This Chicken, Leek & Broccoli Oven Pasta is studded with veggies smothered between layers of cheese and pasta. A delicious dinner for everyone!
I know yesterday I said spring is just around the corner, well that corner is probably still a few blocks away.
So, today I am diving head first into comfort food with this utterly creamy & delicious pasta bake. When you add pasta and cheese to any oven dish, you just know it has to be a success.
For me, I also know my kids are going to eat it. Which is more than I can say for the salad from yesterday. I gave the salad an A+, but the kids gave it a definite thumbs down. Oh well, at least I try.
Notes about the Chicken, Leek & Broccoli Oven Pasta
Pasta dishes, like this one, often have several components.
- This one has the pasta, the sauce, chicken and the veggies.
It is a good idea to get everything cooking at the same time, as opposed to cooking one thing setting it aside and so on. This will cut down the actual amount of time you are standing at the stove.
I usually get a pot of boiling water on for the pasta while I am cooking the chicken in one pan and the veggies in another one.
While all that is on the go, you can get your sauce going. When you read through the recipe below, it will all make a bit more sense. Since I have finally started to include cooking times, I add them according to several things being cooked at the same time. Hope this helps!
And can I just say, if you love this dish, you’ll also love my Creamy Broccoli & Penne Pasta or the Spring Pasta Casserole.
Happy cooking friends.
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Chicken Leek & Broccoli Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken breast
- 1/2 lb penne pasta
- 2 Cups milk
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Leeks trimmed and cut into thin slices sideways
- 1 small red pepper diced
- 1 1/2 Cups broccoli cuto into small florets
- 1 1/2 Cups Gouda cheese grated
- 1/3 Cup parmesan cheese grated
- Small bunch of fresh chopped parsley
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 4 Garlic cloves crushed
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 about 1/2 of the crushed garlic. Heat a tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet set over high heat. Cook the chicken on each side for about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and cut into bite size pieces and set aside.
- Meanwhile, place your broccoli in a colander and pour over boiling water. Set aside.
- In a large skillet set over medium heat add the remaining oil and garlic. Add the peppers and leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
- 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 flour. 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 you chicken, pasta, vegetables and sauce to your oven dish and stir well to combine. Sprinkle over remaining cheese and bake for about 20-25 minutes.
*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!
