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.
Lori says
How much chicken? Raw chicken is not sold by the cup, I would like to know how many ounces of chicken I need to cook up to make 3 cups of cooked chicken.
Sara says
It should be about a pound of chicken!
Ashleigh B. says
The dish is ver delicious!! My family loves it a lot, but my youngest can’t have cows milk. My question is can I use almond milk instead of whole milk?
Sara says
My concern is that the almond milk is a lot thinner and has a lower fat content, so the sauce may be very thin. You may need to add more flour and butter to help enrich and thicken the sauce.
Brianna says
Can you use premade sauce? And if so then how much sauce do I use? Thanks!!
Sara says
Yes, it should be 3 1/2 to 4 cups!
April says
Wanting to make this for a crowd of 40+ For birthday party; it looks delicious!!!!!!!Any recommendations for the cooking time?
Sara says
Are you looking to cook it in one giant pan or several smaller pans?
Jane says
Can you make this with brown rice penne and corn starch? Also, how many does this recipe serve?
Sara says
The recipe serves 6. I think the penne would be ok but I haven’t tested this recipe with corn starch, I’d try gluten free flour instead.
Joyce Van Alstin says
This sounds so good! I have celiac disease (gluten free), can I substitute corn starch for the flour or should I use a different substitute?
Thanks!
Sara says
Gluten free flour should be fine!
Dawna says
We absolutely love this dish! Can you please break it down to a 4 person serving size and email me the recipe? For some reason when I change the serving size on here nothing changes.. Thank You!!
Steve says
We make this all the time and love it. Sometimes we re pressed for time, can you make the sauce and serve it right over the noodles, or does it have to bake first?
Sara says
Yes that should be fine!
Siobhan says
Made this as a college student and it was bomb, I still have some left, is there a way to reheat it for later?
Sara says
You can reheat it covered in the oven in the pan, or individual servings in the microwave!
Sydney says
Can I freeze this recipe and cook later? Thinking of making it a freezer meal! #pregnant !
Sara says
That should work!
Sandy says
I made this delicious meal for my family and we all loved it! Now I am making it for a crowd. I noticed that when I use the handy tool for different portions, the recipe instructions do not change. I think you may have meant to say 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese rather than 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese.
Dayna says
Can This be prepared a day or two in advance and then cooked the night of?
Sara says
You could but you run the risk of the pasta soaking up all the sauce, it’s really best when cooked the same day.
Chris Hayes says
This is CRAZY delicious! So creamy and good. I threw some cooked broccoli in there too. Perfect. A new family favorite.
Alma says
I plan to make this today. I am thinking about adding some frozen stir fry veggies.