Perfect dish to make with leftover rotisserie chicken. Fast and easy creamy pasta bake! This Spinach Chicken Penne Bake is so yummy!
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Spinach Chicken Penne Bake
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 8
Ingredients
- Whole Grain Penne Pasta – 1/2 (16 ounce) package
- Butter – 2 tbsp
- Half-and-Half – 3 cups
- All Purpose Flour – 2 tbsp
- Garlic Salt – 1/2 tsp or to taste
- Dried Basil – 1/2 tsp
- Dried Oregano – 1/2 tsp
- Black Pepper – 1/2 tsp
- Grated Parmesan & Romano Cheese – 2 cups
- Chicken – 3 cups, cooked & chopped
- Frozen Chopped Spinach – 10 oz package, thawed/drained
- Chicken Broth – 1/2 cup
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – 1 cup
- Panko Bread Crumbs – 1/2 cup
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to the package instructions, drain and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, flour, garlic salt, basil, oregano and black pepper until combined.
- In a large pot, melt 2 tbsp of butter over medium high heat.
- Add half-and-half mixture to pot, stirring occasionally until slightly thick, about 5 minutes.
- Add Parmesan & Romano cheese and mix well. The cheese will thicken the sauce.
- Turn broiler on to the low setting in oven.
- Add the chopped chicken (I used rotisserie chicken), spinach and chicken broth to the pot. Give everything a nice stir.
- Let the mixture come to a boil an cook for about 5 more minutes, turn off heat and taste check then add the pasta and mix well.
- Spray a 3 quart casserole dish with cooking spray and pour pasta mixture into the dish.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese & top with Panko bread crumbs.
- Pop the dish in the oven for about 8 minutes then turn broiler on to high for an additional 2 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and the crumbs are golden brown.
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I was looking for a quick and simple recipe that used chicken, spinach, pasta, and mozzarella, as those are ingredients I had sitting around and didn’t want to make a trip to the store. This recipe came up a little ways into the Google search, but looked like the best option. I’m writing this comment with four licked-clean bowls on the table in front of me. Everyone enjoyed this dish and had seconds. We only have two small or one large serving left to put away for leftovers (and as chef I am putting my name on it). My half and half had expired so I substituted a mix of fat free milk with heavy cream which seemed to work fine. I cooked up a boneless chicken breast cut into strips to use and it came out perfectly. The only thing I would change next time I make it (and there will be a next time!) is probably a little less parmesan/Romano because I’m not sure it needed this much. It was certainly very tasty, but also very cheesy. All in all, I am so glad I found your recipe and your blog. I will be checking out more of your recipes and keeping an eye out for new material!
Thanks, Nora for your comment! So glad I was able to help you out with dinner & that your family enjoyed it! ???? Please keep me in the loop if you try any of my other recipes, would love to hear all about the results! Also, I have a perfect explanation for why this dish was made with a little extra cheese! I was pregnant when I ceated it ????. Pasta and cheese were up there on my list at that time. Happy New Year!