Just before I get to this DELICIOUS looking recipe for an Easy Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake...a note of apology and thanks.
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Anyway...on to the recipe!
Easy Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake. Just as advertised, super simple creamy sauce with only 2 ingredients, then just add your bacon and ziti/penne pasta and bake this pasta casserole in the oven.
This creamy chicken pasta casserole would be perfect for those nights when you don't have a lot of time, but need something filling to feed the family.
It's a great way to use up any leftover rotisserie chicken, or in Australia what we call a BBQ Chicken - don't know why because it's not barbecued! I have also used smoked bacon, you can taste the extra flavour from the smoke through the whole dish. Yum. Plus who doesn't love a creamy pasta bake?
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I hope you enjoy this creamy chicken and bacon pasta bake, or bbq chicken pasta bake to us Aussies!
Some more leftover chicken recipes you might like
One Pot Creamy Chicken Gnocchi - creamy chicken gnocchi soup made with leftover rotisserie chicken but NO cream!
Chicken Mornay Baked Potatoes - loaded baked potatoes topped with a creamy chicken, bacon and avocado mornay sauce.
Chicken Stuffing Bake - so easy to make from scratch, no stuffing mix required.
Lee-Ann ♥
Table of Contents
📖 Recipe
Easy Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 200 g leftover shredded chicken
- 250 g dried macaroni pasta (see notes)
- pinch of fine salt
- 4 rashers smoked bacon roughly chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves crushed
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 300 ml pure cream
- 2 teaspoon salted butter
- 50 g fresh parmesan cheese
- 40 g shredded mozzarella
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 180c ff / 355 f.
- Cook pasta according to packet directions (plus a pinch of salt to the water) minus 1 min, then drain & return to pot, adding 2 teaspoon of butter and stirring lightly to coat.250 g dried macaroni pastapinch of fine salt2 teaspoon salted butter
- While pasta is cooking, place bacon in a small non-stick fry pan/skillet and fry for 6-8 mins, then add garlic and rosemary to pan & continue to fry for 1 min then remove pan from heat.4 rashers smoked bacon2 large garlic cloves1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- Add bacon mixture to cooked pasta & stir lightly to mix, then add cream & shredded parmesan to pasta, mixing to coat, then add chicken & mix again until incorporated.300 ml pure cream50 g fresh parmesan cheese200 g leftover shredded chicken
- Tip chicken and pasta mixture into an a baking dish, top with shredded mozzarella and bake uncovered for about 20 mins, or until peaks are lightly browned, then serve immediately.40 g shredded mozzarella
Notes
- **15/07/2018 Correction to amount of cream in recipe - should be 300ml.
- The baking dish I use for this recipe is 20cm x 30cm x 5cm (7.5" x 12" x 2")
- About the pasta I have chosen, I have made this dish made with ziti (or penne) pasta. I have also made it with shells, and quite frankly they taste the same of course because it's all still pasta.
- The reason I only add a pinch of salt to the pasta water is because the bacon itself can be salty - and we all know that once you have too much salt it's hard to fix! I found that this was enough salt for me. If you think you would like to add more, I would give it a taste just before it goes into the baking dish and add it then if you would like.
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I’d love to make this over the weekend for a weekday meal, can I put it together and put it in the fridge to bake another day?
Hi Rebecca! I haven’t done it myself but I don’t see why you couldn’t. I would give it a good stir before topping it with the cheese before it goes in the oven. The pasta will also soak up some of the cream too so it will be a bit less saucy.
Good luck, I’d love to know how it goes!
L x
Hi can I use chicken breast instead of roast chicken
Any kind of cooked chicken will do Kylie!
I didn't see it in the recipe but I'm assuming I drain all the grease off the bacon ?
Hi Brenda! I actually add the whole lot to the pasta - bacon grease and all. It adds heaps of flavour! Completely fine if you want to drain the grease off if you like though, totally up to you! Lx
I used this recipe as inspiration as I changed quite a bit just to use up leftovers and it was Omg 😋 delicious!!
A little bit of leftover chook goes a long way, it's amazing what you can pick off the frame. I only had 2 bacon heads (meaty part not the tails) but was perfect for a bit of saltiness. Instead of cream I used creme fraiche and I mixed it in with cooked rigatoni, and a combo of sauteed Spinich, grated sweet potato, zucchini, finely diced mushroom and a blob of leftover pumpkin soup (maybe 3-4 tablespoons). A small handful of grated cheese, mixed all together and topped with a finely grated crust of sourdough crust (the end of the bread that no one eats). 20 mins to bake in the oven and it tasted Amazing! Used up all our leftovers and not one mouthful leftover
..thanks for the inspiration!
You go Tracy! Sounds amazing, leftovers for the win!
Thanks for sharing
L x
Would it be okay to use milk instead of cream?
Hi Angel! Sorry, but no milk won’t give you the same result.
Hi Lee-Ann, I'm wanting to make this for a crowd and love to use 500g for other pasta bakes. Would I just do a simple doubling of the recipe do you think? I will throw in some mushrooms and peas as well I think. Will there still be enough sauce if I double?
Hi Lisa, if you double all the ingredients it should work great, still enough sauce. The mushrooms and peas sound like a great addition:)
L x
HI Leeann
Would this recipe be okay to freeze afterwards. If so would you recommend for reheating from frozen state or thawed. Making this tonight.
Thanks in advance
Patricia Smith
Hi Patricia, freezing should work fine (to be honest I haven’t) then thaw before reheating.
Loved this recipe, I used heavy cream instead. This will be a regular for us and a great way to use leftover chicken.
So glad Pam! Thanks for letting me know!
L x
Very tasty recipe. I added some mushrooms, leftover cooked diced sweet potato and peas to the bacon mix, and sour cream as I had no pure cream. Still delicious!
Thanks Jeanette, they sound like great additions! Glad you enjoyed it!
L x