Easy Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake
This Easy Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake is a simple, no-fuss dinner that you can easily make right at home with very few ingredients and ready in just 30 minutes. Plus, it's a definite crowd pleaser for even the pickiest eaters.
Servings: 6
Calories: 604kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16 ounce pasta uncooked, I used elbow macaroni
- 3 tablespoon butter unsalted
- 1 chicken breast cut into small pieces
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- salt and pepper to taste
- parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta: Turn your broiler on. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
- Cook the chicken: In a large skillet melt 1 tbsp of the butter. Add chicken pieces and cook just until chicken is no longer pink and is beginning to slightly brown. Remove chicken from skillet.
- Make the sauce: In the same skillet, add remaining butter and melt it. Pour the heavy cream in the skillet and whisk it. Add the flour and continue whisking until sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper and add the Parmesan cheese. Continue whisking. By now the sauce should be pretty thick, use some of the pasta water to thin it out a bit. Add chicken and pasta to skillet and toss well.
- Finish the dish: Top with mozzarella cheese and place under the broiler for about 5 minutes until cheese is bubbly and gets golden brown, checking often to make sure the top doesn't burn.
- Garnish and serve: Garnish with parsley and more Parmesan cheese if preferred.
Notes
- The sauce will seem thin when you start to mix in the pasta. Don’t worry, just keep tossing. The starches from the pasta will mix into the sauce to give the the perfect consistency. If you use flour or cornstarch to thicken the sauce, it may come out with a gluey consistency once it’s cooled down a bit.
- You can add a few tsp of Italian seasoning, a pinch of nutmeg or red pepper flakes to add some flare to this sauce. Feel free to get creative with seasoning.
- You can adjust the ratio of cream to milk in this recipe to suit how rich you’d like it to be.
- You can store this recipe easily in the fridge. In an airtight container it’ll keep for 3 – 5 days just be sure it’s properly cooled before storing. Unfortunately this dish doesn’t freeze well so I recommend either making it day of or a few days before and storing in the fridge.
Nutrition
Calories: 604kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 105mg | Sodium: 360mg | Potassium: 294mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 984IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 286mg | Iron: 1mg