Easy Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake
This Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake is the kind of comforting, cheesy dinner everyone loves. Tender chicken, pasta, and spinach are tossed in a creamy sauce, topped with melty cheese, and baked until golden and bubbly. It’s hearty, satisfying, and perfect for busy weeknights or when you’re craving a warm, homemade meal without a lot of fuss
This chicken casserole takes ordinary ingredients and turns them into a delicious, easy-to-make dinner. Serve it with some garlic bread or salad for a complete meal that will satisfy your whole family!
Ingredients
- 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed
- 8 ouncesof rigatoni pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 3 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
- 14.5 ounces Italian-style diced tomatoes
- 8 ounces chive-and-onion cream cheese softened
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Place spinach in a strainer and set aside to drain well. Prepare pasta according to directions.
- While pasta cooks, place oil in the bottom of a 7×11-inch baking dish (with cover). Add the onion in a single layer and bake, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, or until tender. Transfer onions to a large bowl and set the baking dish aside.
- Press spinach between 2 paper towels to remove any remaining liquid. Stir pasta, spinach, chicken, tomatoes, cream cheese, salt, and pepper into the onion in the bowl. Spoon into the baking dish and top with cheese.
- Bake, covered, for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.
If you like casseroles, check out our Chicken Noodle Casserole recipe, Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole with Ritz Crackers recipe, and our recipe for a Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole.
Chicken and Spinach Pasta
Ingredients
- 10 ounces frozen spinach thawed
- 8 ounces rigatoni pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 3 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
- 14.5 ounces Italian-style diced tomatoes
- 8 ounces chive-and-onion cream cheese softened
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Place spinach in a strainer and set aside to drain well. Prepare pasta according to directions.
- While pasta cooks, place oil in bottom of a 7×11 inch baking dish (with cover). Add onion in a single layer and bake, uncovered, about 15 minutes or just until tender. Transfer onions to a large bowl and set baking dish aside.
- Press spinach between 2 paper towels to remove any remaining liquid. Stir pasta, spinach, chicken, tomatoes, cream cheese, salt and pepper into onion in bowl. Spoon into baking dish and top with cheese.
- Bake, covered, for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.
Notes
Nutrition
Serve this yummy entree with a side salad and some crusty French bread, and you have an elegant meal that would be just as great for serving to company as it is for serving to your family. This delicious recipe from the Alabama Hometown Cookbook is one you will want to add to your weekly meal plan.
Tips for Perfect Pasta Bake:
- Cook pasta al dente. It will continue to cook in the oven, so slightly undercooked pasta gives you the best texture.
- Use cooked chicken. Rotisserie chicken or leftover baked chicken works great and saves time.
- Drain spinach well. Press out any excess moisture to prevent your pasta bake from turning watery.
- Add extra cheese. Mix some into the sauce, then sprinkle more on top for an extra-gooey finish.
- Make ahead. Assemble the dish, cover, and refrigerate up to a day in advance – bake when ready to serve.
Alabama Hometown Cookbook
The Alabama Hometown Cookbook is part of the State Hometown Cookbook Series by Great American Publishers. The book is a collection of recipes from people across the State of Alabama, including personal recipes from the authors’ own families.
The recipes are an insight into the culinary heritage of people who lovingly call Alabama home. The recipes cover everything from appetizers to desserts. Included in the book is information about festivals around Alabama organized by month.
Some of the recipes that got my attention are:
- USS Alabama Shrimp Deviled Eggs
- Irondale Cafe Cornbread
- Full Moon Bar-B-Que’s Marinated Slaw
- Peach Barbecue Sauce
- Chelsea McLean’s Island Curry Chicken
- Cajun Barbecued Shrimp
- Old Southern Pound Cake
- Alabama Bourbon Pecan Balls
Look for Alabama Hometown Cookbook at your local retailer or at Amazon.com.
Last Bite
Love this Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake? Don’t forget to save it to Pinterest, share it with a friend who loves comfort food, or leave a comment below to tell me how it turned out. It’s the kind of cozy, crowd-pleasing dinner that never goes out of style!
cooked or uncooked pasta?
In step 2, it says to prepare pasta according to package directions. So, the 8 ounces of pasta listed in the ingredients is uncooked. (After you cook it, it will weigh more than that, but you don’t need to worry about the weight.)
This was absolutely AMAZING with the following modifications. I used a 10oz bag of fresh spinach and sauteed it with a tsp of minced garlic and olive oil instead of using the frozen spinach. I also doubled the cream cheese and canned tomatoes. It came out perfect and my family was making audible moans as they ate this. This is going in our regular rotation. A new favorite!
I left a couple of things out of my last review and comments so let me start all over with my modifications. I sauteed the chopped onion with a tsp of garlic for a couple minutes then added a 10 oz bag of fresh spinach and sauteed until wilted. I doubled the cream cheese and the canned tomatoes and used whole wheat bow tie pasta and it was absolute PERFECTION. The added cream cheese and tomatoes also kept the leftovers from being dry the next day.
Do I need to drain the tomatoes for the chicken spinach pasta bake?
No, you don’t. Just add it in with everything else. 🙂
Awesome! Thank you!