Chicken Parmesan Casserole with Pasta
This dump-and-bake chicken Parmesan pasta casserole adds raw pasta, marinara, chicken broth, and raw chicken to one dish, tops it with a crispy panko Parmesan crust and mozzarella, and bakes everything together for an easy weeknight dinner.
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Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 12 oz penne or rigatoni uncooked
- 1 jar marinara sauce 24 oz
- 2½ cups chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp Italian seasoning divided
- Salt + pepper
- 1½ lbs chicken tenderloins or thin-sliced chicken breasts
- 1½ cups mozzarella shredded
- ½ cup Parmesan grated
Crispy Parmesan Topping
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup Parmesan grated
- 3 tbsp butter melted
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F and spray a 9x13 baking dish.
- Add the uncooked pasta, marinara, chicken broth, heavy cream, garlic powder and 1 tbsp of the Italian seasoning directly to the dish. Stir everything together, making sure the noodles are mostly submerged.
- Season the chicken with salt, pepper and the remaining 1 tbsp Italian seasoning. Lay the raw chicken right over the pasta.
- Cover tightly with foil and bake for about 35 minutes.
- Remove the foil and check the pasta. Give the noodles around the chicken a little stir. If they're still pretty firm or the dish looks dry, add a splash of broth.
- Mix the panko, Parmesan, melted butter and Italian seasoning. Sprinkle it over the chicken and pasta.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella on top of the panko mixture.
- Cover again and return to the oven for 10–15 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165°F and the pasta is tender.
Notes
- Make sure the pasta is mostly submerged in the liquid before the foil goes on. Any dry pasta sticking out of the liquid won't cook through properly.
- Check the pasta at the 35-minute mark and give it a stir. Every oven is different and you may need that splash of extra broth to keep things moving.
- Add the mozzarella over the panko topping rather than under it. The panko stays crunchier that way and the cheese melts down through it beautifully.
- Let it rest for 5 minutes after it comes out. The sauce tightens up slightly and everything scoops much more cleanly.
