Overnight Chicken Casserole - Grandma Jackie's Recipes (2024)

A classic casserole that's full of cheesy, chicken goodness that's as easy as can be to make—just have to wait overnight to bake.

Overnight Chicken Casserole is a real comfort food dish that contains all the greatest hits of a classic casserole. It’s got condensed soup, Velveeta cheese, noodles, chicken and even a potato chip topping. This is a casserole I remember quite a bit growing up so a few bites and I’m transported back to my childhood. The best part of this casserole though is how quickly it comes together—you just have to make it the day before you plan to serve it. It make dinner super easy though as you can just pull the casserole out of the fridge and into the oven and you’re ready to eat with very little effort.

Cooked Chicken

The recipe calls for 2 cups cooked chicken. You can buy precooked chicken of course, but that’s not always that flavorful or you could purchase a rotisserie chicken and chop up 2 cups of that, saving the rest for other uses (like Chicken Strata). However, the best option IMHO is to just roast the chicken right before assembling the casserole. I showed what I did in the recipe steps below to roast the chicken. Of course, if you go with another option, just skip those steps.

Hard Boiled Eggs

You’ll also need three hard boiled eggs, so if you don’t have any on hand, just boil some before assembling the casserole as well. If you’re roasting chicken, that’s be a great time to do it. Hard boiled eggs are simple and none of the “secret tips to perfect hard boiled eggs” are really all that helpful. Just keep simple by putting the raw eggs in one layer in a pot. Fill the pot with cold water so that it covers the eggs by about an inch. Bring the pot of water to a boil over high heat. Once the water is at a rolling boil, take it off the heat, cover and allow to sit for about 10 minutes. After ten minutes, get the eggs immediately into an ice bath or run under cool water until they are at room temp.

Cooking the Casserole

Once you have all the ingredients ready, you just dumb them all in a big bowl, mix it well and you’re ready to go. Use a 13″ x 9″ baking dish and be sure to spray it with cooking spray or butter it well. Wrap it in foil and let it chill in the fridge overnight. Right before cooking, you’ll top it with potato chips. I used just plain Lay’s – that’s what we had on hand – but I think you could have some fun with different styles or flavors.

I hope you give this Overnight Chicken Casserole a try – it’s really a great comfort food type meal and an easy way to feed your crew. If you do make it, please let me know in the comments what you think and share a picture with me on Instagram (@bdhbakes)!

• Preheat Oven to 450º

  *** If you already have precooked chicken, skip ahead to step 3.***

• Season Chicken and Roast

  Give your chicken a good drizzle of olive oil on both sides and season well with salt and pepper. Roast in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Cook until the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165º. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes after cooking.

  

• Chop Chicken

  Chop the cooked chicken into about 1/2" cubes.

  

• Mix All Ingredients

  In a large bowl, add all the ingredients and stir to combine.

  

• Prep and Fill Baking Dish

  Spray a 13" x 9" baking dish with cooking spray and fill it with the casserole mixture. Even out the top with a spatula.

  

  

• Tightly Wrap the Dish in Foil and Chill

  Wrap the top of the baking dish in foil and keep in the fridge overnight.

• Final Prep and Cook

  The next day, preheat the oven to 300º. While the oven is preheating, get your casserole dish out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature as the oven preheats. Once the oven is preheated, take off the foil from the baking dish and top the casserole with a layer of crushed potato chips. Pop it in the oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

  

  

• Allow to Cool and Serve

  Take the casserole out of the oven. It should be golden brown on top and bubbly. Allow it to cool on a wire wrack for 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

  

• Baking, Casserole, Cheesy, chicken, Eggs, Macaroni, Make-Ahead, Mushroom Soup, Velveeta, Vintage