Chicken Parmesan Pasta Casserole
I started making this chicken parmesan pasta casserole in college. I’d make it on Monday and eat it for every dinner till Sunday. haha! Now it feeds my family for dinner and 1 night of leftovers. It’s really simple and like many of my recipes, very family friendly.
PrintChicken Parmesan Pasta Casserole
Chicken parmesan pasta casserole is fast, kid friendly, crowd pleasing, and makes delicious leftovers too.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: serves about 8 1x
Ingredients
Sauce– *see note
1, 15-16 oz can crushed tomatoes
2, 15-16 oz can tomato sauce
4 cloves of garlic, minced (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
Breadcrumb Layer-
¾ cup bread crumbs
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Assembly-
1 pound chicken breasts, cooked and cut into cubes
1 pound small pasta, cooked till al dente (penne, rotini, shells, ziti, macaroni, etc)
About 3 ½ cups shredded mozzarella
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Sauce-
In a pot combine all the sauce ingredients and simmer on low till at least hot. You can also heat longer for a bit more flavor too.
Breadcrumb Layer-
In a small mixing bowl combine the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning and set aside.
Assembly-
Lightly spray a 9×13 baking dish and spoon a bit of sauce on the bottom, just enough to thinly coat it. Scoop half of the cooked pasta evenly on top followed by half of the cooked and cubed chicken. Evenly pour half the remaining sauce over the noodles and chicken and then sprinkle half of the breadcrumb mixture evenly over the top of the sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of the breadcrumbs. Repeat the layering process starting with the pasta and ending with the mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes covered and then remove the foil and bake about 15 minutes longer, till the cheese is melted and gooey.
Notes
You can use a jarred pasta sauce for this, just make sure it’s about 45 oz worth.
Don’t cook your pasta more than al dente or it will become very soft as you bake the casserole.
You can assemble this a day or 2 in advanced and pop it into the oven on the day you want to eat it. You may need to add a few minutes to the cook time if you do this.
Keywords: Chicken Parmesan Pasta Casserole
