Your Dinnertime Plan: Chicken Parmesan Casserole

Who doesn’t love the hearty taste of chicken parm? Get the classic flavors of that Italian dish all in one pan with this warm cheesy casserole by The Weary Chef. This recipe makes a lot of food, but what that really means is you probably got tomorrow’s lunch in the bag! Now that’s what we consider family cooking.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
14-16 oz. box of bite-sized pasta like penne or rotini
1 sweet onion diced
1 lb. ground chicken
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic
minced or crushed
28 oz. jar marinara sauce
8 oz. fresh mozzarella
cut into 1″ cubes
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

Method:
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13″ baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions, and drain.
3. While pasta cooks, spray a 12″ skillet or dutch oven with cooking spray, and heat over medium-high heat. Add onion, chicken, salt, a few grinds of pepper, and garlic. Saute until onion is tender and chicken is cooked through. Stir in marinara sauce, and bring to a simmer.

4. Meanwhile, heat butter in a glass bowl in the microwave until melted. Stir bread crumbs and basil into the melted butter, and set aside.

5. Turn off heat on the sauce. Stir in cooked pasta and mozzarella cubes, and transfer pasta mixture to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle buttery bread crumbs over the pasta, and sprinkle parmesan cheese over that.

6. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until topping is golden brown.

Will you be making this delicious dish tonight? Let us know how it went in the Comments below!

Andi Gleeson is the author of The Weary Chef, a friendly recipe blog focusing on quick and easy dinner recipes. She is a mom of two wild little boys in San Francisco. Her obsessions are Target, glitter nail polish, and Mexican food.