Chicken Parmesan Pasta Bake

If you like chicken parmesan, you’ll love this simplified baked version that comes together in an 8×8 pan. Full of melty mozzarella, tender chicken, classic marinara sauce, and topped with crunchy garlic-herb breadcrumbs, this is a weeknight pasta bake the whole family will love.

Remember those Garlic Bread Hawaiian Rolls? Pair them with this pasta bake and you’ve got a homemade dinner that make your house smell like the best of red sauce Italian restaurants. Warm, cheesy, and with a flavor-packed crunchy topping, this dish is easy to pull off. This is all it takes…

Chicken Parmesan Pasta Bake Ingredients

• Pasta – Be sure to grab a fun shape for this dish. My kids are big fans of elbows / macaroni, so that’s my go-to in this dish. For something that feels a little more elevated, try it with cavatappi which has a great twisty shape for holding pasta sauce. Penne would be great as well and feels classic.
• Marinara Sauce – I tested this recipe with a classic homemade marinara sauce, but at the end of the day, I wanted this to be a dish that you (and I) can throw together on a weeknight without much fuss or too many dishes. In the end, a good quality store-bought marinara just felt right with the simplicity of this dish. If you have a great homemade marinara recipe, use that! Otherwise, a high quality store-bought jar of sauce will give you a delicious dish.
• Cooked and Chopped Chicken – This is a great place for rotisserie chicken or just pan sear chicken breast or thighs until cooked through and chop into bite-sized pieces.
• Mozzarella – Tiny and adorable fresh mozzarella “pearls” make it easy to distribute cheese evenly throughout the entire dish. You can also chop a larger ball of fresh mozzarella into small pieces and use that. Pre-shredded mozzarella cheese will work, but it doesn’t melt as well (or have the same rich flavor) as the fresh variety.
• Topping – Just as with classic chicken parmesan, a crisp, crunchy, golden crust is the key to the dish. Panko breadcrumbs are larger and more crunchy than Italian breadcrumbs, so I highly recommend them here. Combine them with olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic, and parmesan cheese.

Tips for a Great Pasta Bake

• Al Dente Pasta – Keep a close eye on the pasta while it’s boiling. Because pasta bakes require that the pasta is “baked” again after boiling, you want the pasta to be boiled just until it is tender and still has a tiny bit of chew. Draining the pasta before it is super tender gives it a little bit of room to keep cooking as the dish bakes.
• Use Enough Sauce – The pasta should be thoroughly coated in sauce. When mixing everything together, add some more sauce if it looks at all dry. Using even more sauce than you typically would with a plate of pasta keeps the dish moist while baking.
• Fresh Mozzarella – As mentioned above, it’s worth using fresh mozzarella. Pre-shredded mozzarella often contains additives to prevent it from clumping. Those additives mess with its ability to melt, so fresh mozzarella always melts better and gives you a creamier, cheesier result. 

Possible Variations

• Make it Vegetarian – It’s easy to make this a vegetarian dish. Omit the chicken completely. If you want to add some protein back in, this would be great with chickpeas or white beans.
• Add vegetables – Fold in some steamed broccoli or cauliflower florets for some added vegetables. (You may need to use a larger baking dish and increase the amount of sauce to accommodate the veggies.)
• Change the Cheese – Mozzarella is classic here, but the dish would work well with many other types of cheese. Try provolone or Havarti for a creamier, tangy result. Both of those cheeses melt even better than mozzarella, so you’ll get an extra cheesy dish.

Freeze This Meal

If you’re going to freeze this meal, assemble it as directed, but increase the amount of sauce you use by ½ cup. This will be a lot of sauce, but it will help to minimize the amount of air in the dish (air is the enemy of freezer meals). Combine the topping ingredients and place them in a small freezer-safe bag or 4 oz mason jar. Cover the pasta tightly with foil and freeze for up to 6 months.

Print the recipe below for a cut-out label with reheating instructions. Just tape it to the top of the meal before you freeze it. 

How to Deliver This Meal To Someone Else

This would be a fun meal to deliver to someone who could use a little extra TLC. They can serve it immediately or freeze it for later. 

Deliver with:

• Caesar Salad Kit
• Panko topping (in a separate bag or jar)

Don’t forget to print the recipe below for a recipe label / reheating instructions that can be attached to the top of the meal.

Favorite Tools

• Stockpot with Strainer – A large stockpot with a strainer insert makes it easy to boil and drain pasta.
• 8×8 Baking Dish Emile Henry – This size baking dish is perfect for a family of 4-5. I use this baking dish almost every night.
• Anchor 3-Piece Glass Mixing Bowls – Good mixing bowls in a variety of sizes make it easy to assemble each element of the dish. 
• Box Grater – Nothing’s better than a classic box grater for grating a bunch of parmesan cheese. 

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