With only 4 ingredients, this chicken parmesan pasta bake might be the easiest recipe on my blog. And that’s saying something because I made some seriously minimal recipes when I first started blogging about food!
I’ll walk you through the recipe below and cover ingredient substitutions as we go. There’s a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post as well. Let’s get it.
Step 1: Mix your choice of pasta and marinara together in a baking dish.
Make sure your baking dish is similar in size. More surface area will likely reduce the cook time and less surface area will increase the cook time. Don’t worry—you can always cover and bake a bit longer if your pasta is undercooked.
And feel free to use another pasta.
Side note: You can add a bit more protein with a blended cottage cheese and pasta sauce. See my high protein chicken lasagna for an example in action.
Step 2: Top with shredded cheese.
Okay, I know I always talk about how freshly shredded cheese is so much better than pre-shredded, and it is. I just wanted this pasta bake to be as simple as possible. I’d still recommend grating some fresh mozzarella and parmesan for best results.
And as far as cheese options go, the version in the finished recipe photos actually used Trader Joe’s quattro formaggio cheese blend (asiago, fontina, provolone, parmesan). It’s hard to go wrong here!
Note: You may want to toss the chicken in the sauce along with this pasta like in this mostaccioli pasta recipe.
Step 3: Add Perdue Farms Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Chunks.
Since you can’t have chicken parmesan without the chicken, the recipe calls for Perdue Farms Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Chunks. This is one of my favorite products from Perdue. The chicken gets crispy golden brown on the outside while staying juicy on the inside. And that’s straight from the freezer!
Where to buy: Target is my go-to for frozen Perdue chicken, but you can use the store locator on the product page.
I’ll add that I’m a Perdue Farms ambassador and you can use my affiliate link (perduefarms.com/mason) to get a free box of this diced chicken breast and 15% off your order. Then you can make other recipes like my honey sesame chicken, buttermilk pan fried chicken, or chili garlic chicken fried chicken cauliflower rice.
And lastly, Costco has a very similar product, which you can check out in my healthy sweet and sour chicken or Korean chicken tacos recipes.
Step 4: Top with more marinara and cheese, cover, and bake.
I added some crushed red pepper flakes and dried parsley, but that’s totally optional.
Step 5: Uncover and continue baking for a melty, crispy top.
Parmesan and hard cheeses will give you the extra crispy look in the photo above. While a softer cheese like mozzarella will be more melty and give you that cheese pull effect. There is no right or wrong here.
Final Recipe Notes
I guess it wouldn’t technically be chicken parm if you added a bunch of stuff. Still, I wanted to toss out the idea of adding some extras like mushrooms or cherry tomatoes like in my Italian Sausage and Veggie Pasta Bake. Or if you like extra spice, a little Italian Bomba Pepper Sauce like I used in my Sausage and Mushroom Cauliflower Gnocchi and Chicken Parmesan Sandwiches might tickle your fancy.
These suggestions are purely speculation, but I bet extra goodies would increase the amount of diggity exponentially.
That’s a wrap. If you have any questions about this recipe, drop a comment below or join my Facebook group. There are more than 12k awesome home cooks in the group to help you out!
Chicken Parmesan Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 8 oz Dry Pasta, I used Banza Cavatappi
- 24 oz jar Marinara
- 16 oz Perdue Simply Smart Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Chunks
- 1 1/4 C 140g Shredded Italian Cheese Blend
- 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper and Parsley Flakes, optional
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 450F.
- Mix 3/4 of the marinara with the dry pasta in a 13×8 baking dish.
- Add 3/4 C (84g) cheese on top of the pasta and marinara, followed by the chicken. Pour remaining marinara in the gaps and top with remaining cheese and the optional red pepper and parsley flakes.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the cheese on top is melted and the chicken is crispy golden brown.
Made this for my family and they all thought it wasn’t going to be any good because it was somewhat healthy but guess what they all loved it! So easy to make and also had plenty leftovers. Will be making again!!!
Amazing dinner boyfriend and picky kid approved! I used pre prepped chicken breasts and it was super fast and delicious.
Alright, even if your kitchen skills aren’t great, this is too easy to mess up. I didn’t even have to go to the store for any ingredients since I had all 5 of them. I did use Rotini banza- it’s been sitting in my pantry for over a year now so I figured this could work. After reading the other comments and the Facebook group, I did precook the pasta for about half the time. I did also use a little bit more marinara sauce to ensure all of the pasta was coated. I used a bit smaller of a Pyrex dish to ensure the pasta wasn’t spread to thinly across the pan. I can’t remember the last time I had chicken Parm but this will be going into my normal rotation ASAP. It’s just too easy and too good not to!
My boyfriend and I LOVE this recipe! This is the one meal he is comfortable making on his own. So simple, and so yummy. We might use a little more cheese than listed….. The Perdue chunks are the star of the show. They are now a staple in our grocery run
If you like chicken Parmesan then you’ll love this! Super easy to make and tastes really good! I used Perfudes flat breaded chicken patties but it turned out just as amazing!
So simple and easy to make. I can’t find the Perdue chicken but regular chicken breast works just as well. My family loves it and can’t even tell the difference in the pasta.
5/5! I love this recipe so much and make it over and over. I waited months to make it at first, as i tried to find the Purdue chicken first! So simple and easy. Some modifications I’ve made including making my own lightly breaded chicken and air frying it, using regular pasta (if I’m down for the carbs), and adding in some cottage cheese!
This recipe is SO easy. I love that you don’t even have to cook the pasta before hand. I cant find lightly breaded chicken where I live now but it tastes just as good with frozen grilled chicken.
THIS. IS. SO. GOOD. So simple and delish!! Seriously, I could make this 3 nights a week and still not be over it. We do not have Purdue where we live, but I use Tyson Chicken Nuggets and it is dreamy!! So perfect for busy nights or when you aren’t in the cooking mood, or… every night?????
This recipe is easily in my top 3! It is super easy to throw together and takes zero prep. It’s perfect for a busy weeknight when you don’t have the time or energy for a more complicated recipe, but still crave a healthy and hearty meal.
I have made this using different kinds of the Perdue simply organic brand (my local stores only have the tenders, and they worked perfectly). I have also subbed Vodka sauce for marinara and ohhhh my gosh I may make that a permanent change, it was SO good. I’ve used several different brands and types of pasta as well (red lentil, yellow lentil, cauliflower). Some noodles turnout perfectly, others have been a little more on the crunchy side. I’ve also moved so I can’t rule out the different ovens being a factor.
I highly recommend trying this recipe! It is in my regular rotation and I send it to friends and family frequently.