Make Ahead Chicken Casserole

In continuing with our winter casserole series, we hope you enjoy this make ahead chicken casserole. Not only is it easy to prepare ahead of time, but the ingredients are economical. Feel free to use rotisserie chicken meat to save time.

Make ahead chicken casserole recipe

Serves 8 Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups fully cooked chicken meat, diced
• 2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
• 1 can (10 ¾ oz.) cream of chicken or celery soup
• 1 cup plus 3 T. whole milk
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) chicken stock
• 1 package (8 oz.) processed cheese product, cubed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 sticks celery, diced

Directions:

Combine chicken, uncooked macaroni, soup, milk, stock, cheese, salt, onion, and celery together in a large bowl. Spread into an ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Cover with foil; refrigerate overnight. Uncover and bake at 350 degrees F. for 1 ½ hours. Chef tips: This recipe can be made one day before baking and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Note that processed cheese (a cheese product made from cheese mixed with an emulsifying agent) melts well and is resistant to separation when cooking, thus it is preferred in this recipe over natural cheese. Did you know that celery is low in calories and carbohydrates? Per verywellhealth.com, celery is a non-starchy vegetable with many potential health benefits. Not only is it associated with reduced inflammation and reduced risk of cancer and heart disease, but it is also associated with nerve tissue regeneration and many other health benefits. Celery is widely enjoyed by people as part of low-calorie diets. Despite the low calories, it contains micronutrients. Celery has potassium, folate, choline, Vitamin A, and Vitamin K, plus some natural sodium and fluoride. To learn more about celery, click here. Like making casseroles? Click here to jump to our recipe for layered shell casserole.