Skip to Content

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

This chicken parmesan casserole has all the flavours of your favourite chicken parmesan in an easy baked pasta recipe the whole family will love!

chicken parmesan baked ziti

This chicken parmesan casserole is a super easy and delicious way to enjoy your favourite chicken parmesan! It makes the perfect weeknight meal that the whole family will enjoy.

Because who doesn’t like baked pasta?

chicken parmesan casserole

This recipe is as simple as stirring together cooked chicken, pasta, and marinara sauce and topping it with mozzarella cheese and a parmesan bread crumb mixture.

Throw it in the oven and bake until the sauce is bubbling and the breadcrumbs are golden, and you have some amazing chicken parmesan pasta that will make everyone in the family happy.

chicken parmesan casserole

I like to make my marinara sauce from scratch for this recipe, because it is so easy and delicious when it’s homemade, but if you want to keep this recipe super simple you can replace the homemade sauce with store bought marinara instead.

Also, this is an enormous casserole. It easily feeds my family of five for two meals. If you don’t want to make a casserole quite that large, this recipe is super easy to halve.

easy to make chicken parmesan casserole

Do you cook pasta before making a pasta bake?

Yes, you cook your pasta before assembling this chicken parmesan casserole.

You don’t want to over-cook the pasta though. Boil it just until it is al dente, according to the package directions, as it will continue to cook in the sauce in the oven. If you boil it for too long, you will end up with mushy pasta in your casserole.

easy chicken parmesan pasta bake

Do you bake pasta covered or uncovered?

This chicken parmesan baked pasta is baked uncovered, so that the cheese and bread crumbs on top of the pasta can brown as it bakes.

However, if you’re reheating this pasta, you should cover it so it doesn’t dry out. To reheat it, cover it tightly with foil and reheat it at 350F for 20-30 minutes, or until it is heated through.

chicken parmesan baked pasta

How to make Chicken Parmesan Casserole:

  • If you prefer not to make your marinara sauce from scratch, you can replace the homemade version with two 700mL (24oz) jars of store bought marinara sauce. The homemade version is very easy to make though!
  • This is a very large casserole and will easily feed 8-10 people, or make two meals for most families. If you don’t want a meal that large, you can easily halve this recipe and bake it in an 8×8 inch dish instead.
  • Make sure just to boil your pasta to al dente, as it continues cooking in the oven.

Here are some more great pasta bake recipes for you:

chicken parmesan pasta bake
Yield: serves 8-10

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

chicken parmesan pasta bake

This chicken parmesan casserole has all the flavours of your favourite chicken parmesan in an easy baked pasta recipe the whole family will love!

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

For the marinara sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 x 28 ounce cans (828 mL) crushed tomatoes
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon sugar

For the topping:

  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • 2/3 cup panko crumbs
  • 2 teaspoons dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese

For the casserole:

  • 16 ounces (454g) penne pasta
  • 4 cups cooked, chopped chicken
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Make the marinara sauce:

  1. In a medium stovetop pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. 
  2. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for about 3-4 minutes, or until softened.
  3. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, rosemary, and sugar and stir to combine.
  4. Bring the sauce to a high simmer (just about a boil), then cover and lower the heat to low.
  5. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Make the topping:

  1. In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, panko, parsley, garlic powder, and parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Assemble the casserole: 

  1. In a large pot of salted water, cook the penne pasta until it is al dente, according to the package directions. Don’t cook it past the al dente stage as it continues cooking in the oven and will be mushy if you boil it for too long.
  2. Drain the pasta and combine it with the cooked chicken and marinara sauce. Place the pasta mixture in a large casserole dish, at least 3L (9x13inch). If you have a 4L (4 quart) casserole dish use that. 
  3. Spread the shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the pasta.
  4. Sprinkle the topping over top of the mozzarella cheese.
  5. Bake the casserole for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is melted, the topping is browned, and the sauce is bubbling.

Notes

If you don’t want to make your marinara sauce from scratch, you can replace the homemade sauce with 2 x 700mL (24oz) jars of marinara sauce.

This recipe can be easily halved and baked in an 8x8 inch dish if you prefer. 

The full recipe can be baked in a 9x13 (3L) baking dish, but it will be very full, so place it on a baking sheet in the oven in case it bubbles over a bit. I prefer to bake this casserole in a 4L casserole dish so it isn’t quite so full, so use one of those if you have one.

Source: Adapted from my Marinara Sauce Recipe.

Recommended Products

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may receive a small commission from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 627Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 78mgSodium: 453mgCarbohydrates: 77gFiber: 6gSugar: 7gProtein: 33g

Nutrition Information is estimated based on ingredients used and may not be exact.

Skip to Recipe