Get Better Casserole–a chicken noodle casserole that has the flavors of chicken noodle soup but in a casserole form (and it has melty cheese on top)! It’s perfect to share with a friend and can be made fast in your Instant Pot.
Get Better Casserole
Chicken noodle soup reminds me of being nourished and taken care of. This is a casserole that gives those same vibes. Whether you’re making it for your own family or someone else the recipients will feel warm and cared for. I had this on the docket to make and then a friend had an emergency surgery the exact day I was going to make it so it worked out perfectly that I could bring the casserole over to her family. I paired it with a green salad.
You might also like...Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Butter–or olive oil
- Onion–yellow or white
- Celery
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon*
- Bay leaf
- Italian seasoning
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder–or granulated garlic
- Poultry seasoning
- Medium shells–or egg noodles. I meant to use egg noodles but then when I went to make the casserole I realized I didn’t have enough so I used another type of pasta.
- Chopped, cooked chicken–I used rotisserie chicken from Costco that had been pre-portioned and frozen.
- Cheddar cheese–medium or sharp is what I like to use
- Heavy cream
Steps
Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the butter and let it melt. Add in the onion, celery and carrots and saute for 4 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
Add in the broth and bay leaf and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
Add in the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder and poultry seasoning.
Sprinkle in the pasta evenly (it won’t all be covered with broth).
Add the chicken on top of the pasta (mine was frozen).
Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes for shells or 1 minute for egg noodles. When time is up let pot sit for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
Stir in the heavy cream.
And half of the cheese.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and let melt. Serve and enjoy! (If bringing to a friend then scrape the noodles into a disposable foil pan* and then sprinkle the cheese on top and let it melt in the oven before delivering.)
Notes/Tips
- Serve with a green salad, corn and dinner rolls.
- Try adding in mushrooms with the sauteed vegetables.
- Try adding in a cup of peas after the pressure cooking time is up.
- I love buying the rotisserie chickens and Costco. When I get home I take the meat off the bones and store 2-3 cups of the meat in ziplock bags in the freezer. Then I have chicken meat at the ready for recipes like this one.
- Kosher salt has larger flakes compared to table salt, so if you’re substituting table salt for kosher salt in a recipe, you’ll need less table salt than the amount of kosher salt specified. As a general rule of thumb: 1 teaspoon of table salt ≈ 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. But it’s important to note that this is an approximation and can vary based on the brand and type of salt used. If possible, it’s best to follow a recipe’s specific salt measurements or, if substituting, do so with caution, adjusting the quantity according to taste.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in an 8 quart pot. For the 3 quart pot you’ll need to cut the recipe in half.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with heavy cream are Julie’s casserole and California Casserole.
More Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Casseroles…
Trust Me Casserole
Pasta with a pumpkin parmesan cream sauce, chicken and bacon crumbles. This is made in minutes with your Instant Pot!
Ornery Teenager Casserole
Creamy spaghetti with chicken, vegetables and melted cheese topping made fast in the Instant Pot.
Kentucky Casserole
Creamy cheesy penne pasta with bacon, tomatoes and turkey or chicken. This is an easy dump-and-go Instant Pot recipe!
Come Home Casserole
Tender bites of chicken with penne and broccoli in a cream sauce and topped with melty mozzarella cheese.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Get Better Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
A chicken noodle casserole that has the flavors of chicken noodle soup but in a casserole form (and it has melty cheese on top)! It’s perfect to share with a friend and can be made fast in your Instant Pot.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 cup diced onion
- 3 ribs of celery, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced or diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
- 1 (16 oz) package medium shells or egg noodles
- 3–4 cups chopped, cooked chicken
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the butter and let it melt. Add in the onion, celery and carrots and saute* for 4 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
- Add in the broth and bay leaf and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Add in the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder and poultry seasoning.
- Sprinkle in the pasta evenly (it won’t all be covered with broth). Add the chicken on top of the pasta (mine was frozen).
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes for shells or 1 minute for egg noodles. When time is up let pot sit for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir in half of the cheese and the heavy cream.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and let melt. Serve and enjoy! (If bringing to a friend then scrape the noodles into a disposable foil pan* and then sprinkle the cheese on top and let it melt in the oven before delivering.)
Stove Instructions:
- Boil noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Heat a large pan or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add in the butter and let it melt. Add in the onion, celery and carrots and saute for 4 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder and poultry seasoning.
- Stir in the pasta and chicken. Cook through.
- Stir in half of the cheese and the heavy cream.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and let melt. Serve and enjoy! (If bringing to a friend then scrape the noodles into a disposable foil pan* and then sprinkle the cheese on top and let it melt in the oven before delivering.)
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Instant Pot
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
If you don’t have egg noodles or pasta shells, can you substitute other pastas?
yep for sure!
Howdy Karen
This is Jim Bob ….This is my new e-maill address My house has a new Number #1 favorite casserole “Get Better Casserole” (with both the shells and noodles) — the #2 favorite is, and will always be my favorite “Stuffed bell pepper casserole” I made and took the new recipe to Church Potluck night and couldn’t get out the door to go home unless I shared the recipe. Thanks again for all the recipes.
Oh that’s so fun to hear that! I’m so glad you and your church all loved it!
Does the chicken have to be cooked or can you use frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts?
You can’t because the frozen chicken would require a 12-15 minute pressure cook time and the pasta would be way too overdone at that point. You could cook the chicken separately initially and then chop it and use it in the above recipe.
No Instructions for Instapot or stove top about when to add broth???? Surely with pasta, correct?
Yes instructions for when to add broth was in Instapot instructions but not stove top.
Hi Dee, don’t use broth for the stovetop version. Just boil the pasta in water. If you want you can boil the pasta in some broth but you don’t have to.