This Creamy Chicken Casserole, also known as Amish Chicken, is one of the most comforting casserole recipes. Pasta and chicken are coated in a creamy Parmesan sauce, for an easy, creamy chicken casserole.
At my house, this dish is known as Amish Chicken and ranks as one of my family’s all-time favorite Casserole Recipes. It is a perfect family meal, especially when paired with Roasted Broccoli or tossed salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing.
This Creamy Noodle Casserole with chicken speaks of my childhood to me, it is comfort food at it’s finest–rich and soul-satisfying, yet SIMPLE!
My mom has been making this recipe for decades–for her picky family of 6 and to take to those in need of a comforting meal.
While not a complicated or sophisticated dish, the simple creamy sauce, noodles, and shredded chicken, come together to create classic comfort food. It is a meal that is perfect for picky eaters, sensitive palates, or just a great way to use up leftover chicken. It also happens to be incredibly easy to make!
Ingredients Needed for Amish Chicken Casserole
- Pasta: Select a pasta that has curves or ridges, like corkscrew, rotini, or cavatappi noodles. They will trap the chicken and sauce, making the casserole much more flavorful in every bite.
- Cooked Chicken: Use any leftover cooked chicken you have on hand, such as Roasted Chicken Breasts, Instant Pot Chicken, or Leftover Rotisserie Chicken. Alternatively, use leftover turkey.
- Cream Sauce: Made with a bit of wine, chicken stock, flour, butter, and Parmesan, this sauce comes together super easily. Be sure to use freshly grated Parmesan cheese for the best flavor. Feel free to leave the wine out of this casserole and use all chicken stock, but I do love the sharp, acidic notes the dry white wine adds to this dish–it makes it feel a bit more sophisticated.
How to Make Creamy Chicken Casserole
- In a large dutch oven, melt butter.
- Whisk in flour to form a thick roux, and let cook for 1 minute.
- Slowly, whisk in white wine and chicken stock and allow the sauce to thicken about 3-4 minutes.
- Whisk in milk, Parmesan, and seasonings and cook for 2-3 minutes longer, or until sauce is combined and gently simmering.
- While making the cream sauce, prepare the pasta in heavily salted water, cooking for 1 minute less than the box states. Once cooked, drain but DO NOT rinse the cooked pasta. You need that starch on the outside of the noodles to help the sauce adhere to the noodles.
- Add the cooked pasta, along with the shredded pre-cooked chicken to the cream sauce and toss well.
- Pour the chicken and noodle mixture into a greased 9×13 or 2-quart baking dish.
- Top the casserole with freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.
- Bake the casserole until bubbly and the cheese is slightly browned.
Freezing and Storing
Leftover Creamy Chicken Casserole can be stored in the refrigerator for up 3 days.
While I do not recommend freezing the baked casserole, as it can dry out, this recipe can be assembled and then frozen prior to baking.
To do this, you would assemble the casserole up to baking. Allow to cool and store in a large freezer gallon-sized bag or in a disposable casserole pan. Freeze for up to 3 months.
To prepare Amish Chicken from Frozen, defrost for 12 hours in the refrigerator and bake at 350 degrees covered for 1 hour and then uncover and bake for 20-30 minutes until the dish is bubbly and warmed through.
More Chicken Casserole Recipes
- Chicken Pot Pie–Another classic comfort food recipe made with a creamy sauce, leftover chicken, vegetables, and a homemade pastry topping.
- Creamy and Cheesy Chicken and Rice–Just like the name states, this dish is creamy, cheesy, and DELICIOUS!
- Buffalo Chicken Casserole–Made with potatoes, bacon, cheese, and a spicy sauce, this dish is anything but boring!
I hope that this Creamy Chicken Pasta becomes a family favorite, just as it has at my house! I would love to hear how you enjoyed this meal in the comments.
Creamy Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup dry white wine or additional chicken stock
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme finely chopped, optional
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
- 8 oz noodles like corkscrew, cavatappi, or rotini
- 2 cups cooked chicken diced or shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Lightly butter a 2 quart casserole dish.
- Melt butter in large saucepan. Add flour and whisk together for 1 minute.
- Add wine, while whisking and allow to come to a boil. Slowly add chicken stock, thyme, salt and pepper as you whisk.
- Bring mixture to a boil and continue to whisk occassionaly. Lower heat and add milk and cheese.
- Cook for 3-5 minutes until sauce is thickened and milk is warmed through.
- Pour sauce over cooked pasta and add diced chicken to the mixture. Stir together and pour into casserole pan.
- Bake for 20- 25 minutes until top of casserole is browned.
Equipment Needed
Notes
Nutrition
I made this last night and it was DELICIOUS! I used a rotisserie chicken, but deboning was a rather tedious job since rotisserie chickens are small. Next time I will cook chicken thighs with bouillon added to the cooking water so I will have the broth along with the chicken.
The taste is elegant, if you can ascribe that adjective to food. Served with a salad and good french bread, you will have an exceptional dinner for family or company.
Thank you for posting this dish.
I am so glad you enjoyed so much Carole! And I agree, I think this is a great dish to entertain with.
This was wonderful! We enjoyed it as is the first night and added Frank’s the next night. When we make this again we decided we’ll add Frank’s from the get go to have buffalo chicken pasta.
On a side note, I’m still wondering about reserving the pasta water since it wasn’t a part of the recipe. I threw it in the sauce anyway but just wonder what the propose was.
Hi Cathy! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe. There is no pasta water added to this recipe, I am sorry that was unclear in the instructions–I don’t see it added myself.