Country Casserole
Filled with chicken, cheese, vegetables, and cream of chicken soup, this easy country casserole recipe is so creamy and filling, it’s destined to be your family’s new favorite.
In my family, if you die, get sick, have a car accident, have a baby, have a potluck, have a family reunion, have a picnic, get bad news, get hungry, or get last-minute dinner guests… you get a country casserole!
Also known as Lancaster country casserole, this is our standard family casserole. It shows up everywhere! Why? Because we love it!
This country casserole recipe is a quick, easy, and filling that’s great tasting, an inexpensive way to feed a crowd, a complete meal in one, and freezes AMAZINGLY well. Plus, it can be made even easier by using canned chicken when you’re not in the mood to cook the chicken ahead of time, and more importantly, it’s my husband’s personal favorite.
So, besides chicken, what can you expect in my country chicken casserole? There’s pasta, cream of chicken soup, shredded cheddar cheese, fried onions, seasonings, and some frozen vegetables. It’s so hearty, deliciously creamy, and total comfort food. Your family is guaranteed to try and go back for seconds!
There! Are you ready for the recipe now? Let’s get ready to rumble!
Recipe Ingredients
- Small shell pasta (or pasta of your choice)
- Chicken
- Cream of chicken soup
- Garlic powder (just a bit)
- Milk
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Canned French fried onions
- Frozen mixed vegetables
- Salt and black pepper
How to Make Country Casserole
First, cook the pasta according to the package directions and drain. Then cover the frozen mixed veggies with water and bring that just to a boil, boil for a minute or two, then drain those.
Next, place the cooked plain chicken, pasta, veggies, canned soup, salt, pepper, garlic powder, milk, half your cheese, and half your onions in a large bowl and stir well.
It will look like this.
Spoon this into a 9×13 baking dish and bake at 350 for about thirty minutes.
Remove the casserole dish from the oven and top with the remaining French fried onions and cheese.
Return to the oven for a few minutes until all of the cheese melts.
Oh, this country casserole is so good!
Enjoy my family’s favorite casserole!
Storage
Store casserole leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days and the freezer for up to 3 months.
Freezing options: Prepare up through step #2 and then simply spoon it into a gallon ziplock bag. Lay the bag flat so that it will thaw out quicker and place it in your freezer. On the day you want it, take it out the night before and refrigerate it or place it in the fridge that morning.
If you forget to do all of this, no sweat! Just microwave the bag until it thaws just a bit, pour into your casserole, and bake! To bake a casserole that is still frozen, simply place it in the oven while the oven preheats. This allows the casserole to thaw quickly and then bake to perfection!
Recipe Notes
- I’m warning you: I never make just one of these casseroles because they freeze so incredibly well. With the effort of a single casserole and just a little more cost-wise, you can have an extra casserole any time you need it!
- Use whichever pasta you like in this casserole recipe. Some people like using wide egg noodles, while others like Fusilli pasta.
- You can also use whichever vegetables you like in this country casserole. While I like the ease of frozen mixed vegetables, use whatever you have on hand. Broccoli, mushrooms, potato, and zucchini would all taste great.
- If you add mushrooms, why not also substitute the cream of chicken soup for cream of mushroom soup?
- For an even crunchier topping, add 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs when you add the remaining cheese.
- Speaking of cheese, feel free to use whatever cheese you like. Some Colby Jack cheese or mozzarella cheese on top sounds delicious to me!
- This casserole recipe is different from an Amish country casserole, which is usually tomato-based (it uses a can of tomato soup typically) and uses ground beef or ground turkey instead of chicken. It’s also topped with parmesan cheese, but feel free to do that with this casserole too!
Check out these other comforting casserole recipes:
Stuffed Pepper Casserole Recipe (Easy and Delicious)
Sloppy Joe Casserole (Deep Dish Recipe)
Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 cups small shell pasta cooked and drained
- 3 cups frozen mixed vegetables cooked and drained
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
- 2 cups French fried onions divided
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken can use canned chicken or rotisserie chicken
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine all of your ingredients in a large bowl, reserving half of the cheddar cheese and half of the onions for the topping later. Stir well to combine.2 cups small shell pasta, 3 cups frozen mixed vegetables, 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, 2 cups French fried onions, 2 cups shredded cooked chicken, 1 can cream of chicken soup, ¼ cup milk, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- Spoon the casserole mixture into a 9x13 casserole dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Top with the remaining onions and cheese and return the casserole to the oven until the cheese has melted, about five minutes more.2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, 2 cups French fried onions
Nutrition
Freezing in plastic bags instead of casserole pans- I love it! Thawing and then pouring into a dish makes this seem fresher somehow than pulling a ready to bake pan from the deep freeze. Just pour into a pan, sprinkle some cheese and bake- LOVE it.
Great idea Josey!!!
I’ve found kettle chips to be an acceptable substitute for french fried onions. The jalapeno kettle chips are awesome sauce!
What a great idea!!! Thanks for sharing with us!
Thanks for the info! My sick friend cannot eat onions. I plan on making this tonight for her family.
I initially discovered this recipe when pregnant with my middle child in 2010. I made a ton of freeze ahead meals and most were awful. This one was so good that it has become a family staple! I now have 3 kids and am laid up after surgery. My husband has been trying to keep up with feeding the family and the look of relief on his face when I told him this was in the freezer is the reason I keep making it!
Bless him, what a wonderful man to try and fill your shoes!! I am so glad that you liked the recipe and that it has come to be so handy for your family. It is one of my all-time favorites for many of the same reasons. I love having a couple on hand for when I have a friend or family member in need of a quick easy meal for their family for whatever reason.
Wow. You were not kidding. I doubled the batch and we have a TON of it. I am going to bag up what we have left in quart freezer bags and freeze it. Hubby going to our lake cabin in Wisconsin soon for a few days and I am sending a few frozen bags up with him to use while he is there so he will have suppers 🙂 I do that with a lot of our food for when I go out of town he has food to heat up or when he goes to the cabin. I will make small quart size bags from suppers and freeze it so I am not standing there making freezer meals all day for when I need meals for him. The kids even loved this one. Even the one that does not like veggies. Definitely a keeper for sure. I used large cans of chicken and added a little mozzarella cheese since I had a 1/2 bag to use up.
I am so glad that everyone liked it Lisa!! What a great idea to send some home-cooked love with your husband, I love that idea!!
Was on the dry side. I think 1/4 cup milk was too little. I probably would add in some sour cream or even mayo to make it moister. Good recipe, but needs a little more.
I love the taste that a big dollop of mayo gives most any casserole!
I’m just learning to make big meals for my growing family! We usually go out due to work, but now im a stay at home mom. This was my first experiment and it turned out perfect!!
I am so glad you liked it!!! There are many easy recipes that can be doubled for large families!
I have made this SO many times and it is always so good! Even the time I made it for a funeral meal and by mistake left the chicken in the fridge! I made two that day and planned on my family having one. My daughter mentioned she could not see any chicken in it and I said I was sure I put it in there. After supper found the chicken in fridge! Was so embarrassed I took one off without chicken but everyone said it was very tasty without it. I did make the other family a correct one at a later date so they could see how really good it was.