How many calories are in chicken casserole?
A 1-cup serving of chicken casserole weighs 224 g and carries 314 calories. Per 100 g the dish runs 140 calories, which is light for something this rich, because the noodles and the sauce hold a lot of water once they bake together. The sodium is the number that surprises people, not the fat.
You'd need to walk about 63 minutes to burn the 314 calories in a 1-cup (224 g) serving.
How long does it take to burn off 314 kcal of chicken casserole?
A 1-cup (224 g) serving is 314 kcal. Enter your weight and the amount you ate to see how long it takes you to burn that off:
lb
| Activity | Time to burn 314 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 1 hr 3 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 39 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 45 min |
| Jogging | 37 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 1 hr 10 min |
Times are for a 155 lb adult at a steady pace; change the weight to see yours. The amount is set to the portion in the text (224 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Chicken casserole quick facts
- Cups and ounces of chicken casserole
- How the sauce changes the count
- Sodium is the row to watch
- How does chicken casserole compare?
- Most popular chicken casserole brands
- FAQ
Chicken casserole quick facts
The American weeknight casserole is chicken and egg noodles bound in a creamy white sauce and baked. USDA files that dish under its ingredients rather than the word casserole, so the record that matches your baking dish is FNDDS 2706532, "Chicken or turkey and noodles with cream or white sauce". The entries USDA actually labels casserole are the green bean, egg and tamale ones, which are different meals entirely.
That distinction matters for a search like this. If you type the dish into a tracker and pick the first row with "casserole" in the name, you can land 84 calories per 100 g away from what is on your fork. The photo at the top of this page shows a tomato-and-pepper style chicken bake, a close cousin; the numbers below describe the creamy noodle version, which is what most US recipes and most retail bakes are.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 cup (224 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 140 | 314 | — |
| Total fat | 5.51 g | 12.3 g | 16% |
| Saturated fat | 1.903 g | 4.3 g | 21% |
| Carbohydrate | 15.24 g | 34.1 g | 12% |
| Dietary fiber | 0.6 g | 1.3 g | 5% |
| Total sugars | 1.58 g | 3.5 g | — |
| Protein | 7.39 g | 16.6 g | 33% |
| Sodium | 343 mg | 768 mg | 33% |
% Daily Value is based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
There is no added sugars row and no trans fat row here, because USDA does not publish either value for this mixed-dish record. Cholesterol comes to 85 mg a cup, 28% of the Daily Value, and potassium to 240 mg, only 5%. The Daily Values used throughout this page are the FDA figures printed on every US Nutrition Facts label.
Cups and ounces of chicken casserole
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 39 kcal |
| 1/2 cup | 112 g | 157 kcal |
| 1 cup | 224 g | 314 kcal |
| 8 oz by weight | 227 g | 318 kcal |
| One serving as typically eaten | 280 g | 392 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 140 kcal |
Two of those rows come straight from USDA household measures: the 1-cup portion at 224 g and the larger 280 g serving that USDA records as the amount people actually eat in one sitting. The 1 oz, 1/2 cup and 8 oz lines are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not USDA servings.
The gap between the smallest realistic scoop and the biggest is where this dish gets you. Half a cup is 157 calories; the serving USDA calls typical is 392. That is a 235-calorie swing inside the same pan, and nothing about the recipe changed. A second helping, ladled the way most people ladle a casserole, is a full dinner's worth on its own.
One more trap with cups: a cup is a volume, and these versions do not weigh the same. A cup of the noodle casserole is 224 g, while a cup of the rice version is 248 g. Same measuring cup, 24 g and 23 calories apart before you touch the recipe.
How the sauce changes the count
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cream or white sauce, the standard | 140 kcal | 1 cup (224 g) | 314 kcal |
| Mushroom soup sauce | 136 kcal | 1 cup (224 g) | 305 kcal |
| Cheese sauce | 146 kcal | 1 cup (224 g) | 327 kcal |
| Chicken and noodles, no sauce | 148 kcal | 1 cup (157 g) | 232 kcal |
| Chicken and rice, cream sauce | 136 kcal | 1 cup (248 g) | 337 kcal |
| Chicken, noodles and vegetables | 128 kcal | 1 cup (224 g) | 287 kcal |
| Chicken and stuffing casserole | 172 kcal | 1 cup (200 g) | 344 kcal |
Here is the useful surprise. Swapping the can of cream soup for the can of mushroom soup saves 9 calories a cup. Going all the way to cheese sauce costs 13. Recipe arguments about which soup to open are worth about a dozen calories, while the ladle is worth two hundred.
The vegetable version is the lightest chicken record USDA lists at 128 calories per 100 g, and it gets there by displacing noodles with broccoli, peas or carrots rather than by cutting fat. It also carries the most fiber of the group, 1.2 g per 100 g against 0.6 g for the standard bake. Stuffing is the other direction: dried bread cubes are dense and dry, so that version leads the table at 172 per 100 g.
The no-sauce row looks lightest per cup at 232 calories, but read the weight before you celebrate. Loose chicken and noodles pack a cup at only 157 g, so you are eating less food, not lighter food. Gram for gram it is 148 calories, higher than the creamy casserole.
Frozen and deli versions land in the same neighborhood. USDA's branded file lists retail chicken bakes from 122 to 188 calories per 100 g, so a 369 g single-serve package can reach 450 calories and a 220 g cup of a chicken-and-broccoli cheddar bake about 409. The package math, not the per-100-g number, is what makes those dinners big.
Sodium is the row to watch
One cup delivers 768 mg of sodium, 33% of the Daily Value, against 16% for total fat and 21% for saturated fat. That is roughly a third of a teaspoon of table salt in a bowl of what most people file as comfort food. Eat the 280 g serving and you are at 960 mg before the side dish.
The salt is not coming from the chicken. It comes from condensed soup, bouillon, canned broth and shredded cheese, all of which are salt-carrying convenience products. If you are watching sodium, the lever is a low-sodium soup or a homemade roux, not skinless chicken. CDC puts most US adults well above the recommended intake, and mixed dishes like this are a big part of why.
The protein row is the good news: 16.6 g a cup, 33% of the Daily Value, from a dish that costs 314 calories. That ratio is decent for a one-pan dinner, and it is the reason a casserole holds better than a plate of pasta at the same calorie count. MyPlate counts a cup of this toward both your protein and your grains for the day.
How does chicken casserole compare?
| Dish | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken casserole, cream sauce | 140 kcal | 1 cup (224 g) | 314 kcal |
| Green bean casserole | 56 kcal | 1 cup (230 g) | 129 kcal |
| Egg casserole with bread, cheese and meat | 175 kcal | 1 cup (164 g) | 287 kcal |
| Tamale casserole with meat | 174 kcal | 1 cup (250 g) | 435 kcal |
Our take: chicken casserole is the middle of the casserole table and the best value on it. Green bean casserole is far lighter per gram, but it is a side dish with 4.5 g of protein a cup, so it does not replace dinner. The egg and tamale versions are both denser per 100 g, and the tamale one is the heaviest plate here at 435 calories a cup. For a weeknight dinner in the 300-to-400-calorie range with real protein attached, one cup of the chicken bake plus a green vegetable is the pick. For a second helping, measure it first.
Most popular chicken casserole brands in the United States
Ranked by how widely each product appears among foods sold in the United States, from the BodyPal food database of over 3.3 million products. Calories are the figures printed on each Nutrition Facts label, checked against USDA FoodData Central.
| Product | Calories (per 100 g) |
|---|---|
| So Right Creamy Chicken Corn Casserole | 122 cal |
| Easy Time Meals Ranch Chicken Casserole | 188 cal |
| Reser's Chicken & Broccoli Cheddar Bake | 186 cal |
| Overhill Farms Chicken, Broccoli & Cheese Casserole | 122 cal |
| Handmade Real Foods Chicken Enchilada Casserole | 173 cal |
| Gourmet Culinary Solutions White Chicken and Rice Casserole | 153 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Chicken casserole FAQs
How many calories are in a cup of chicken casserole?
A 1-cup serving weighs 224 g and holds 314 calories, based on the USDA record for chicken and noodles in cream or white sauce at 140 calories per 100 g. That cup also carries 16.6 g of protein, 12.3 g of fat and 768 mg of sodium, a third of the Daily Value.
How many calories in chicken and rice casserole?
337 calories in a cup, because the rice version packs 248 g into a cup at 136 calories per 100 g. Gram for gram it is slightly lighter than the noodle bake, but the cup weighs 24 g more, so the bowl in front of you ends up 23 calories heavier.
Is chicken casserole good for weight loss?
At 140 calories per 100 g it works if you measure it. One cup at 314 calories with 16.6 g of protein fits a normal dinner budget. The problem is the ladle: the serving USDA calls typical is 280 g and 392 calories, and a casual second scoop pushes you past 500.
How much protein is in chicken casserole?
16.6 g per 1-cup serving, which is 33% of the Daily Value, or 7.39 g per 100 g. The cheese-sauce version is the highest of the group at 8.95 g per 100 g. Chicken and noodles with no sauce sits at 7.73 g per 100 g, close to the standard creamy bake.
How many calories in homemade chicken noodle casserole?
Use 314 calories a cup as your baseline, since the USDA record covers a home-style bake of chicken, egg noodles and cream sauce at 140 per 100 g. Skipping the sauce entirely does not save much: plain chicken and noodles is 148 calories per 100 g, slightly denser than the sauced version.
Why is chicken casserole so high in sodium?
768 mg per cup, 33% of the Daily Value, comes almost entirely from the pantry items rather than the chicken. Condensed soup, bouillon, canned broth and shredded cheese are all salt carriers. Swapping to a low-sodium soup or a homemade white sauce is the single change that moves this number.
How many calories in chicken broccoli cheese casserole?
Around 327 calories a cup. USDA has no separate record for the broccoli version, so the closest match is the cheese-sauce bake at 146 calories per 100 g. Retail versions run higher: a chicken and broccoli cheddar bake in USDA's branded file is 186 per 100 g, or 409 calories for a 220 g cup.
Does chicken casserole with cheese have more calories?
Yes, but only by 13 calories a cup: 327 against 314, or 146 versus 140 per 100 g. The bigger change is saturated fat, which climbs from 1.903 g to 2.724 g per 100 g. Mushroom soup sauce goes the other way, landing at 305 calories a cup.
Similar foods
- Lasagna — 286 cal per piece
- Toor Dal — 348 cal per cup
- Shrimp Pad Thai — 294 cal per cup
- Chicken Chow Mein — 288 cal per cup
- Half And Half — 20 cal per tbsp
- Snow Cone — 256 cal per snow cone
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the baking dish and BodyPal counts the scoop for you, sauce and all.
