Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake (Printable version)
Baked penne with tender chicken, creamy basil pesto sauce, and melted mozzarella—pure comfort food.
# What you'll need:
→ Pasta
01 - 12 oz penne or rigatoni
→ Chicken
02 - 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 10 oz), diced
→ Sauce
03 - 3/4 cup basil pesto (store-bought or homemade)
04 - 2/3 cup heavy cream
05 - 3 tbsp whole milk
→ Cheese & Topping
06 - 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
07 - 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
08 - 1 tbsp olive oil
09 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
→ Optional Add-ins
10 - 3.5 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
11 - 2.5 oz baby spinach
# Directions:
01 - Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
02 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain thoroughly 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 cook 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. If using cherry tomatoes or baby spinach, fold them in at this stage. Mix until everything is evenly coated.
05 - Transfer the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish, spreading it into an even layer. Scatter the remaining mozzarella and all of the grated Parmesan evenly over the top.
06 - Place the dish in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and lightly golden on top.
07 - Remove from the oven and let the bake stand for 5 minutes to allow the sauce to set. Garnish with fresh basil leaves if desired, then serve warm.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- It comes together with stuff you probably already have hanging around the fridge and pantry.
- The creamy pesto sauce coats every single piece of pasta like a warm blanket on a cold night.
02 -
- Undercook your pasta by one minute less than the package says because it will finish in the oven and overcooked pasta in a bake is a sadness you cannot undo.
- Do not skip the resting time after baking or you will end up with a soupy mess instead of beautiful cohesive servings.
03 -
- Grate your own mozzarella instead of using pre shredded because the anti caking powder on bagged cheese prevents it from melting into those gorgeous stretchy pools.
- Taste your pesto before adding salt to the sauce because some store bought pestos are already aggressively salty and you cannot fix oversalted once it bakes.