Overnight Crack Chicken Pasta – a new family favorite! This is on repeat in our house! Just dump everything in the casserole dish and refrigerate overnight. No boiling the noodles. They will soften overnight and be cooked perfectly in the finished dish. Chicken, bacon cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, milk, chicken broth, ranch dressing, elbow macaroni, and cheddar cheese. Use a rotisserie chicken for quick prep.
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Pin This RecipeEasy Make-Ahead Chicken Casserole
Easy make-ahead casseroles are a staple at our house. This Overnight Crack Chicken Pasta is a favorite. Chicken pasta loaded with cheddar, bacon, and ranch! The flavor combination is so addictive! We ate this for lunch and leftover for dinner on the same day. SO good! Whip up some green beans and biscuits and dinner is done!
How to Make Chicken Tetrazzini with Bacon & Ranch
Not only do you make this in advance, but you also don’t have to boil the pasta! It doesn’t get much easier than that! Whisk together chicken broth, milk, cream of chicken soup, and ranch dressing mix. Stir in uncooked pasta, cooked chicken, cooked bacon, and cheddar cheese. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish and top with more cheddar cheese. Cover the casserole dish and refrigerate overnight. Take the casserole dish out of the refrigerator and bake when ready. SO easy!
Tips for Making Overnight Crack Chicken Pasta
- I recommend using a rotisserie chicken for the cooked chicken in this recipe. It tastes great and makes prep work a snap.
- I usually use the lower sodium Healthy Choice Cream of Chicken Soup.
- You can use precooked bacon for quick prep.
- Do not make the ranch dressing. You are only going to use the dry mix. Feel free to increase or decrease the amount based on your personal preference.
What to Serve with Overnight Crack Chicken Pasta
This Overnight Crack Chicken Pasta is one of our favorite easy pasta casseroles. It is super easy to make and tastes fantastic! We love to serve this with some green beans, asparagus, broccoli, or a simple salad. Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this easy pasta casserole:
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Overnight Crack Chicken Pasta
Ingredients:
- 3 cups chopped cooked chicken
- 1 lb bacon cooked and chopped
- 1 (10.5-oz) can cream of chicken soup
- 1 (10.5-oz) can cream of mushroom soup
- 1¼ cups milk
- 1¼ cups chicken broth
- 1 (1-oz) packet dry Ranch dressing mix
- 1 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 8 oz elbow macaroni, uncooked
Instructions:
- Spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl combine cooked chicken, cooked bacon cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, milk, chicken broth, ranch dressing mix. Stir in uncooked pasta.
- Pour pasta mixture into prepared pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Remove casserole from refrigerator and uncover.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Top casserole with cheddar cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour.
Steph
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Can you use canned chicken instead? I am trying to use up some canned chicken and elbow Mac that need to be used.
Any cooked chicken will work in this dish.
I added a can of rotel(drained)..supper yummy
Are you using dried pasta or fresh pasta in this recipe?
dried
I’m planning on making this recipe, but need a few clarifications. 1. Can Farfelle pasta be used instead of elbow? If so, is it still 8 ozs? 2. Doesn’t the cooked bacon get ‘soggy’ mixed in? Can it be sprinkled on with the cheese at the end when baked? Thank you.
I’ve only made this with elbow macaroni. I would assume 8-oz of any pasta shape would work fine. I didn’t have “soggy” bacon, but you can add the bacon to the dish whenever you want.
Any words of wisdom on minimum time in the refrigerator? Wondering if I were to make this at 8:00am, would it be ready for the oven at 5:00pm? Or is it more like 24 hours in the fridge? Any advice greatly appreciated. Given we’re stuck at home, this is a great meal option since I have everything on hand (a first!) plus we’ll have delicious leftovers.
I would say at least 8 hours – so that would probably work.
I am surprised that the amount of macaroni is only 8 ounces. Just to make sure, is 8 ounces correct? Thank you, I can’t wait to try this recipe it sounds so good.
8-oz is correct. It is more than you think.
Can you make this and not make the night before?
The recipe is supposed to be made the night before. See step 3. The pasta needs to absorb the liquid overnight. I have only made this as written.
I hae family members who are alergic to mushrooms – can I just double the cream of chicken soup
Absolutely! Any cream of soup will work.
I would like to know if I can freeze the Crack Chicken Casserole? And if so, should I bake it first?
Thank you, Barbara
You can definitely freeze the casserole for later. I would probably bake it first and then just reheat it when you are ready to eat.
Can you freeze it? Before or after cooking
You can freeze it. I usually freeze it after cooking, but you could probably freeze it before too.
Can this recipe be made ahead and frozen?
You can freeze this casserole.
Could you make this in the crock pot!?
I think you could. I haven’t tried this in the crockpot, so I can’t say with certantity how to alter the recipe.
How much pasta and which type? I see that in the directions but not ingredient list. Thank you!
I updated the recipe.