This chicken Alfredo bake is penne pasta tossed with cooked chicken and a creamy sauce, then topped with cheese and baked to perfection. A comfort food classic that’s perfect for feeding a crowd!
My family enjoys a good hearty pasta dish such as chicken parmesan pasta, seafood pasta, and this ultra creamy and decadent chicken alfredo. No one can resist all that gooey melted cheese!
Fettuccine Alfredo is a a classic dish for good reason – everyone adores that combination of tender noodles in a creamy sauce! This chicken Alfredo bake is a hearty dinner option that is sure to impress your family and friends.
How do you make chicken alfredo bake?
This recipe starts with a homemade cream sauce, which can be made in minutes with a little butter, flour, milk, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, and heavy cream. I typically make my sauce while I’m waiting for the pasta to cook. After the pasta and sauce are ready, they’re tossed together with cooked cubed chicken, then everything goes into a baking dish. The finishing touch is a generous amount of shredded cheese. Bake your pasta dish until the cheese is melted and browned, then add a sprinkling of parsley and enjoy!
Tips for chicken alfredo bake
- You can use any kind of cooked chicken. This recipe works great with roasted chicken, shredded chicken made in the slow cooker, or even with a store bought rotisserie chicken.
- Feel free to use your favorite short pasta such as rigatoni, fusilli or farfalle.
- This recipe works best with freshly grated cheese. Pre-shredded cheese is often coated with anti-caking agents and will not melt as smoothly as if you grate the cheese yourself.
- The Alfredo sauce can be made up to 2 days in advance. If you’re short on time, you can also use a high quality refrigerated Alfredo pasta sauce from the grocery store.
Chicken alfredo variations
This chicken Alfredo bake is a real crowd pleaser as-is, but you can also add other flavors to suit your taste.
- Shrimp: Try adding 3/4 cup cooked shrimp, or you can replace all of the chicken with shrimp for a seafood version of this dish.
- Vegetables: You can add vegetables like spinach, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, or fresh diced tomatoes.
- Cheese: For a different flavor, try using some pecorino romano or asiago cheese instead of the parmesan.
- Meat: The salty and savory flavors of bacon and prosciutto are excellent in this Alfredo bake.
- Herbs: You can use other herbs instead of parsley such as chives, thyme or fresh basil.
- Stuffed Pasta: Try using cheese ravioli or tortellini instead of penne for an extra dose of cheesy flavor.
Can you make baked pasta in advance?
This pasta bake can be made in advance and refrigerated. It will be good up to three days in the refrigerator. To reheat it simply cover the pasta in aluminum foil and bake it at 350 degrees F until the pasta reaches 165 degrees F. It will take about 45 minutes to reheat it in the oven.
This chicken Alfredo bake takes a classic dish and turns it into a cheesy masterpiece that is sure to delight. There is nothing like delicious, creamy Alfredo covered in bubbly cheese straight out of the oven!
More great pasta recipes
Chicken Alfredo Bake
Ingredients
- 12 ounces penne pasta cooked in salted water according to package directions
- 3 cups diced cooked chicken
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided use
- salt and pepper to taste
- cooking spray
- 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 3 quart baking dish with cooking spray.
- Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the milk and cream, then simmer, whisking constantly, until sauce has just thickened.
- Add the parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella to the milk mixture, along with salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir until cheese has melted.
- Place the pasta and chicken in a large bowl. Pour the sauce over the top, and toss to coat evenly.
- Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared pan, and top with remaining mozzarella cheese.
- Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until pasta is bubbly and cheese has just started to brown.
- Sprinkle parsley over the top, then serve.
You developed a whole different recipe. Do you have a name for it?
We just finished eating this and my husband says he ate so much, he can’t breathe! Absolutely delicious and made it just like the recipe says. So good! Thank you so much. Getting ready to look for other recipes you have posted!
Can I use coconut flour ?
I’ve never cooked with coconut flour, so I can’t say. If it thickens in the same way as wheat flour it should be ok!
Love it!!! My family couldn’t get enough. Made it twice with in 2 days!!
This was absolutely delicious! I am gluten free and used gluten free pasta and gluten free flour to make this and no one could tell any difference. I also added chopped bacon, which was a nice depth of flavor. I also sauteed half an onion in the butter with the garlic, and added a 1/4 cup of white wine to the cheese and milk sauce, plus about 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg for a hint of flavor. I also added about a tsp of oregano to the mixture, and then I added 1/2 the chicken/pasta mixture to the pan, and put in a blobs of ricotta cheese over that, then added the second half of the mixture. It added a creaminess that was amazing!
I used sharp white cheddar in the sauce 2 cups of cream and 1 cup of milk and munster to top. Delish!!!
It was great! I used farfalle because that’s all I had and added some crumbled bacon. Everyone loved it and had seconds. Will definitely keep this recipe in my “favorite” category.
Love, love, love. I decided to use beef mince instead of chicken, and I added green onions and green bell peppers to the mince. Every thing else remained the same.
I love this site. All the recipes I have tried have come out spectacular.
This was so good! I used medium shells bc it was all I had, and wow..love the sauce..i added some cream cheese to it just because I always have done that. I am definately putting this recipe in my cook book. Thankyou!
I chose this recipe and my husband said it’s one of the best meals I cooked!
Hi, can i use alfredo sauce (non-refrigerated) for this one?
Yes that’s fine!
How much store bought Alfredo would you use?
2 1/2 cups!
could I substitute whole milk for 2% or almond milk?
thank you!
You can but the sauce will be thinner!
Is this something I could half and freeze?
Yes that should be fine!
I added red pepper flakes and mixed panko with grated parm for a bit of a crispy topping. Delicious!
Hi again,
Could you please indicate if this stays creamy when reheated? Thanks!
The pasta will absorb some of the sauce, so it won’t be quite as creamy when reheated. If you’re concerned you could make 1 1/2 times the sauce to compensate.
Can I substitute the heavy cream for half and half?
That should work, the sauce may be a bit thinner!
this is something I want to make but with qualifiers. What you in the USA call heavy cream is what we in Canada call whipping cream and it is damned expensive. like $3 for a litre or quart.. I used whole milk and add 3 tbsp of butter for cooking. Gets the fat in there.
This was my Sunday dinner. Absolutely delicious!!
Very easy to put together, especially if you already have cooked chicken. I saved the dishwashers I the family by doing all of it in the same pot. It was well liked and great for a cool and rainy day. Thanks for a good recipe!
Delicious!!! Definitely will make again!!!
Do you have this recipe for an instant pot? I swore I used almost this same recipe for my Instant Pot, but I can’t find it again!