and not many leftovers need to be saved. lol the entire dish is usually eaten when the kids are here.
Having a family recipe is just amazing – so many memories are connected to food and it is just awesome to be able to recreate an old family recipe. Chicken casserole looks and sounds delicious – such a homey and comforting dish.
Isn’t it funny how closely food and memories are linked? I know it’s true with my families.
This is the perfect comfort food dish! I love that I use the same kind of pasta noodles
Heather, aren’t those noodles some of the best?! I always have pasta on hand, just because I never know when I’m going to need to feed a crowd.