Sometimes dinner starts with a plan, and sometimes dinner starts because you accidentally bought an extra bag of egg noodles and thought, hmmmm, maybe I can do something with that.

That is where this dish began.

I had ButcherBox chicken tenderloins thawing, a 16-ounce bag of egg noodles waiting for its moment, and enough little pantry pieces to build something good. I did not start this one with a written recipe. I started it the way I often do in my kitchen, by looking at what I had and asking what it wanted to become.

And Friend, it became something wonderful.

This is a creamy, garlic-forward chicken and noodle dish with sweet onion, red and orange peppers, tomatoes, sharp cheddar, Parmesan, and just enough Greek yogurt to bring the sauce together without taking it over. It was delicious the first night, but the next day it tasted like something you might get from Olive Garden. I do not say that lightly. My leftovers are usually good, but this one surprised me.

Before I get into the recipe, I will mention that I used ButcherBox chicken tenderloins for this dish, and they worked beautifully here. Their chicken has become part of my kitchen rhythm, especially after our Best Buy appliance ordeal changed the way I think about where I spend my money on household goods and who I trust with major purchases.

The Dinner That Started With Egg Noodles

The funny thing is, the extra bag of egg noodles was the spark. I had not planned on making a new chicken noodle dish, but once I realized I had them, I started thinking about the Swedish meatball-style noodles my son enjoys and wondered if I could build something similar, but with chicken.

I thawed about two pounds of chicken tenderloins because the egg noodles were a full 16-ounce bag. That felt like the right balance. I wanted the dish to be hearty and protein-forward without losing that warm noodle comfort.

The chicken was seasoned simply with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. I skipped lemon pepper, even though I considered it at first, because I wanted the sauce to stay savory and balanced. That turned out to be the right call.

I cooked the chicken in a wok with olive oil and butter, working in batches so the pieces had room to cook properly. Once the chicken was done, I pulled it out and let it rest while I built the sauce in all those seasoned bits left behind.

That is where the dish really started becoming itself.

Building the Sauce

After the chicken came out of the wok, there was still a lovely amount of olive oil, butter, seasoning, and chicken flavor in the pan. I added diced sweet onion, red pepper, and orange pepper, then seasoned them with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes.

I let the vegetables cook down slowly. No rushing. The onions softened, the peppers relaxed, and everything started pulling up the flavor from the bottom of the pan.

Then came the garlic.

This is not a shy garlic dish. I used seven cloves of fresh garlic in the sauce, pressed right into the vegetables after they had softened. Some people may prefer less, and that is completely fine, but for garlic lovers, this amount was beautiful. It gave the dish its personality.

I also added about a teaspoon of tomato paste, just enough to add depth without turning the sauce into a tomato sauce. Then I added a half stick of butter, let it melt, stirred in about a third cup of flour, and slowly added two small cartons of Kettle & Fire chicken broth, about 32 ounces total. I used two different Kettle & Fire chicken broth varieties, and with all the other flavors in the pan, they blended in beautifully.

Once the broth was stirred in, I added a 14.5-ounce can of petite diced tomatoes and let the sauce simmer. I wanted the flour to cook out, the tomatoes to settle in, and the herbs to have time to bloom. I added Italian seasoning and oregano, along with a little more of those base flavors: salt, black pepper, garlic salt, and anything else it seemed to need as it came together.

I tasted the sauce before the chicken, noodles, cheese, or Greek yogurt went in, and that was the first moment I knew this dish was going to work.

It was already good.

The Creamy Finish

Once the sauce had simmered and the noodles were cooking separately, I started thinking about the finish.

I had extra sharp cheddar and Parmesan ready for the sauce, so I handed the shredding job to Mr. Turner, one of my unofficial sous chefs. We are not running a professional kitchen over here, but I do appreciate a good helper when dinner is coming together.

Altogether, we used about five ounces of extra sharp cheddar and around three to three and a half ounces of Parmesan. The Parmesan gave the sauce a savory, slightly nutty depth, and the cheddar brought that creamy comfort.

I also added one heaping tablespoon of Fage 2% plain Greek yogurt. That was enough. It added creaminess and a little tang without making the dish taste like Greek yogurt. If you use Greek yogurt in a sauce like this, add it gently and keep the heat low or off so it stays smooth.

The chicken went back in after the cheese started melting into the sauce. I did not want to overcook it. The tenderloins had already done their job, so they only needed to warm through and become part of the dish again.

Then the egg noodles were folded in.

At that point, it became exactly what I hoped it would be: creamy, cheesy, garlicky, savory, and full of enough color from the peppers and tomatoes to make it feel like more than just a bowl of noodles.

The Recipe

A note before the recipe: I cook a lot of my meals intuitively, so some of these measurements are approximate. Use them as a guide, then taste as you go. This is the kind of dish that rewards patience more than perfection.

Yield

Serves about 6 to 8.

Time

Prep time: About 25 to 30 minutes
Cook time: About 40 to 50 minutes
Total time: About 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, depending on prep and simmer time

Ingredients

• About 2 pounds chicken tenderloins
• 16 ounces egg noodles
• About 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3/4 stick butter, divided: 1/4 stick for cooking the chicken and 1/2 stick for the sauce
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• Garlic powder, to taste
• Onion powder, to taste
• Paprika, for seasoning the chicken
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 orange pepper, diced
• Red pepper flakes, to taste
• 7 cloves fresh garlic, pressed or minced
• About 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• About 1/3 cup flour
• 2 small cartons Kettle & Fire chicken broth, about 32 ounces total
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes, 14.5 ounces
• Italian seasoning, to taste
• Oregano, to taste
• Garlic salt, to taste
• About 3 to 3.5 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded
• About 5 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 heaping tablespoon plain Greek yogurt, such as Fage 2%

Directions

Season the chicken tenderloins with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika.

Heat the olive oil and about 1/4 stick of butter in a large wok or skillet over medium heat. Cook the chicken in batches until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side depending on thickness. Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside to rest.

In the same pan, add the diced onion, red pepper, and orange pepper. Season with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium to medium-low heat until the vegetables soften and begin to pull up the flavor from the pan.

Add the pressed garlic and cook briefly, just until fragrant.

Stir in the tomato paste and let it cook into the vegetables for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add about 1/2 stick of butter and let it melt. Stir in the flour slowly, stirring constantly so it works into the butter and vegetables.

Slowly pour in the chicken broth while stirring. Once the sauce begins to come together, add the petite diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, oregano, and any additional salt, pepper, or garlic salt needed.

Let the sauce simmer gently until it thickens and the flavors come together, about 8 to 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the egg noodles separately until just tender. Drain and set aside. Save a little noodle water in case the final dish needs loosening.

Add the shredded Parmesan and extra sharp cheddar slowly to the hot sauce, stirring as the cheese melts. Keep the heat low so the sauce stays smooth.

Add the Greek yogurt gently, preferably with the heat low or off.

Slice the rested chicken into bite-sized pieces and fold it back into the sauce. Add the cooked egg noodles and stir gently until everything is coated.

Taste and adjust as needed. If the sauce becomes too thick, loosen it with a splash of noodle water, broth, or milk.

Serve warm with a bright salad on the side.

A Note for Garlic Lovers

This version used seven cloves of garlic in the sauce, and it was bold in the best way. If you like a gentler garlic flavor, you could use four or five cloves instead. If you are a garlic lover, keep the full amount.

The leftovers were incredible the next day. The garlic mellowed, the noodles absorbed the sauce, and the whole dish became even more unified. It had that restaurant-style comfort that makes you very happy there is still some in the fridge.

The Bright Salad on the Side

I paired this dish with a simple salad inspired by Baked by Melissa’s viral “Life-Changing Lettuce,” also known online as Marry Me Salad. After making it twice now, I understand the appeal.

@bakedbymelissa

? original sound – Baked by Melissa

It is simple: lettuce, lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and a splash of vinegar. That alone is wonderful. I like to add feta to mine because we love feta here, especially the adults in the house.

The first time I made it, I stayed closer to the original idea and still added feta. This time, I used red wine vinegar with the lemon, oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and feta, and it was amazing.

That is what I love about a salad like this. It is barely a recipe and more of a method. You can keep it clean and simple, or you can dress it up. You could add cucumber, herbs, red onion, olives, tomatoes, or whatever sounds good. For this dinner, the bright lemon-feta salad was the perfect contrast to the creamy garlic chicken noodles.

This salad was gone the first night.

My Lemon-Feta Marry Me Salad

Ingredients

• Lettuce
• Lemon juice
• Olive oil
• Red wine vinegar, or another vinegar you like
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Fresh garlic, pressed or finely minced
• Feta cheese

Directions

Add the lettuce to a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, and a splash of red wine vinegar. Add salt, black pepper, pressed garlic, and feta.

Toss well and taste as you go. If it needs brightness, add more lemon or vinegar. If it tastes too sharp, add a little more olive oil. If it feels flat, add a touch more salt.

Serve beside something rich, creamy, or comforting.

Final Thoughts

This dinner started with an accidental extra bag of egg noodles and turned into a dish I will absolutely make again. It was rich without feeling careless, creamy without being too heavy, and bold enough with garlic to make it memorable.

The salad brought the brightness the plate needed, and the leftovers were honestly next-level.

Sometimes that is the best kind of cooking. You do not always need a perfect plan. Sometimes you need good ingredients, a little curiosity, and enough patience to let the pan tell you what comes next.

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P.S. A ButcherBox note: This is not a sponsored or paid post. No one at ButcherBox asked me to write any of this. I am simply a customer who has appreciated the quality, and I like sharing things that may help someone else. Full transparency: ButcherBox has a referral program, so if you sign up through a link I send you, I receive a small account credit at no extra cost to you. There is currently a referral offer where new members can get a free Signature Box, a $179 value, plus free ground beef for life, with a $20 shipping and handling charge. Offers can change, so please review the current details before signing up. If you would like a referral link, you can email me at terra.turner@cherrycobiz.com.