Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake is the dinner that Lucia makes when she wants to put something genuinely special on the table without spending the whole evening in the kitchen. She builds the creamy pesto sauce in the same skillet where the chicken seared so every golden caramelized bit from the bottom of the pan dissolves into the cream and gives the sauce an extraordinary savory depth. She tosses the pasta and chicken and spinach through the sauce, transfers the whole beautiful fragrant thing into a baking dish, buries it under mozzarella and Parmesan, and slides it into the oven. Twenty-five minutes later the top is bubbling and golden and the kitchen smells completely irresistible.
Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake is the kind of one-dish dinner that feeds a crowd, travels beautifully to potlucks, makes outstanding leftovers for lunch the next day, and earns the kind of genuinely enthusiastic reaction that makes every moment of the preparation feel completely worthwhile. Golden seared chicken and just-under-al-dente penne tossed through a silky cream sauce fragrant with garlic, basil pesto, and Parmesan, baked under a golden bubbling crown of shredded mozzarella and extra Parmesan until completely irresistible. Come follow us on Pinterest where we share beautiful and comforting recipes like this one from our kitchen every single week.
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake Recipe
This Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake recipe is the ultimate one-dish comfort food dinner that delivers a genuinely impressive result from a completely manageable weeknight process. The pesto does most of the flavor work before any cooking begins. A good basil pesto already contains garlic, olive oil, Parmesan, and fresh herbs and when stirred into a warm cream and milk sauce it produces something that tastes far more complex and sophisticated than its simple assembly suggests.
Cooking the pasta two minutes short of the package directions before it goes into the baking dish is the technique detail that makes this bake so reliably successful. Under-cooked pasta absorbs the pesto cream sauce as it bakes and finishes cooking to exactly the right texture in the oven while soaking up all that flavor from the sauce around it.
Perfectly cooked pasta added to the baking dish continues to cook in the oven and becomes soft and slightly mushy by the time the cheese on top is golden. Two minutes less in the pot is the small adjustment that makes this dish consistently excellent. Our Creamy Pesto Sauce Pasta brings that same beloved pesto cream character to a stovetop version for a beautiful companion recipe alongside this baked version for any Italian-inspired dinner spread.
Ingredients Needed for This Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake Recipe
For the Pasta and Chicken:
- 10.5 oz Penne or Rigatoni Pasta
- 2 medium Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, diced into even pieces
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste
For the Creamy Pesto Sauce:
- 1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- ¾ cup plus 2 tbsp Heavy Cream
- ½ cup Whole Milk
- ½ cup Basil Pesto, store-bought or homemade
- ¾ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
- 3.5 oz Baby Spinach (optional)
For the Topping:
- 1 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
How to Make This Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake Recipe
Preheat the oven to 400°F and lightly grease a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for exactly 2 minutes less than the package directions specify. The pasta should be noticeably firmer than al dente when you taste it and offer significant resistance to the bite. It will finish cooking in the oven. Drain and set aside.
While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Season the diced chicken generously with salt and pepper on all sides and add to the hot skillet in a single even layer. Sauté for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and lightly golden on the outside. Remove the chicken from the skillet to a plate and set aside. Do not wipe the pan, cara mia. The golden bits remaining in the skillet are pure concentrated flavor and they are about to dissolve into the sauce.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter to the same skillet. Once the butter is melted, add the minced garlic and stir continuously for 30 seconds until fragrant. Do not let it brown. Pour in the heavy cream and whole milk, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to lift every caramelized bit into the liquid. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken slightly.
Stir in the basil pesto and the three quarter cup of grated Parmesan until fully incorporated and the sauce is smooth and fragrant. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed, remembering that the pesto and Parmesan both contribute saltiness.
Add the drained under-cooked pasta, the seared chicken pieces, and the baby spinach if using to the sauce in the skillet. Toss everything together thoroughly until every piece of pasta and chicken is completely coated in the creamy pesto sauce and the spinach is just wilted by the residual heat of the sauce. Transfer the entire mixture to the prepared baking dish and spread evenly. Scatter the shredded mozzarella evenly across the entire surface followed by the additional quarter cup of grated Parmesan.
Bake uncovered on the center rack for 20 to 25 minutes until the cheese on top is deeply golden and bubbling beautifully. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 full minutes before serving. This resting time allows the sauce to settle and thicken slightly so the portions hold together when scooped rather than running all over the plate.
How to Serve This Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake Recipe
Serve this bake directly from the dish at the center of the table while the cheese is still bubbling and the most extraordinary pesto cream fragrance is at its peak. A final scatter of fresh basil leaves over the golden cheese top before serving adds a beautiful color contrast and a fresh herbal note that lifts the richness of the cream.
Garlic bread or a crusty Italian loaf alongside is completely essential for mopping up the pesto cream sauce from the bottom of each portion. A simple arugula salad with lemon and olive oil provides a fresh peppery contrast to the rich and cheesy bake. Our Margherita Pizza makes a wonderful simple Italian companion for a larger gathering where this pasta bake is the centerpiece.
How to Store This Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake Recipe
Store leftovers covered tightly in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The creamy pesto sauce keeps the pasta moist and the flavor actually deepens overnight making this one of the best next-day lunch pastas imaginable. To reheat individual portions, microwave at medium power with a splash of cream or broth added to restore the sauce consistency.
To reheat the entire dish, cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes until heated through. The foil prevents the cheese top from burning while the interior heats. To freeze, assemble the entire bake in the dish but stop before the final baking step. Wrap tightly in foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen at a slightly lower temperature of 375°F for 35 to 40 minutes until hot and bubbling throughout.
Tips to Make This Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake Recipe
Always cook the pasta 2 minutes short of al dente before baking. This is the single most important technique detail in the entire recipe. Pasta cooked to package directions and then baked for 20 to 25 minutes will emerge soft and overcooked. Pasta cooked 2 minutes less will emerge from the oven at exactly the right tender bite after absorbing the sauce during baking.
Taste the pesto before adding it to the sauce. Store-bought pesto varies enormously in salt content between brands. Add the pesto and then taste the finished sauce before adding any additional salt rather than salting the sauce first and then discovering the pesto has already made it too salty. This order of operations prevents an over-seasoned sauce that cannot be corrected.
Helpful Notes for This Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake Recipe
Whole-milk mozzarella produces significantly better results on the baked topping than part-skim mozzarella. Whole-milk mozzarella melts into long glossy golden pulls and produces the deeply browned and bubbling top that makes this bake so visually impressive. Part-skim mozzarella can become slightly rubbery and release excess liquid during baking which pools on the surface and prevents the cheese from browning as effectively.
A good quality basil pesto with real Parmesan listed as an ingredient makes a more significant difference to the finished flavor of this dish than almost any other ingredient choice. Since the pesto is the primary flavor of the sauce rather than a background note, the quality of what you use will be tasted clearly and unmistakably in every bite. If you have the time and ingredients available, homemade pesto made with fresh basil, toasted pine nuts, good olive oil, garlic, and real Parmesan produces a noticeably brighter and more vibrant finished dish than any commercial version.
Variation of This Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake Recipe
Maria made a version with a cup of halved cherry tomatoes stirred into the pasta and sauce mixture before transferring to the baking dish and the tomatoes roasted in the oven alongside the cheese, bursting gently and releasing their sweet juices into the creamy pesto sauce in the most beautiful and fresh-tasting way. Teresa tried using sun-dried tomato pesto in place of basil pesto for a richer and more intensely savory version with a deep red-orange sauce that tasted completely different and completely extraordinary under the golden mozzarella topping.
For a vegetarian version, omit the chicken entirely and double the spinach or substitute two cups of sliced sautéed cremini mushrooms cooked in the olive oil before the butter and garlic step. The mushrooms add a deeply savory earthy character to the pesto cream sauce that makes the vegetarian version genuinely satisfying and complete. Our Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta brings that same pesto cream pasta spirit to a stovetop format for a beautiful and equally satisfying companion recipe.
FAQs About This Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake Recipe
Can I use rotisserie chicken instead of cooking raw chicken?
Yes absolutely and it is an excellent time-saving shortcut. Shred or dice approximately 2 cups of rotisserie chicken meat and skip the searing step entirely. Begin by making the sauce directly in the skillet, toss the rotisserie chicken through the finished sauce with the pasta and spinach, and proceed with the assembly and baking steps as written. The sauce will be slightly less complex without the caramelized chicken drippings but will still be deeply flavorful.
Can I make this pasta bake ahead of time?
Yes. Assemble the entire bake through the step of adding the mozzarella and Parmesan topping, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking. Remove from the refrigerator 20 minutes before baking to take off the chill and then bake as directed adding 5 extra minutes to the baking time to account for the cold start.
What pasta shapes work best for this bake?
Short sturdy pasta shapes with ridges or tubes are ideal because they trap the creamy pesto sauce inside their grooves and tubes and hold the sauce most effectively during both tossing and baking. Penne rigate, rigatoni, ziti, and fusilli are all excellent choices. Avoid long pasta shapes like spaghetti or linguine which do not hold thick cream sauces as efficiently and can clump together during baking.
Conclusion
This Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake is the dinner that earns a permanent and completely deserved place in the regular weeknight rotation because it is that satisfying, that comforting, and that reliably popular with every single person at the table every single time it appears. Golden bubbly cheese on top, creamy fragrant pesto sauce inside, tender chicken and perfectly baked pasta throughout. We hope it brings the same warmth and the same deeply contented table to your kitchen that it has always brought to ours. Make it, share it, and come back to tell us all about it. With all our love, Maria, Lucia, and Teresa.
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Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake The Most Comforting Cheesy Dinner You Will Ever Make
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
The most comforting Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake made with golden seared chicken and penne in a silky garlic pesto cream and Parmesan sauce baked under a bubbling golden mozzarella crown. A deeply satisfying Italian-American one-dish dinner ready in 50 minutes.
Ingredients
10.5 oz Penne or Rigatoni Pasta
2 medium Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts diced
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste
1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
2 cloves Garlic minced
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp Heavy Cream
1/2 cup Whole Milk
1/2 cup Basil Pesto store-bought or homemade
3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese grated
3.5 oz Baby Spinach optional
1 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese grated for topping
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
2. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta 2 minutes less than package directions. Drain and set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
4. Sauté chicken in a single layer 5 to 6 minutes until cooked through and lightly golden. Remove to a plate.
5. Reduce heat to medium. Melt butter in same skillet. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds until fragrant.
6. Add heavy cream and milk. Scrape up any browned bits. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes until slightly thickened.
7. Stir in pesto and grated Parmesan until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
8. Add drained pasta, chicken, and spinach if using. Toss until everything is coated and spinach wilts.
9. Transfer to prepared baking dish and spread evenly.
10. Scatter mozzarella and extra Parmesan evenly over the top.
11. Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes until cheese is golden and bubbling.
12. Rest 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Always cook pasta 2 minutes less than package directions before baking.
Taste pesto before adding and adjust salt accordingly as brands vary in saltiness.
Use whole-milk mozzarella for the best golden bubbly topping.
Do not wipe the skillet after searing chicken. The drippings add flavor to the sauce.
Store refrigerated covered up to 4 days. Freeze assembled unbaked for up to 3 months.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Main Course, Dinner, Casserole
- Method: Baking, Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 680
- Sugar: 4g
- Sodium: 720mg
- Fat: 38g
- Saturated Fat: 18g
- Unsaturated Fat: 18g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 48g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 42g
- Cholesterol: 135mg
Keywords: creamy pesto chicken pasta bake, pesto chicken pasta bake, baked pesto pasta, cheesy chicken pesto casserole
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