You’ll enjoy this Chicken Pasta Casserole, with rotini pasta, zucchini, onions, red bell peppers, Parmesan and mozzarella, in a creamy sauce!
You'll enjoy this Chicken Pasta Casserole, with rotini pasta, zucchini, onions, red bell peppers, Parmesan and mozzarella, in a creamy sauce!

I don’t know about you, but we enjoy a tasty casserole every now and then. Casseroles seem to have a little bit of everything in them, feed a crowd, and the leftovers are great the next day! THAT’S a win-win, in my book. This chicken pasta casserole (which is also easy to make) is no exception to that theory. Years ago I made a few changes to the original recipe, and have been happy with the results.

Filled with chicken breast, veggies, curly rotini pasta, spices and two kinds of cheese, it practically has all the food groups represented (except for fruit or dessert, wink wink!). I found my handwritten recipe on an index card in a very old recipe box.

I made this casserole several times many years ago (at least 15), and had written “GREAT” on the recipe, so I decided to cook it again, photograph the process, and share it here on my blog. Here’s how to make this delicious casserole:

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

Prepare The Pasta

Cook rotini pasta (or rotelle) according to the package directions in boiling, salted water. Once the pasta is fully cooked, drain the pasta, and then set it aside. TIP: Make the sauce for the casserole while the pasta is cooking, to save time! 

Adding pasta to boiling water to cook.

Make The Sauce For The Chicken Pasta Casserole

To make the sauce, first melt butter in a large skillet on medium heat. Add chopped onions, red bell peppers, and sliced zucchini halves to the skillet. Sauté the veggies just until they become crisp/tender (approx. 3-4 minutes). Stir in flour until it’s combined with the veggies.

Bell peppers, zucchini, and onion are cooked in butter.Flour is stirred into the veggies to help thicken sauce later.

Cook The Sauce Until Thickened

Now add milk, chicken broth, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and basil to the skillet. Stir to combine all ingredients. Continue cooking, stirring often, on medium heat until the mixture has thickened and is bubbly. Once thickened, add 2 Tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese, and stir again, to combine.

Milk, chicken broth, tomato paste and spices are added to make the sauce.The sauce for the chicken pasta casserole has thickened.

Stir in the cooked pasta and the chicken. Make sure to get everything covered with the sauce. Now you’re ready to put it all in a greased casserole dish, and bake!

Cooked pasta and chicken are added to the creamy sauce.Ingredients are stirred until fully incorporated.

Bake The Chicken Pasta Casserole

Spread the casserole mixture into a greased 3 quart casserole dish evenly. Sprinkle the top of the pasta with the remaining 2 Tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, followed by the grated mozzarella cheese.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil, and bake, in a preheated 400°F. oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the foil, and continue baking for 15 additional minutes. It’s done when the cheese has melted and the casserole is fully heated through.

Parmesan and mozzarella added to top of the chicken pasta casserole, before baking.Cheese has melted and casserole is bubbly when done.

That’s it! Once it comes out of the oven, the chicken pasta casserole is ready to serve, and eat! You can add additional Parmesan cheese to the top as a garnish (if desired), but it really isn’t necessary. This dish is really quite tasty, fresh from the old oven!

A bowl of chicken pasta casserole, ready to enjoy!

I truly hope you enjoy this delicious casserole. You can store leftovers covered in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days. Reheat in a microwave for a quick lunch the next day!

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you come back soon for more family-friendly recipes! Have a wonderful day.

Looking For More CASSEROLE Recipes?

You can find all of my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have quite a few delicious casserole recipes, including:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do soIf you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:

Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest:
The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram:
jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

Author's signature

Original recipe source: unknown

5 from 2 votes
Chicken Pasta Casserole
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
40 mins
 

You'll enjoy this Chicken Pasta Casserole, with rotini pasta, zucchini, onions, red bell peppers, Parmesan and mozzarella, in a creamy sauce!

Category: Entree - Casserole
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken pasta casserole
Servings: 5
Calories Per Serving: 428 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • 8 ounces rotini pasta , cooked and drained
  • 1 cup yellow onion , chopped
  • 1 large zucchini , sliced, then slices cut in half
  • ½ cup red bell pepper , seeded and chopped
  • 3 Tablespoons butter
  • ¼ cup all purpose flour
  • cups chicken broth
  • ½ cup lowfat milk
  • 1 Tablespoon tomato paste *See note
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon basil
  • teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 4 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese , divided
  • 2 cups cooked chicken breasts ,cut in bite-sized pieces
  • cup grated mozzarella cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook pasta according to package directions. Once done, drain pasta; set aside. TIP: Make the sauce for the casserole while pasta cooks, to save time! 

  2. Melt butter in large skillet. Add onions, red peppers, and zucchini. Sauté veggies until crisp/tender (approx. 3-4 minutes). Stir in flour.

  3. Add milk, chicken broth, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and basil to skillet. Stir to combine. Continue cooking on medium heat, stirring often, until mixture thickens and is bubbly. Add half (2 Tbsp.) of grated Parmesan cheese, and stir again. Stir in cooked pasta and chicken until ingredients are coated with sauce.

  4. Grease a 3 qt. baking dish with non-stick baking spray. Spread casserole evenly in dish. Sprinkle pasta with remaining 2 Tbsp. of Parmesan cheese, followed by grated mozzarella. Cover dish with aluminum foil, and bake in a preheated 400°F. oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the foil, and continue baking for 15 additional minutes. When done, serve, and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

NOTE: You can substitute spaghetti sauce or tomato sauce if you do not have access to tomato paste, but increase amount needed to 1.5 Tablespoons.

Nutrition Facts
Chicken Pasta Casserole
Amount Per Serving (1 1/5 of total))
Calories 428 Calories from Fat 117
% Daily Value*
Fat 13g20%
Saturated Fat 7g44%
Cholesterol 74mg25%
Sodium 864mg38%
Potassium 623mg18%
Carbohydrates 47g16%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 7g8%
Protein 30g60%
Vitamin A 993IU20%
Vitamin C 39mg47%
Calcium 171mg17%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!You'll enjoy this Chicken Pasta Casserole, with rotini pasta, zucchini, onions, red bell peppers, Parmesan and mozzarella, in a creamy sauce!

Chicken Pasta Casserole

3 Comments on Chicken Pasta Casserole

  1. 5 stars
    Made this and added some fresh cut up grape tomatoes…about 2/3c…and of course added more mozz to the top…lol.
    Used a green pepper instead of a red pepper also…put a whole small cut up green pepper, fresh from the garden.
    Served this with fresh toasted cheesy garlic bread!
    This is a keeper recipe for me! always love to find great recipes to use my summer zucchini in

  2. 5 stars
    This was a fantastic recipe. However, I had to chuckle when I looked retrospectively at the “15 minute” prep time shown. In reality, it’s over 1 hour for prep by the time you cook and cut up the chicken, chop all the vegetables, cook the veggies and pasta, make the sauce, etc. MAYBE 15 minutes if all ingredients are prepped, measured out, and ready to go in advance. Again though….this was an awesome meal. Just plan on it being a little complicated and taking some time to make.

5 from 2 votes

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




By using this Comment Form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. Your email address will not be published.