Baked Chicken Parmesan Pasta

Fancy flavors, yet easy to make, this baked chicken parmesan pasta will be sure to fill you up and satisfy your Italian craving. This recipe captures all the flavors that would be put into a timely prepared chicken parmesan, but the effort is minimal for this baked pasta version. I first tried out this recipe in my apartment using leftover chicken. It turned out great and I thought I would try to make a larger portion that was more family friendly in size.

This pasta could easily be prepared and stored in the fridge until dinner or put in the freezer for an even longer period of time. The prep work includes cooking the chicken (if it's not already precooked), cooking the pasta, shredding the cheese, heating the sauce, and mixing it all together! For the chicken I baked frozen chicken breast, let it cool in the fridge, and chopped it into bite sized pieces. The first time I did this recipe I shredded my chicken and that was just as good. As for the pasta sauce and pasta goes, you really can't go wrong. It really just depends on your preference.

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While the pasta was cooking it gave me the perfect amount of time to make a quick salad, and pop in some garlic bread. I loved how this turned out and if I were to do it again I might try a sauce with a little more flavor (Knowing my family I stuck with traditional). I could have also added some bread crumbs to the top layer of cheeses. This might have added an even more authentic chicken parmesan flavor!

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Baked Chicken Parmesan Pasta

Ingredients

1 16 oz box of pasta

1 24 oz jar of pasta sauce

2 cups precooked chopped or shredded chicken

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup of parmesan cheese

instructions

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. cook pasta in a large sauce pan and drain when finished.

3. In the same sauce pan, begin to heat the pasta sauce on a low temperature until it begins to simmer. Lower the heat.

4. Add in the chicken, pasta, and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Mix until the cheese is completely melted.

6. Poor the mixture into a 9x13 inch casserole dish.

7. In a small bowl or plastic baggy, mix together the remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Evenly sprinkle the cheeses over the pasta mixture.

8. Put the casserole dish into the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly browned on top.

* If saving for later, store in the fridge or freezer with a tin foil covering. Baking time may increase depending on the amount of time the pasta is stored in the fridge/freezer.

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