This Baked Penne Pasta with Chicken makes a great weeknight dinner for the whole family. A creamy sauce made with Gouda and parmesan with pasta and tender pieces of chicken. Make it ahead of time and bake just before serving!
I’m still holding on to comfort food like this one and my Creamy Chicken & Leek Pie a while longer. I know we’ll soon be knee deep in sand castles around here. So, I’m making the most of comfort food while the cloudy days allow for it.
On the blog there are several recipes similar to this one just not quite the same. The Chicken, Leek & Broccoli Pasta Bake, Baked Penne Pasta with Chicken and even Macaroni and Cheese are just a few to start. And if you look through the pasta section of the blog, you will find quite a few indulgent creamy pasta dishes.
What Makes this Baked Penne Pasta with Chicken so great
- It’s a great pasta dish – At our place, you can never ever go wrong with a great pasta dish.
- Make it beforehand – most pasta casserole dishes can be made early in the day and stored in the fridge until baking time. They are great to give to friends and neighbors and they just have to put it in the oven.
- Family friendly – when looking to please a whole family, baked pasta dishes usually always win.
What We Need To Make This Creamy Pasta Dish
- Chicken breast
- Penne pasta
- Milk (I used whole, but you could use semi skimmed)
- Plain flour
- Butter
- Gouda cheese
- Parmesan cheese grated
- Parsley
- Olive oil
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic cloves
- Bread crumbs
REMEMBER, the full recipe and instructions is always found at the end of the post in the recipe card.
How Do We Make This Pasta Dish
- Preheat oven and get baking dish ready – 350 degrees F and have ready a 8 inch round deep sided baking dish. An equivalent size will do.
- Flatten and Season Chicken – Place the chicken between two sheets of parchment paper and pound it to about an inch thickness with a kitchen hammer. Then season the chicken both sides with salt and rub over the crushed garlic.
- Sear chicken – Heat the olive oil in a large skillet set over high heat. Sear the chicken on each side for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and cut into bite size pieces and set aside.
- Cook pasta – according to package, drain and set aside.
- Make sauce – In a medium saucepan set over medium to high heat, melt butter until sizzling. Whisk in flour until you have a paste. Gradually start whisking in your milk. Continue doing this until you have added all the milk and you have a slightly thickened sauce. Reduce heat to medium low and add most of the cheese, both kinds, reserving a little for the top. Stir really well until all the cheese has melted into the sauce. Season with a little bit of salt and pepper and add the chopped parsley. Stir and remove from heat.
- Combine everything and bake – Add chicken, pasta and sauce to the oven dish and stir well to combine. Sprinkle over remaining cheese and bread crumbs and bake for about 20-25 minutes. Let stand a couple of minutes before serving
Notes About the Creamy Chicken Penne
This is a pretty straightforward and delicious pasta dish. Here’s a few tips to help you along the way.
- Cook pasta al dente – for oven baked pasta dishes, it’s always best to cook the pasta to the point where it still has a bite to it. It will continue to cook a bit more in oven.
- Make it and store in the fridge – this pasta dish can be made early in the day and refrigerated until baking time. Just add 5 minutes to the baking time if you are doing this method.
Happy Cooking friends and I am hoping to be back tomorrow with another recipe. Fingers crossed!
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Baked Penne Pasta with Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken breast
- 1/2 lb penne pasta
- 2 Cups milk
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 Cups Gouda cheese grated
- 1/3 Cup parmesan cheese grated
- Small bunch of fresh chopped parsley
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2 Garlic cloves crushed
- 1/4 Cup bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and have ready a 8 inch round deep sided baking dish. An equivalent size will do.
- Place the chicken between two sheets of parchment paper and pound it to about an inch thickness with a kitchen hammer. Then season the chicken both sides with salt and rub over the crushed garlic. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet set over high heat. Sear the chicken on each side for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and cut into bite size pieces and set aside.
- Cook pasta according to package, drain and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan set over medium to high heat, melt butter until sizzling. Whisk in flour until you have a paste. Gradually start whisking in your milk. Continue doing this until you have added all the milk and you have a slightly thickened sauce. Reduce heat to medium low and add most of the cheese, both kinds, reserving a little for the top. Stir really well until all the cheese has melted into the sauce. Season with a little bit of salt and pepper and add the chopped parsley. Stir and remove from heat.
- Add chicken, pasta and sauce to the oven dish and stir well to combine. Sprinkle over remaining cheese and bread crumbs and bake for about 20-25 minutes. Let stand a couple of minutes before serving
*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Thanks For Stopping By And Hope To See You Soon!
