A Creamy Egg Noodle Classic
Casserole Marie Blanche
Equipment
- 2-Qt Baking Dish 8"x8" – you can also use a larger one, but watch bake time
- Normal Kitchen Utensils
Ingredients
- 1 Lb. Egg Noodles
- 1/3 C Chives, Snipped or Chopped I usually just get whatever is in a bunch at the store.
- 2 C Sour Cream
- 2 C Cottage Cheese Full Fat (4% or More)
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 1/2 tsp Salt Plus More to Taste
- 1/8 tsp Pepper Plus More to Taste
Instructions
- Boil the pasta per the package directions. Be sure to salt the water.1 Lb. Egg Noodles
- Once boiled, drain and add the pasta back to the pot. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Stir the cottage cheese, sour cream and chives into the pasta. Season to taste with salt and pepper.1/3 C Chives, Snipped or Chopped, 2 C Sour Cream, 2 C Cottage Cheese, 1/2 tsp Salt, 1/8 tsp Pepper
- Pour the mixture into a greased 9×13 baking dish and dot with the butter.2 Tbsp Butter
- Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, until the dish dish is heated through, the cottage cheese is slightly melted and the top is lightly golden.
- Enjoy right away!
Notes
A Creamy Casserole with a Presidential Story
Some recipes carry a little history with them. Jackie Kennedy’s Casserole Marie Blanche is one of those dishes. This creamy noodle bake is widely linked to Jacqueline (Jackie) Kennedy and a private White House dinner in 1961. According to food writers and society columns from that time, Jackie served the dish for her sister, Princess Lee Radziwill, and her brother-in-law, Prince Stanisław Radziwiłł. It wasn’t a formal state dinner. It was a smaller, more relaxed gathering. Still, anything served in the Kennedy White House instantly gained attention.
Over time, the recipe started popping up in newspapers and community cookbooks. As it moved from article to article, the details likely shifted. That happens with old recipes all the time. Someone simplifies an ingredient list. Another cook tweaks the ratio. Before long, the version everyone knows may not match the exact dish served that evening in 1961.
Most modern recipes for Jackie Kennedy’s Casserole Marie Blanche follow the same basic idea. Egg noodles mix with cottage cheese, sour cream, butter, and chives. The mixture bakes until warm and creamy. The result lands somewhere between a pasta casserole and a comfort food side dish. It feels simple and slightly elegant at the same time. That balance fits the Kennedy era perfectly. The early 1960s loved French influence but still embraced easy home cooking.
The Meaning of “Casserole Marie-Blanche”
The name Casserole Marie-Blanche sounds very French, but its meaning is actually quite simple. “Marie” is a traditional French female name, similar to Mary in English. “Blanche” means white. In French cooking, the word blanc or blanche often refers to pale or creamy dishes made without browning. That fits this recipe well. The casserole uses egg noodles, cottage cheese, sour cream, and butter, which all keep the dish light in color. The name likely helped give the dish an elegant, European feel during the early 1960s, when French cuisine strongly influenced American entertaining. While it may not come from a classic French recipe, the name captures the creamy, comforting nature of the dish and reflects the fashionable French inspiration of the Kennedy-era table.
A Few Tweaks for Modern Taste
I kept the spirit of the original dish, but I made a few changes to the ratios. Many versions online call for 1½ pounds of egg noodles with only one cup each of cottage cheese and sour cream. That ratio never worked for me. They must have loved dry food back then. That amount of pasta needs more sauce.
So I scaled the noodles down to one pound and increased both the sour cream and cottage cheese to two cups each. The result feels much richer and smoother. If you like your pasta extra saucy, you can add even more dairy. Just bake the casserole a little longer and finish it with extra butter on top.
One of my favorite tweaks is adding a bit of chicken bouillon to the pasta water when boiling the egg noodles. It gives the noodles a subtle savory boost. The change stays small, but the flavor improves noticeably.
This dish also invites creativity. Some cooks add mushrooms or cream soups. Others fold in chicken to turn it into a full meal. I prefer to keep it simple. The base recipe already tastes great. It reminds me of lazy-man’s pierogi mixed with stroganoff, minus the meat and gravy. Somehow it also tastes like sour cream and onion potato chips. The flavor lands surprisingly close.
That balance makes Casserole Marie Blanche feel both nostalgic and fresh. Serve it alongside something hearty like Momo’s meatloaf. Add a side of Garlicky Green Beans, and dinner feels complete. Sometimes the simplest dishes carry the most interesting stories.
I wrote and edited this post with help from ChatGPT, based on my own tested recipe and original photography.