Chicken Spinach Pasta Bake Recipe 435

INCREDIBLE CARAMELIZED ONION SPINACH CHICKEN PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Spray a 2-quart baking dish or 9x9 inch or 11x7 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray, or grease with olive oil or butter.
• Boil the noodles until al dente, according to the directions on the package. Once done cooking, drain and set aside.
• Cook your chicken: add ½ tablespoon olive oil to a large pot and place over medium high heat. Add in diced chicken, season with garlic powder and salt and pepper; cook for 5-7 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Transfer chicken to a large bowl once done cooking.
• In the same pot you cooked chicken, you can caramelize your onions: add in ½ tablespoon olive oil or butter, onions and salt and pepper; stir to coat. Cook onions, stirring occasionally; check your onions every 5-10 minutes until they have completely caramelized and turned golden brown. If the onions appear to be getting too dark or sticking too much to the bottom of the pan, then simply reduce the heat a bit. You can also add in a few teaspoons of water to help deglaze the pan. Once the onions have caramelized, reduce heat to low and stir in spinach with the onions; cook until spinach wilts. Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl with the chicken.
• In the same pot, add in 2 tablespoons of butter and place over medium heat. Once butter is melted, whisk in a little bit of the flour and then slowly add in milk, a little bit at a time, alternating with the flour and vigorously whisking away any lumps. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and stir every so often, until the sauce thickens up.
• Once sauce has thickened up a bit, turn off the heat and stir in garlic powder, parmesan cheese. salt and LOTS of freshly ground black pepper.
• Next stir in cooked noodles, spinach and caramelized onions and chicken. Season again with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour mixture into your prepared baking pan and spread out.
• In a small bowl, mix breadcrumbs with melted butter. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture on top of casserole and bake for 25 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden brown. Serves 6.

CHICKEN 'N' SPINACH PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Prepare rigatoni acoording to package directions.
• Meanwhile, spread oil on bottom of an 11x7" baking dish; add onion in a single layer. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or just until tender. Transfer onion to a large bowl and set aside.
• Drain thawed spinach well, pressing between layers of paper towls.
• Stir rigatoni, spinach, chicken and next 4 ingredients into onion in bowl. Spoon mixture into baking dish, and sprinkle evenly with shredded mozzarela cheese.
• Bake, covered, at 375 degrees for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.

CHICKEN & SPINACH PASTA BAKE RECIPE - (4.3/5)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a medium casserole dish with non-stick spray. (Mine was a 10" round, but a 9 x 13 would work fine.) Cook pasta in salted, boiling water to al dente. Drain and set aside. While pasta is cooking, heat butter in a medium saute pan set to medium heat. Add in the onion and garlic. Cook for 3 - 4 minutes to slightly soften veggies. Do not brown. Add in cream cheese and stir to melt. Reduce heat to low. Stir in sour cream, milk, Parmesan cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes (if using). Stir until everything is well-combined and melted. Turn off heat. Combine the pasta, chicken, spinach and tomatoes in a large bowl. Add in the sauce and gently stir to coat. Pour into the prepared baking dish. (I drizzled in a little more half-and-half over the mixture once it was in the baking dish because it looked a little dry to me.) Top with the remaining mozzarella. Bake uncovered for about 20 -25 minutes ... or until casserole is bubbly and beginning to brown. Top with basil or parsley for garnish.

CHICKEN, SPINACH, AND CHEESE PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; add penne and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion in hot oil until tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Mix penne pasta, onion, chicken, diced tomatoes, spinach, and cream cheese together in a baking dish until the cream cheese melts and coats everything. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the pasta mixture. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until heated through and beginning to brown along the edges, about 15 minutes more.