Tomato Chicken Pasta Bake
Tomato Chicken Pasta Bake is a hearty comforting dish that everyone will love! Juicy chicken, your favorite pasta and spinach, loaded in flavorful tomato blush sauce and topped with melted mozzarella cheese. This easy dinner recipe is perfect for weeknight meal and will be done within 1 hour.
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 297kcal
Ingredients
- 16 ounces pasta dry
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts diced into 1x1 inch cubes
- salt, pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 cups spinach
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese grated
Instructions
- Boil a pot of water and cook 16 oz pasta according to the instructions. When done, drain the liquid and set the pasta aside.
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- While the pasta is cooking, preheat a large skillet over medium/high heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil. When the oil is hot, add diced chicken, season it with salt and pepper, and sear until cooked through. When done, transfer the meat to a plate and set aside.
- Lower the heat to medium/low. In the same skillet, melt 2 tbsp butter and add 2 tbsp all-purpose flour. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add 2 cups milk. Stir well and let it cook for about 10 minutes or until the mixture starts to simmer and get thicker.
- Then add 28 oz crushed tomatoes, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp dried thyme, and ¼ tsp red pepper flakes.
- Cook for another 10 minutes, then add cooked pasta and mix everything until well combined. Then add precooked chicken with juices.
- Fold in spinach and let it cook just for a couple of minutes or until the spinach is wilted.
- Transfer everything to a 13×8 inch baking dish and top with 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Bake at 375F for about 10-15 minutes or until the the cheese is melted and starts to bubble and get light golden color.
Notes
- Pasta. When you cook the pasta, cook it only until al dente. Since we are going to continue baking it with other ingredients, we don’t want it to get too mushy.
- Save pasta water. When draining pasta, save 1 cup of that liquid. If your blush sauce gets too thick, you can add some pasta liquid to thin it out.
- Chicken. Similar to pasta, try not to overcook the chicken while searing. If you overcook it, it might become tough and rubbery.
- Oven-safe skillet. If the skillet you used to sear the chicken is oven-safe, you can easily bake everything in the same skillet, instead of transferring to a baking dish. Although, baking dish will look more festive if you serve it at big family gathering.
- How to store. You can store the leftovers in an air-tight container and refrigerate for about 3 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 297kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 984mg | Potassium: 1049mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 2441IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 274mg | Iron: 3mg
