Plant-Based ‘Chicken’ Noodle Casserole

Italian Faux Chicken Noodle Casserole is a homemade casserole that will make the whole family happy.  Built in layers for lots of texture and taste.

Italian Faux Chicken Noodle Casserole is a delicious and simple recipe that includes high protein seitan.   You can either make you own seitan (recipe included) or make this a super fast casserole and buy pre-made.

Comfort food is a dish that reminds us of nostalgic times along with food that sticks to your ribs.  Something that is usually easy to prepare and quite often comes from a casserole.

Well, Italian Faux Chicken Noodle Casserole is one of those casseroles.  The whole title probably isn’t nostalgic but eating the food will certainly being back happy memories of comfort.

There are many pre-made plant-based ‘meats’ on the market which are made with vital wheat gluten so you can find one relatively easy.  Sometimes they’re in the refrigerator department and some varieties are in the freezer department.

Once in a while I’ll pick up a package of something I really love if I find that I’m just not going to have any extra time for a while to make my own seitan.  Making your own is so rewarding though.  It’s simple and is so much more economical.

If you pre-make the seitan you can make a larger batch then it will be ready in your refrigerator or freezer at any time.  I have about four varieties in my freezer right now but sometimes I do run out.

That is just one part of this delicious casserole. There’s also noodles, rich marinara sauce and a couple of layers of dairy free mozzarella cheese.

Watch the eyes get larger with anticipation as it gets scooped out of a steaming casserole.  Make it your family’s happy memories.   Serve it with a salad, crusty bread and dive right in.

5 from 3 votes

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Italian Faux Chicken Noodle Casserole

Plant Based Chicken Noodle Casserole is a homemade casserole that will make the whole family happy.

Course Main Dish

Recipe Type Pasta

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 6 Servings

Calories 494 kcal

Author Ginny McMeans

Ingredients

• 10 ounces seitan, see recipe below - you can also use a pre-made product such as Tofurky slow roasted chick'n or Trader Joe's chicken-less strips
• 12 ounces extra wide noodles
• 24 ounces spaghetti sauce - homemade or store bought
• 10 ounces dairy free mozzarella cheese - grated or processed fine

Steamed Seitan - you can also use a pre-made product such as Tofurky slow roasted chick'n or Trader Joe's chicken-less strips

• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
• 1/4 cup garbanzo bean flour
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tablespoons tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil

Instructions

Steamed Seitan:

1. Add the first 4 ingredients to a large bowl.

2. Mix the next three ingredients to a small bowl and mix well.

3. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and mix. Knead for 3 to 5 minutes or until desired elasticity.

4. Roll into two logs.

5. Add three to four cups water in a steamer saucepan. Bring to a boil.

6. Place the steamer basket inside the pan and turn down the heat to low.  Add seitan logs to the steamer basket and cover.

7. Steam for 40 minutes. Check the water level once in a while to make sure it isn't boiling away. If so, add more boiling water.

8. Let seitan cool and process 10 ounces of the seitan into small chunky pieces.  Store any extra in the refrigerator or freezer.  It freezers perfectly.

Putting together the Casserole:

1. Cook the noodles according to package directions for al dente pasta.

2. Heat spaghetti sauce in a large skillet, add 1/2 cup water and the prepared chopped seitan and heat through.

3. Spoon about 1/4 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9" x 11" casserole.

4. Lay in half of the noodles in the bottom of the casserole, then half the sauce.
5. Now sprinkle half of the mozarella cheese over that layer.
6. Repeat layers in this order - noodles, sauce, cheese.
7. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Recipe Notes

IF FREEZING:

Please follow any of the directions defined in my article Preparing Food for the Freezer

TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING:

Take out of freezer and put in the refrigerator at least 6 to 8 hours before heating. Cover with foil and bake in a 350 oven for 30 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Italian Faux Chicken Noodle Casserole

Amount Per Serving (1 Serving)

Calories 494 Calories from Fat 108

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 12g 18%

Saturated Fat 3g 15%

Sodium 887mg 37%

Potassium 516mg 15%

Total Carbohydrates 63g 21%

Dietary Fiber 5g 20%

Sugars 6g

Protein 31g 62%

Vitamin A 9.8%

Vitamin C 9.6%

Calcium 8.2%

Iron 21.6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.