No Noodles about it – this Chicken & Noodle Casserole is Gluten Free

I love casseroles, I love comfort food, I don’t love gluten (or rather it doesn’t love me). Here’s my gluten free cheesy chicken & noodle casserole recipe.  I have to admit that I started off making this as a tuna casserole – which I love but the rest of my family does not  – I was on my own for supper so I thought I would take advantage of it.  Unfortunately, once I started boiling the noodles and making the white sauce, I realized I had no tuna – so to fridge for the remaining roast chicken left overs it was!  It turned out awesome and as a bonus – I got to clear the fridge of misc leftovers too!

Cheesy, Chicken & Noodle Casserole

•   1/2 bag of Gluten Free (Rice) Noodles (I used mini shells)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup diced orange peppers
• 1 cup chopped roasted chicken (leftovers work great!)

•   about 2 cup white sauce (recipe below) * you can also use a can of undiluted cream of chicken soup – but read the ingredients if you are looking for gluten free – there is wheat in most of them.
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 tomato – chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• ** any other veggie you want to throw in! (use up leftovers here too! Broccoli  is great)
• 1/4 cup GF bread crumbs (I use a multi-grain that I get from The Gluten Free Cookery, (available at select gourmet and butcher shops)
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

White Sauce

• 2-3TB margarine or butter
• 1/4 cup all purpose Gluten Free Flour (mine is a rice blend)
• 1c- 1.5c milk
• 1/2 – 1 tsp black pepper (to taste)
• dash salt
• 1/2 – 1 1/5 tsp Dijon Mustard (I go heavy on the Dijon because I really like it) or use 1 tsp dry mustard

White Sauce:  Heat saucepan over med high heat, melt butter/margarine, add flour and stir to form “paste” , add Dijon mustard, add pepper & salt, add milk slowly a little at a time stirring constantly until you get a thickened mixture.   You can add the shredded cheddar here – and keep stirring but I like to add the cheddar to the mixture after – this is the same way you’d made a cheese sauce for broccoli or scalloped potatoes…..

Casserole:  Preheat oven to 425 degrees C. Cook pasta according to instructions, when done, drain & rinse with cold water (this stops them from cooking any more and getting mushy and gross).  While pasta is cooking, place peppers and onions in a bowl covered in plastic wrap and microwave for 2 min (or saute).  Assemble all ingredients except bread crumbs and mozzarella cheese, in a bowl, mix.  Add noodles & white sauce.  Mix, pour into a greased casserole dish top with bread crumbs, then mozzarella cheese.  Bake uncovered  for 20 minutes (10-15 min longer if you have assembled this ahead of time and everything has cooled down – you want it to be hot (a min of 74 degree C).   enJoy.

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Related articles

• How to Make Gluten Free Bread Crumbs (homemakerchic.wordpress.com)
• Cut the cost of a gluten-free diet (kansascity.com)