Chicken Noodle Casserole

The baby ice age of ’26 rolls on: multiple weeks with highs of 20 degrees, 24″ of snow, and light winds that make 10 degrees feel like liquid nitrogen. Madam Badwolf and I braved the tundra for a resupply run to the local not-so-megamart, hunting for fresh vegetables and comfort food. We noted a sale on rotisserie chicken, so of course one of the flavorful fowls made the trip home with us.

The beauty of these pre-roasted birds is that they can serve as the primary protein for a wide range of follow-on meals. In this specific instance, a hearty oven-baked casserole of chicken and noodles with a creamy gravy. Most 1950s/1960s versions included condensed cream of XXXX soups. We’ll skip the canned glop.

This homemade version brings together tender wide egg noodles, shredded rotisserie chicken, and a proper mirepoix of sautéed onions, carrots, and celery in a rich, scratch-made gravy. Sliced mushrooms add earthy depth and the kind of meaty texture that makes you forget you’re eating vegetables. Instead of cracking open a can of gelatinous glop masquerading as “cream of something,” we’re starting with a proper roux—butter and flour cooked golden and nutty—then thinning it with good chicken stock until it reaches that perfect consistency where it clings to every noodle without turning into library paste. The mushrooms bring umami punch, and fresh herbs like thyme or parsley keep things honest and prevent the whole affair from collapsing into dairy-based monotony.

The result is comfort food that tastes like someone actually cooked it, the kind of casserole that justifies staying indoors while the tundra howls outside. No Campbell’s required, no apologies necessary. Just honest cooking that got here through technique instead of pantry archaeology and marketing departments.