Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake (Printable View)
Tender chicken and penne baked in creamy pesto sauce with melted mozzarella and Parmesan.
# What You Need:
→ Pasta
01 - 12 oz penne or rigatoni
→ Chicken
02 - 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 10 oz), diced
→ Sauce
03 - ¾ cup basil pesto, store-bought or homemade
04 - ⅔ cup heavy cream
05 - 3 tablespoons whole milk
→ Cheese & Topping
06 - 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
07 - ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
08 - 1 tablespoon olive oil
09 - Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
→ Optional Add-ins
10 - 3.5 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
11 - 2.5 oz baby spinach
# How-To Steps:
01 - Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside.
02 - Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain well and set aside.
03 - While the pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the diced chicken, season generously with salt and pepper, and sauté until golden brown and cooked through, approximately 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
04 - In a large mixing bowl, toss together the drained pasta, seared chicken, basil pesto, heavy cream, milk, and half of the shredded mozzarella. Fold in the cherry tomatoes and baby spinach if using. Transfer the mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish.
05 - Scatter the remaining mozzarella and the grated Parmesan evenly over the top of the casserole.
06 - Bake on the center rack for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and lightly golden in spots.
07 - Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes to allow the sauce to set. Garnish with fresh basil leaves if desired and serve warm.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The pesto cream sauce comes together with zero fuss and tastes like you spent hours on it.
- It reheats beautifully, making it ideal for lunches the next day.
- Everything bakes in one dish, which means cleanup is almost nonexistent.
02 -
- Undercook the pasta by one minute because it will soften further in the oven and nobody wants mushy baked pasta.
- Grease the baking dish thoroughly or the cheese will weld itself to the corners and you will be scrubbing instead of enjoying seconds.
03 -
- Reserve a half cup of pasta water before draining because a splash of it can rescue a sauce that turned out thicker than you wanted.
- Let the baked dish rest the full five minutes because serving too early means the sauce runs everywhere and you lose that luscious, cohesive texture.