Chicken Parmesan Casserole uses only five main ingredients: fully cooked breaded chicken, penne, mozzarella, Parmesan, and pasta sauce. Precise reservations of sauce and mozzarella create the final top layer over a 9x13-inch bake. The verified recipe serves 10 and records 15 minutes of preparation, 30 minutes of cooking, 45 minutes total, and 381 calories per serving.
Chicken Parmesan Casserole Ingredients
Main Ingredients: 16 ounces breaded chicken strips, fully cooked; 16 ounces penne pasta; 20 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese; 4 ounces Parmesan cheese; 32 ounces pasta sauce.
If you enjoy this recipe, you may also like Baked Rainbow Trout with Lemon, Pepper, and Garlic.
How to Make Chicken Parmesan Casserole
- Preheat oven: Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare chicken: Cut up cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Cook pasta: Add penne pasta to boiling water and cook for about 9 minutes, until just short of al dente. Drain pasta.
- Combine ingredients: In a large bowl combine chicken, penne pasta, 16 ounces of mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, and sauce (reserve about a cup of the sauce and set aside). Toss until ingredients are coated.
- Assemble casserole: Pour mixture into a greased 9x13 inch casserole dish. Add remaining cup of sauce to the top of the casserole and then sprinkle with remaining 4 ounces of mozzarella cheese.
- Bake: Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. The dish is ready when the cheese on top is fully melted and heated through.
- Serve: Remove from the oven and serve hot.
For storage details after serving, the USDA leftovers and food safety guidance.
Why the Order Matters
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut 16 ounces fully cooked breaded chicken strips into bite-size pieces. Boil 16 ounces penne for about nine minutes, stopping just short of al dente, then drain. In a large bowl, combine chicken, pasta, 16 ounces of the total 20 ounces shredded mozzarella, all four ounces Parmesan, and most of the 32 ounces pasta sauce, reserving about one cup sauce. Toss until coated. Pour into a greased 9x13-inch casserole dish. Spread the reserved cup sauce over the top, then sprinkle with the remaining four ounces mozzarella. Bake for 30 minutes until the top cheese is fully melted and everything is heated through. Remove from the oven and serve hot.
If you enjoy this recipe, you may also like Asian Ground Beef Noodles.
Critical Visual and Timing Cues
Chicken must already be fully cooked before assembly, regardless of which verified form is chosen. Cut it into bite-size pieces for distribution. Pasta boils for about nine minutes and should remain just short of al dente because it cooks another 30 minutes in sauce. Before mixing, reserve approximately one cup from the 32-ounce sauce supply and four ounces from the 20-ounce mozzarella supply. The bowl receives 16 ounces mozzarella and all four ounces Parmesan. Coat ingredients evenly before moving them into the greased 9x13 dish. The casserole is ready after 30 minutes when cheese is completely melted and the center is heated through, not merely when the rim bubbles.
Serving and Storage
Divide the hot rectangular casserole into 10 portions. No garnish is recorded, so herbs or extra cheese should not be presented as required. The source permits the cooked chicken component to be frozen fully cooked breaded chicken, shredded rotisserie chicken, or fully cooked chicken breast according to preference, though the ingredient heading specifically records breaded strips. Refrigerate leftovers promptly because the casserole contains chicken and substantial dairy. Reheat covered until the center is hot. The verified nutrition estimate per serving is 381 calories, 41 grams carbohydrate, 15 grams fat, and 20 grams protein.
Practical Kitchen Notes
The exact five quantities are 16 ounces fully cooked chicken, 16 ounces penne, 20 ounces mozzarella, four ounces Parmesan, and 32 ounces pasta sauce. Mozzarella is divided 16 ounces inside and four ounces on top. Sauce is divided with about one cup held for the surface and the balance mixed in. Parmesan is not divided; all four ounces go into the main mixture. Do not add ricotta, cream cheese, breadcrumbs, eggs, garlic, herbs, vegetables, or seasoning because none appears in the verified formula. The recipe contains dairy and gluten through cheese, pasta, and breaded chicken.
Details Worth Preserving
Grease the 9x13 dish before draining pasta so hot components can be assembled without delay. A large bowl is necessary to toss one pound pasta and one pound chicken with more than a pound of mozzarella without spilling. Reserve sauce and cheese before combining, rather than trying to remove them later. Spread the mixture level so all 10 servings contain chicken and pasta and the top melts evenly. The nine-minute pasta instruction is approximate and explicitly aims just short of al dente, making texture more important than extending it until fully soft. Preserve the official 30-minute cook and 45-minute total, and do not count pasta boiling as permission to shorten the recorded oven bake. Cut larger chicken strips only after confirming they are fully cooked, then keep the pieces similar so they distribute instead of collecting in one corner. Drain penne thoroughly but do not rinse it, allowing the measured sauce to cling. Scrape the mixing bowl into the dish so the specified cheese and sauce are not left behind. Check the middle for heat at the end of baking while leaving the casserole in the oven for the complete recorded interval. Allow only a brief settling pause before portioning if needed; the recipe itself directs serving hot and does not record a separate cooling or resting stage.
Recorded Recipe Tips
- The chicken can be frozen (fully cooked), rotisserie (shredded), or chicken breast (fully cooked). Choose based on preference.
Conclusion
Chicken Parmesan Casserole makes 10 servings in 45 recorded minutes, plus any separately stated baking, chilling, rising, resting, or cooling time. Preserve every listed quantity and instruction for the intended result.
Frequently Asked Questions
- → How many servings does Chicken Parmesan Casserole make?
It makes 10 servings and serves 10.
- → How long does Chicken Parmesan Casserole take?
The recipe records 15 minutes of preparation, 30 minutes of cooking, and 45 minutes total, plus any separately stated baking, chilling, rising, resting, or cooling time.
- → How is the mozzarella divided in Chicken Parmesan Casserole?
Mix 16 ounces into the chicken-and-pasta base, then sprinkle the remaining four ounces over the reserved sauce on top.
- → Does the chicken need to be cooked before assembling the casserole?
Yes. The recipe requires fully cooked chicken before it is cut or shredded and combined with the other ingredients.