When it comes to easy family dinners, this Pesto Chicken Pasta Casserole is one of our favorites!
We love pasta recipes!
My family would eat spaghetti once a week if I let them, so I thought I would switch up our regular pasta-night dish with a simple pasta casserole.
Related Recipe: If you love this Pesto Chicken Casserole be sure to try our Pink Sauce Chicken Pasta Bake!
How to Make Pesto Chicken Pasta Casserole:
First, you’ll need to cook your noodles. We use penne pasta in this pasta bake, but any kind would work.
We’ve tried it with bowtie and our kids loved that too!
- In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients listed to assemble the casserole.
- After you have mixed together the ingredients for the casserole, you spread them in a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Next, you sprinkle a delicious, cheesy crumb mixture on top and put it in the oven!
This chicken casserole with pasta recipe is extremely simple and takes no time at all to assemble!
Pro tips on making a Chicken Casserole with Pasta:
Used canned goods: This recipe can be simple if you choose to use canned tomatoes, Alfredo, and pesto sauce. It’s almost a dump and go recipe that tastes amazing!
However, you can definitely use homemade or your favorite version of any of those mentioned above if you like to use fresher ingredients.
Try our Homemade Alfredo Sauce from this recipe!
Cool Off Your Pasta: Make sure to rinse your pasta off in cold water after you boil it.
This will keep it from sticking together when you’re trying to mix it with your other casserole ingredients.
Our best advice is to dump your pasta into a straining bowl like this one. Then run cold water over your pasta for 2 minutes.
If you love this casserole you definitely need to try our Million Dollar Casserole Recipe, Easy Chicken and Noodle Casserole and our Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Casserole!
Homemade Pesto Sauce for this Pesto Chicken Pasta Casserole Recipe:
We know not everyone loves pre-made pesto or Alfredo sauce, so using your own is totally fine. Here’s our favorite recipe for homemade pesto sauce:
- 3 cups fresh basil leaves
- 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
In a food processor, blend together basil leaves, nuts, garlic, and cheese. Pour in oil slowly while still mixing. Stir in salt and pepper.
Easy Pesto Sauce Recipes:
We couldn’t get enough pesto sauce after trying this recipe, and we’re pretty sure you’ll feel the same way. Here are a few of our favorite pesto recipes, using both homemade and pre-made pesto sauce.
- Pesto Chicken Florentine
- Pesto Tortellini Bake
- Pesto Potatoes
- Noodles and Company Pesto Cavatappi Copycat
- Easy Pesto Chicken Bake
Want even more recipe ideas that use already made chicken ?! Try these 45 Cold Chicken Recipes (Best Leftover Chicken Ideas)!
If you’re really feeling domestic, you can serve this with our Easy Homemade Rolls, our Caprese Salad, and our Famous Marshmallow Brownies for dessert!
Want even more pasta dinners?! Try our EASY 20 Minute Tuscan Pasta!
Speaking of Copycat Recipes…
Have you heard about our newest cookbook, Copycat Cooking?
We took over 100 of our favorite restaurant recipes and simplified them so that you can make them right at home!
Every recipe has a beautiful mouth-watering photo and has been picky-eater approved.
This cookbook includes copycat recipes from Wingers, Texas Roadhouse, Starbucks, Panera, Cheesecake Factory, Kneaders, and so much more.
We are so excited to share these recipes with you. Order your copy today!
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Pesto Chicken Pasta Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 ounces penne pasta
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded, could also use rotisserie chicken
- ½ cup milk
- 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 15 ounce jar alfredo sauce
- ½ cup prepared pesto
- ½ cup plain bread crumbs
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine pasta, chicken, milk, mozzarella cheese, baby spinach, diced tomatoes, Alfredo sauce and pesto. Mix until well combined.
- Spread mixture into a 9×13-inch baking pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and olive oil.
- Sprinkle crumb mixture on top of casserole.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until crumb topping is golden brown and casserole is heated through.
Notes
- Make sure to rinse your pasta off in cold water after you boil it. This will keep it from sticking together when you’re trying to mix it with your other casserole ingredients.
- Whole wheat pasta and gluten free pasta will work great for this recipe!
- You can make your own pesto sauce and alfredo sauce, but canned sauce will work great as well.
Nutrition
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