Jackie Kennedy’s Casserole Marie Blanche
First lady Jackie Kennedy is reported to have served this easy, delicious Casserole, Marie Blanche, during her time in the White House.
🍽️ Recipe Name: Jackie Kennedy’s Casserole Marie Blanche
⏰ Ready In: 45 minutes
⏳ Prep Time: 15 minutes
🔥 Cook Time: 30 minutes
👥 Serves: 12
🥕Main Ingredients: Egg noodles, cottage cheese, cream cheese, chives, butter.
🍳 Special Equipment: Casserole dish
⭐ Why You’ll Love It: A rich, creamy vintage casserole recipe that is easy enough for weeknights but perfect for potlucks and holiday tables.
👇 Full measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below.
After the Kennedy era, LBJ became known for a very different kind of comfort food with his famous Texas chili recipe.
History of Casserole Marie Blanche
My Mom made this easy, tasty side dish at least once or twice a year. When I asked my Mom if she still had the recipe, she couldn’t find it.
I knew the basic recipe but could never find a reference for it online. It finally appeared in 2018.
In my research, I’ve found many stories. Mrs. Smith is the contributor on one site. Mrs. Fowler and family on another.
Most attribute it to Jacqueline Kennedy; the majority say she served it at a private dinner in 1961 for her brother-in-law and sister, Prince and Princess Radziwill.
Who knows, but it is good. What the real story is, the world may never know.
It is basically a slimmed-down version of the French dish that is covered in a white sauce.
What you need
- egg noodles – cooked in water or broth, according to package directions
- sour cream
- cottage cheese – 1 container
- salt and white pepper or black pepper
- butter
- fresh chives – snipped
How to Make Casserole Marie Blanche
- Boil egg noodles over medium heat according to the package directions. Drain.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well.
You can mix it in the casserole that you will bake it in, or add it to a large bowl to combine the noodles with the remaining ingredients. Then, pour the mixture into the casserole.
Dot the top with small pieces of butter. Bake at 350°F until the top is golden brown, and everything is bubbly! Serve immediately. This is definitely best served immediately. Leftovers tend to be a bit dry.
If you love easy, vintage casseroles like this, you’ll want to try this Spaghetti Casserole, made with leftover ham or turkey. Here’s another vintage recipe, these waffles were said to be JFK’s favorite breakfast.
Important Notes
The recipe card below has the original recipe and ingredients. Be sure to read the notes section. I’ve perfected the original recipe.
- I use only 1 pound of noodles instead of 1½ pounds.
- I increased both the cottage cheese and sour cream amounts to 2 cups each.
- Us 4% milk fat cottage cheese for the best flavor.
- The butter is generally over 1 tablespoon. Dot the top evenly with butter.
Optional ingredients and substitutions
- Sauté onion and substitute for chives
- Add broccoli, asparagus, or other green vegetables
- Sauté mushrooms and add to the mixture
- Cook noodles in chicken stock for extra flavor
- Add garlic powder or onion powder
- Sprinkle top with paprika just before serving
If you’re in the mood for something with a little more kick, this Mexican noodle casserole brings that same cozy feel with a bold, cheesy twist. If you love easy sides like this Casserole Marie Blanche, give this hashbrown casserole a try.
What Main Dishes to Serve with Casserole Marie Blanche
Other Vintage Recipes
If you enjoy recipes like this, here are a few more vintage favorites worth trying.
This vintage casserole Marie Blanche has a creamy, comforting taste
Vintage recipes are fun, aren’t they? I love finding the history of the foods we eat!
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Tools I Use to Make Casserole Marie Blanche
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Mrs. John F. Kennedy’s Casserole Marie Blanche
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pound egg noodles, cooked and drained (original recipe : see important notes below!)
- 1 cup cream style cottage cheese (original recipe : see important notes below!)
- 1 cup sour cream (original recipe : see important notes below!)
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/8 teaspoon Pepper
- 1/3 cup chive snipped or chopped
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F Combine the cooked noodles, cottage cheese, sour cream. salt, pepper, and chives. Pour into a buttered 2 quart casserole and dot with the 1 tablespoon butter.1 ½ pound egg noodles, cooked and drained, 1 cup cream style cottage cheese, 1 cup sour cream, 1/2 teaspoon Salt, 1/8 teaspoon Pepper, 1/3 cup chive, 1 Tablespoon Butter
- Bake about 30 minutes, until noodles begin to brown and casserole is hot and bubbly. Serve immediately.
- See notes below for important notes. I increase the cheese and sour cream and decrease the noodles!
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Notes
Nutrition
Originally Published October 19, 2016. Updated May 11, 2024.
After cooking this once before by the letters, i gave it a three. I tried it gain and this time i added more butter, and tasted went up by far. I will try it once more by putting more ingredients in it and see if it improves.
Did you increase the quantity of the cottage cheese, too? As I suggest in the recipe notes, I also reduce the amount of noodles, as well.
This is probably the dumbest question but is it one pound of egg noodles before they’re cooked or after?
Dry weight, so before they are cooked. No question is dumb!
The recipe specifies one and a half pounds of cooked drained noodles. So that’s not correct. Else the recipe is stupid . That would be about three-quarter pounds of dry noodles
Punctuation is a good thing. The recipe has been changed to include some. The original recipe is one and half pounds of egg noodles, cooked and drained. Thanks for pointing out the poor word choice.
AH, Joe is incorrect. Your punctuation is correct with “One and a half pounds of egg noodles, cooked and drained” If it were 1.5lbs of cooked noodles it would state “one and a half pounds of cooked egg noodles”, drained
Haha! Thanks for the validation!
My ma made this without chives, put fried breadcrumbs on top. Yum! Will be making this very soon. Thank you.
You’re very welcome! Thanks for checking out the recipe!
I made this for a 60’s theme party we had. It was very bland. I didn’t taste a cheesy flavor. Very disappointed.
Well, the only cheese in it is cottage cheese, which has a very mild flavor. This recipe was never described as cheesy. We’re sorry you were disappointed, but perhaps you were looking to make macaroni and cheese instead of casserole Marie Blanche.
The title of the recipe in the email I got from Allrecipes is literally “Jackie Kennedy’s Cheesy, Four-Ingredient Casserole”. So yeah, it was described as “Cheesy”.
I did not describe this recipe as cheesy. I can’t control the wording of the Allrecipes writer, and perhaps she’s never tried it.
We called this Hungarian noodles, my family is Slovak. We always lightly fried onions and sauteed garlic in butter. Used 8 oz of egg noodles, 1 cup cottage cheeze, 1/2 cup sour cream, and plenty of salt and used a stick of butter.
The onions sound like a great addition. Thanks for the comment, Becca.
My family was also Slovak, but we called this Noodles Romanoff. and we had this recipe often. I still make it.
As the previous comment said, with browned mince onions and with or without sour cream. The sour cream functions mostly to make the dish creamy.
The onions sound like a great addition!
I made this recipe tonight and know this is a keeper! So much flavor! Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad that you liked it Connie. It’s one of our favorites too! Thanks for letting me know. Happy New Year!
I got this recipe years ago from a neighbor who was Slovakian. We add Bacon. Everything’s better with bacon
Ha! I can’t argue with you there Yvonne! Thanks for checking out the recipe.
It’s amazing to me that the recipe just calls for one TBS butter as we always have to add almost a full stick to keep it from being too dry! I’ve even thought about adding more cottage cheese and sour cream but haven’t tried that yet.
This is the original recipe. I have added to the recipe instructions. I always increase the cheese and sour cream, decrease the noodles and dot the top with butter. (it is always more than a tablespoon) Thanks for checking out the recipe Mary!
My grocery store only carries small curd and large curd cottage cheese. Is there a way I can make either of these cream-styled and if so, how? Thanks!
Sure you can. Place either of them in a blender of food processor and whip it until it is smooth. It will only take a few pulses. Thanks for checking out the recipe Maryeileen!
I’ve been making this for years except I do add some parmesan cheese. If you add cheddar cheese it becomes Noodles Romanoff. Never knew this recipe had a name or where it came from. I thought I made it up when I was hungry one night and the only things on hand were the ingredients for this.
It is an odd list of ingredients, but then they totally work together! I like the adding cheese, I may give that a go. Thanks Sharon!
Grew up eating this, made with seashell noodles. An all time favorite in our house.
I’ll have to try it with egg noodles.
I haven’t made it with shells. It would be just as good I suppose. Let me know how you like the noodles Abby. Thanks for checking out the recipe!
How much cheddar do you add. I love noodles Romanoff!!
There is no cheddar in this traditional recipe. You could certainly add it. If you do, I would probably add around 2 cups.
This is a traditional polish recipe. It’s been around forever called Kluski Z Serem- and Hungarians have a specific name for it and that version adds bacon. its Eastern European in origin
Interesting. Bacon sounds like a good addition too!
Can I ask what, if any, meat you paired this with?
We like this casserole with ham, chicken, and turkey. It would also pair well with beef and pork loin. Thanks for checking out the recipe!
I haven’t tried this recipe, but this is what we call a Noodle Kugel. You can add sautéed onion and make it savory, or add chopped apples or dried fruit and serve it sweet. Because it has no meat, it is used as a milk dish for kosher households.
That’s interesting. Thanks for the info!
How would it be with Ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese? Ricotta melts much better than Cottage Cheese.
I haven’t tried it with ricotta, so I can’t really say. I’m not sure about the combination of sour cream and ricotta? Give it a try and let me know how you like it!
Congrats on the new camera! This recipe looks fun- I saw a blog awhile back that did all recipes from classic literature. Love the idea!
Thank you Sarah! I appreciate that! I love cooking the vintage recipes!