Cheesy Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake That Feeds Six With Almost No Effort
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It is 6:20 on a Sunday, the oven is warming, and six people are about to ask what is for dinner at the same moment. This cheesy chicken alfredo pasta bake is about 30 minutes, start to plate, and it is penne, cream sauce and a roof of melted mozzarella: the kind of dinner that does not ask how your day went, and somehow already knows.
Penne, rotisserie chicken, Alfredo and a lot of mozzarella, with nothing to chop.
The plan is almost nothing. Boil 12 oz of penne until tender and drain it. Heat the oven to 375°F. Stir the pasta together with 2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken and the Alfredo sauce in a baking dish, cover it with mozzarella and bake for 20 minutes, until bubbly and golden. Rest for 5 minutes, then serve.
This cheesy chicken alfredo pasta bake has no sauce to make, no chicken to cook and no knife work, so it suits the nights when the effort has to be low and the result has to feed a lot of people.
What you need
- 12 oz penne pasta
- 30 oz alfredo sauce
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese
- ¼ tsp salt
- 14 oz chicken thigh
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
How to make it
- Cook the 12 oz penne pasta in boiling water until tender, then drain.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Mix the drained penne, 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken breast, and 2 jars Alfredo sauce in a baking dish.
- Top the mixture with 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes until bubbly and the top is golden.
- Rest the bake for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Cooked leftovers keep three to four days refrigerated, per USDA FSIS. Portion it into containers while it is still warm, because a big dish takes a long time to cool in the fridge as a single block.
It is a very good day-two dish. The pasta absorbs some of the sauce overnight, and the flavor deepens. The slightly firmer texture also makes it easier to cut into squares. Reheat covered, adding a splash of milk or cream if it has tightened, and uncover for the last few minutes so the cheese on top softens again.
It freezes reasonably well once cooled, wrapped tightly and thawed in the fridge before reheating. Cream-based sauces can separate a little after freezing, and a stir with a splash of milk after reheating usually brings them back together.
Cook the penne until it is just tender, not soft. It will keep absorbing sauce in the oven, and pasta that starts soft ends up mushy. If you are ever unsure, pull it a minute early.
Swipe right on this one and the agent adds the penne, the Alfredo, a rotisserie chicken and the mozzarella to your Kroger or Walmart cart, which is as close to a meet-cute with a casserole as the deli counter gets.
Two jars of sauce sounds like a lot, and it is. The pasta will look generously coated going in and a little less so once it is baked, since the penne drinks as it cooks. Do not skimp on it.
Swaps that actually work
The Alfredo, the chicken and the mozzarella are the point. Leave those alone. A bake is a low-drama relationship: you swipe, the agent shops, and nobody has to pretend to be a person who makes their own béchamel. A cheesy chicken alfredo pasta bake is a creamy bowl of pasta with a cheesy crown, and you can change the shape of the noodle or the kind of cheese on top, but the combination is what makes it work.
Penne can be rigatoni, ziti or rotini, any short pasta with ridges or a hollow to catch the sauce. Rotisserie chicken can be swapped for any cooked chicken. The ingredient list also names 14 oz of chicken thigh, which the method does not use; if you use thigh, cook it through to 165°F first and chop it before it goes in.
Store-bought Alfredo can be lifted with a bit of black pepper and a squeeze of lemon, and a handful of grated parmesan stirred in boosts the flavor. Spinach, broccoli florets or peas can go in with the pasta and chicken, turning it into a fuller dinner with a vegetable in it.
Breadcrumbs mixed with a little butter or olive oil and scattered on top give you a crisp crust that pairs well with the soft pasta underneath.
The swap that costs you the dish is a thin, watery sauce. The pasta absorbs liquid in the oven, and a runny sauce leaves you with a dry, stiff tray.
If it goes wrong
It is dry. The pasta absorbed the sauce or the baking dish was too large. Stir a few spoonfuls of milk or extra Alfredo through the bake and cover it with foil for a few minutes in the oven. Next time use a smaller dish so the sauce stays deep.
It is soupy. The sauce was too thin or the dish was cut too soon. Let it rest the full time, and if it is still loose, put it back in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes uncovered.
The pasta is mushy. It was overcooked before it ever hit the oven. Pull the penne when it still has a little bite, and stir it into the sauce right away.
It tastes flat. Most often salt, and sometimes the sauce. Jarred Alfredo varies, and a lot of pasta needs a lot of seasoning. Add black pepper and a handful of grated parmesan to the dish, and salt the pasta water the next time.
What to serve with it
The default is a green salad with a sharp vinaigrette. It is a heavy dinner, and the salad is the part that keeps it from feeling too heavy.
The better version of the default is garlic bread and a vegetable that has some bite: roasted broccoli, green beans or sautéed greens. A pan of roasted broccoli with lemon and chili flakes turns a cheesy chicken alfredo pasta bake into a complete dinner.
The thing in the fridge that lifts it is a handful of fresh parsley, some red pepper flakes, or a few sliced tomatoes on the side. Anything with acid cuts through the cream.
It makes a good lunch the next day, and it travels well in a lidded container.
Why this one earns its place
When you are cooking for six, the real challenge is getting the whole table to say yes. A pasta bake with cream and cheese gets you there, and you only have to stir, top and wait. It is a dinner for a crowd, a house with kids, or a freezer that needs to be filled.
It is also a good dish for a Sunday, when you want to cook once and eat twice. Make it, portion it and let tomorrow's lunch take care of itself.
If you cook a lot of dishes like this one, meal prep for the week is the system behind it, chicken alfredo is the stovetop version, and cheesy spinach artichoke stuffed shells is another bake in the same family.
More like this: all Italian recipes in Crave Corner.