This homemade Ritz Chicken Casserole is a hearty and flavorful family favorite that’s ready in less than 30 minutes, making the perfect weeknight dinner. Soft egg noodles mixed with a creamy chicken and vegetable filling, and topped off with a crunchy Ritz cracker topping!

ritz chicken casserole hero image
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Ritz Chicken Casserole

You can never have enough chicken casserole recipes! They are quick and easy options for a weeknight family dinner.

This Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole is one of my family’s favorites. The hearty, comforting dish is full of flavor. The perfectly baked Ritz topping adds in the ultimate crunch!

This recipe is a quick and simple dish, made easier by it’s ingredients list. Egg noodles are so quick to cook and I usually use a store-bought rotisserie chicken which adds great flavor, and saves me the step of cooking the chicken.

This is a casserole you will be making again and again!

Why We Love This Chicken Casserole Recipe

  • Quick and easy to make
  • A simple weeknight dinner
  • Easy assembly
  • Hearty and filling family dinner
  • Your kids will love it
  • Great served as leftovers 
  • Many options for variations on the ingredients
ritz chicken casserole scooped in using wooden spoon

Ingredients/Shopping List

  • 2-3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 stalks celery chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 cans (10.5 oz) cream of chicken soup
  • 1 cup half and half
  • 2 cups sharp cheddar shredded (shred your own cheese so it melts best!)
  • 3 cups egg noodles cooked
  • 1.5 pounds chicken breast cooked and shredded
  • 1 tbsp parsley
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Topping

  • 1 sleeve Ritz crackers
  • 1 cup sharp cheddar shredded
  • 4 tbsp butter melted

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How to Make Ritz Chicken Casserole

This recipe comes together quickly and easily. It’s especially easy to put together if you have the ingredients like the egg noodles and chicken cooked and ready to go. Then, it’s as simple as assembling the casserole and putting it in the oven to bake!

Add oil, peppers, onion, and celery to a Dutch oven and cook until tender.

Add oil, peppers, onion, and celery to a Dutch oven

Add in garlic and cook.

add in garlic to the mixture

Reduce heat and add cream of chicken soup, half & half and stir.

add cream of chicken soup to the mixture

Add cheese until it’s melted.

adding cheese to the mixture

Add cooked egg noodles, chicken and seasonings.

Add cooked egg noodles, chicken and seasonings to the mixture

Pour into a 9×13 dish.

Pour into a 9x13 dish

Place the Ritz crackers in a ziplock bag and crush with a rolling pin.

placing ritz crackers into ziplock bag and crushed with rolling pins

Mix crushed Ritz crackers with melted butter and cheddar cheese.

Mix crushed Ritz crackers with melted butter and cheddar cheese

Top casserole with cracker mixture.

Top casserole with cracker mixture

Bake for 15-20 minutes.

ritz chicken casserole in a baking dish

Variations / Options / Add-ins

  • VEGETABLES: You could add mushrooms, you could also add other veggies like carrots or peppers or maybe even zucchini or peas. You could add green chiles, too.
  • ROTISSERIE CHICKEN: An easy option for the chicken in this recipe would be to use a store-bought rotisserie chicken. It also adds delicious flavor!
  • CHEESE: You could definitely use different kinds of cheese for different flavors. Mozzarella, swiss, or provolone would be delicious in this recipe.
  • BACON: A super easy and tasty addition to this dish is adding bacon! You can use store-bought or bake your own and cut it up into bacon bits.
  • FLAVORED RITZ: They make lots of different types of Ritz Crackers! You can use any type of Ritz to add variety in flavor.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Store Leftover Casserole

Store leftovers covered in the fridge for three days. I wouldn’t recommend freezing this one because I don’t think the egg noodles would hold up great in the freezer although you could make all the rest of it to freeze and then stir in noodles later on!

Can I Make Chicken Casserole Ahead of Time?

I don’t recommend assembling this recipe ahead of time, because the noodles might get soggy. However, you can definitely prepare your ingredients ahead of time. In fact, I recommend doing so to make the assembly super quick and easy!

Can I Use Canned Chicken for Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole?

You could substitute the chicken in this recipe for canned chunk chicken to make it easy on yourself. If doing so, you’ll want to make sure to drain the chicken completely and pat it dry with a paper towel, so that it doesn’t add moisture to the casserole.
However, I really prefer using a rotisserie chicken.

ritz chicken casserole on a plate

More Great Casserole Recipes

Chili Cornbread Casserole|Chicken Fajita Casserole |Pizza Casserole | Lasagna Casserole | Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole |Dorito Casserole | Chicken Pot Pie Casserole | Hamburger Casserole | Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs | Stuffed Pepper Casserole | Mexican Casserole

4.75 from 4 votes
ritz chicken casserole featured image

Ritz Chicken Casserole

Serves — 12
This homemade Ritz Chicken Casserole is a hearty and flavorful family favorite that’s ready in less than 30 minutes!!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 2-3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 stalks celery chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 10.5 oz cans cream of chicken soup
  • 1 cup half and half
  • 2 cups sharp cheddar shredded (shred your own cheese so it melts best!)
  • 3 cups egg noodles cooked
  • 1.5 pounds chicken breast cooked and shredded
  • 1 tbsp parsley
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Topping

  • 1 sleeve Ritz crackers
  • 1 cup sharp cheddar shredded
  • 4 tbsp butter melted

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
  • In a 4-quart Dutch oven, add olive oil, bell pepper, onion, celery and cook over medium-high heat until onion is translucent and pepper/celery are becoming tender (about 5-6 minutes).
  • Add minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring to prevent garlic from burning.
  • Reduce heat to medium and add cream of chicken soup, half and half, then stir to combine.
  • Once heated through, add cheese. Continue to stir to melt.
  • Add cooked egg noodles and shredded chicken once the cheese is all melted.
  • Season with parsley, salt, and pepper.
  • Remove from heat and pour into the prepared 9×13 baking dish.
  • Place the Ritz crackers in a ziplock bag and crush with a rolling pin. Add crackers to a medium bowl.
  • Stir in melted butter and 1 cup shredded cheddar.
  • Spread topping over casserole dish.
    Place the dish in a preheated oven uncovered and bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Jenn’s Notes

  • To make serving this dish super easy, and save on doing too many dishes, your chicken casserole can be served straight from the dish you baked it in!

Nutrition Info

Calories: 350kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 649mg | Potassium: 369mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 955IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 247mg | Iron: 1mg

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4.75 from 4 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. This was SO good! I used a lot less red pepper because that was all I had but it was so good. I made it earlier in the day and baked it for dinner. Will definitely be making it again!

  2. never seen recipe cards at end to simplify recipe. please help. to many thi gs popping up on screen and I could see how to or full recipe
    wen reed

  3. 4 stars
    The Ritz Chicken Casserole was delicious; my family enjoyed it. However, saying prep time is 5 minutes is extremely misleading. Not sure how you cook and shred the chicken, cook the noodles, chop all the veggies, and shred the cheese in only 5 minutes.