That chicken-noodle stuff with breadcrumbs on top.

Posted on by Standard

OK, so this was a picnic/covered dish staple from my mom growing up, and this is the recipe card she gave me then I moved out:

Chicken and Kluski Bake Recipe for: Eric From the Kitchen of: Mom Ingredients: Chicken (Various: thighs, legs, or breasts) Water for boiling Kluski noodles Butter (½ cup total: ¼ cup for the base, ¼ cup for the topping) Bouillon or canned chicken broth (optional, for flavor) Bread crumbs (1 cup) Instructions: Boil the chicken pieces for 45 minutes. (Optional: Boil with celery and onions if you want extra flavor). Remove the chicken from the water, but save the broth. Use the reserved broth to boil the Kluski noodles according to their package directions. Drain the noodles and save about 2 cups of the noodle broth. Put the cooked noodles into a 9x13 inch pan. Pick the chicken meat off of the bones and put it in the pan with the noodles. Add ¼ cup of butter and the 2 cups of saved broth to the pan. (Optional: Add some bouillon for flavor, or you can substitute canned chicken broth). In a separate pan, melt ¼ cup of butter and stir in 1 cup of bread crumbs. Mix the butter and bread crumbs together. Crumble the topping mixture over the top of the noodles and chicken. (You can make as much of this topping as you want). Bake together for about 15 minutes.

[Jump to my recipe.]

I was recently reminded of this, & it’s pretty good comfort food. It’s like if chicken noodle soup was a casserole. Once upon a time I started then abandoned a blog for recipes. I remembered this was living there.

I think I may sauté a mirepoix next time I do this. I also have thought about adding canned condensed cream of chicken soup to make it a creamy casserole.

Sometimes I lack the patience to boil or a chicken or to break-down a rotisserie chicken. I have grilled chicken tenders for this, and this time I baked them. I used rotisserie chicken seasoning, table blend, poultry seasoning, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, & parsley throughout the process.

I’d start by roasting a chicken (425°F for 15 to 20 minutes per pound) & reserving the liquid, using a rotisserie chicken, grilling tenders (6 to 8 minutes on medium-high on a countertop/press) grill, or baking them (20 min. @ 400°F). Just get it to 165°F internal. You can boil a whole chicken too, but that will take some time.

Here’s my version written out:

Ingredients:

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F
  2. Boil noodles according to package directions. I used some chicken stock and a chicken bouillon cube along with the seasonings.
  3. Strain, reserve 2 cups of that liquid or add 2 cups of straight-up broth stock.
  4. Add the noodles and cooked chicken to your 9×13″ casserole dish.
  5. Mix the broth, ¼ cup of your melted butter, & seasoning to taste together then mix into the chicken and noodles.
  6. Melt ¼ cup butter and stir in with breadcrumbs and seasonings to taste, spread over the top of the noodles & chicken.
  7. Bake uncovered for about 15 to 20 minutes until the breadcrumbs are toasty yet not burnt.

Notes:

  • I think a mirepoix might be nice & make it feel more like classic chicken noodle soup.
  • Condensed cream of chicken soup may make this nice.
  • I am tinkering trying to figure out how to get the right amount of liquid to make this without pre-boliling.

Do you make something like this? How do you do it? What do you call it?

Check out my recipes for chicken noodle soup & turkey noodle soup. (Or other soups.)

That Chicken and Noodle Stuff With Breadcrumbs on top.

Leave a comment