Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake (Printable)
Baked penne with tender chicken, creamy basil pesto sauce, and melted mozzarella—perfect Italian 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 and 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 with olive oil or cooking spray.
02 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the penne or rigatoni 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, combine the drained pasta, seared chicken, basil pesto, heavy cream, milk, and half of the shredded mozzarella. Fold in the cherry tomatoes and baby spinach if using. Toss 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 - Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and lightly golden on top.
07 - Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh basil leaves if desired.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The pesto cream sauce coats every single piece of pasta like a warm hug and no bite feels dry or forgotten.
- It reheats beautifully the next day which means lunch is already handled and that alone is worth celebrating.
- Everything comes together in one baking dish so cleanup is almost embarrassingly easy.
02 -
- Under cooking the pasta by one minute is the single most important thing because soggy baked pasta is a sadness nobody deserves.
- Letting the baked dish rest those 5 minutes is not optional because the sauce thickens as it cools slightly and scoops much cleaner.
03 -
- Grease the baking dish with a bit of butter instead of spray because it adds a subtle golden crust on the pasta edges that olive oil spray cannot match.
- Taste the pesto cream mixture before assembling because pesto brands vary wildly in salt and you may need to adjust more than you expect.