An easy and tasty chicken bake making the perfect family meal. Made with chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken and basic pantry ingredients, this recipe can be made ahead of time and is perfect for freezing. It is a super creamy, super cheesy Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake!
So how do you make this delightful one dish wonder? Well, you simply cook the pasta, then cook the chicken (or use rotisserie chicken for convenience!) and then make that super creamy cheesy sauce and mix it all together, pop it under the grill to brown the cheese a little and get it fantastically crunchy. That’s it. And then you eat it. All. I’d serve it with a green salad, something light and fresh to balance out the heaviness of the creamy pasta… Makes it feel like altogether it is healthy. Amazing what the simple addition of a salad can do.
If you are using a Rotisserie chicken, try and shred enough to make up 3 cups of chicken breast. If cooking chicken from raw, fry the 3-4 chicken breasts in a little oil/butter, sprinkle with a teaspoon of Paprika (or 1/2 tsp Cayenne for spice), and once the pan starts to look a little dry, add a tablespoon lemon juice and 1 tablespoon white wine. Fry just until the inside is cooked through and then shred into small pieces and put aside.
The recipe makes a LOT of sauce! It uses more liquid than a typical sauce but it is essential as a sauce tends to lose liquid in the oven and the dish can land up being too dry which obviously we don’t want!!! So rather have more sauce than you think you need, trust me! You will note the recipe calls for 3 cups of cream which is quite a lot but of course you could easily substitute a cup of cream for a cup of milk if you prefer.
The white wine, garlic, Dijon mustard and parmesan cheese are your flavour enhancers – add them all for maximum effect but if you don’t have one of these ingredients or don’t enjoy using one of them, feel free to leave it out! Can you see how customizable this recipe is?
And lastly, let’s quickly talk about the amount of pasta used! For simplicity sake, I say use a 500g pack of pasta but you only need about 6 cups of cooked pasta (about 5 cups raw). So, depending on the type of pasta you are using, you may or may not have leftover pasta! If you do have a bit leftover, pop it in the fridge and you can create a cold pasta salad with mayo, spices and chopped veggies or something along those lines. You can try this combo of spices which is super tasty. So, certainly don’t throw the pasta away!
IF you like this cheesy one-dish wonder, you will most likely also enjoy this Macaroni Cheese or this Vegetarian Lasagne
And lastly lastly, just to say something very important: Adding a fried onion or two to this mixture is very tasty. Optional, but well worth the tears of chopping up two onions.
Easy Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake
Prep Time: 30 minutes- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
Yield: 6–8 portions 1x
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An easy and tasty chicken bake making the perfect family meal. Made with chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken and basic pantry ingredients, this recipe can be made ahead of time and is perfect for freezing. It is a super creamy, super cheesy Chicken Alfredo bake!
Ingredients
- 500g pack of pasta or 5 cups dry pasta (I used screws but you can also use penne or shells)
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon fresh Thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 3 cups cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese (split into half)
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese
- 3–4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded *
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Cook and cube your chicken using suggestions in the notes above.
- On medium heat, in a large pot or saucepan, melt the butter and then add the garlic, 1/2 tablespoon fresh Thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried) and the 1 teaspoon of Mustard.
- Allow to fry for a minute and then add the wine and stir through.
- Add the flour and whisk to combine, making sure there are no lumps.
- Add the cream, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring after each addition and allowing the sauce to thicken slightly.
- Add the milk and salt and stir through.
- Add 1/2 cup of the parmesan (leave the remaining 1/2 cup for later) and cheddar cheese and stir through to allow the cheese to melt, lowering the heat slightly.
- The sauce should have thickened by now. Add more salt to taste, if necessary.
- Now combine the sauce, chicken and pasta (Use approx. 6 cups of cooked pasta – there may be some left over but you don’t want too much pasta and not enough sauce, so be the judge in this regard). Stir through and then add to a baking dish.
- Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan on top of the pasta.
- Place the baking dish in the oven and grill for 10-15 minutes until the Parmesan is brown and crispy.
Notes
* If you are using a Rotisserie chicken, try and shred enough to make up 3 cups of chicken breast. If cooking from raw, fry the 3-4 chicken breasts in a little oil/butter, sprinkle with a teaspoon of Paprika ( or 1/2 tsp Cayenne for spice), and once the pan starts to look a little dry, add a tablespoon lemon juice and 1 tablespoon white wine. Fry just until the inside is cooked through. Shred into small pieces and set aside.
