They say that you should never make a dish for the first time when cooking for other people. I don’t know who “they” are, but it seems like pretty solid advice. Unfortunately, there’s just something within me that can’t abide by this advice. Maybe I like living on the edge. Maybe it’s my insatiable desire to always cook new things. Either way, I found myself having signed up to bring in a dinner casserole for the teachers at my kid’s school for conference night and I was crossing my fingers that it would turn out okay.
The plan had been for me to make this dish for my own family a day or two before to try it out, but whatever happens happened and those plans didn’t happen. I am totally the queen of serving people untested dishes. And I’m not going to lie— somtimes those dishes have ended up as a total disaster. You’d think I’d learn my lesson, but see above 👆🏻where I mention my living-on-the-edge nature. Thankfully for me, this recipe came from Ali at Gimme Some Oven- one of my favorite cooking blogs. Plus the recipe involves chicken, pasta and Alfredo sauce. So, really, what could go terribly wrong?
The answer? Nothing. It’s warm and creamy and delicious. I didn’t have to make hardly any adjustments to the recipe, but I do have a few tips.
- You don’t have to use the recommended method for cooking the chicken breasts; you could substitute a rotisserie chicken. But, if you have the time, please please please cook the chicken yourself.
- Ali’s original recipe calls for half of the sauce that I have listed below. Trust me, you want this much sauce in the casserole.
- I increased the baking temperature for my version (425 degrees instead of 375). It gives the cheese and pasta a nice crunchy texture on top.
So let’s get started. Please consider doing a quick brine for your chicken. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator and throw it into a bowl of lukewarm water with about 1/4 cup of kosher salt and let it sit for about 15 minutes. That way the chicken will come to room temperature and it will be extra juicy after you cook it. You can skip this step, but I’d really recommend it if you have the time. After 15 minutes, rinse the chicken in cold water and lay it dry.
Let’s cook the chicken. I used 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a small bowl. Place your chicken breasts into a baking dish and brush both sides of the breasts with the melted butter. Sprinkle both sides of the breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. A healthy amount. It will give the chicken so much flavor. I didn’t measure how much of the seasoning that I used because I literally sprinkled it over the chicken, but if I had to guess- it would probably be about 2 teaspoons of each.
Bake in the oven until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. If you have to flatten out your chicken so that it will cook evenly, pound away. My chicken were thick and ended up taking about 20 minutes to cook. If you don’t have a temperature, please invest in one. The one that I have is quite pricey because my husband is a dork and we bought it with reward points (because that’s what everyone wants to do with reward points, right?!), but the brand is Cooper Atkins. They’re not paying me to advertise, they just have a really accurate and fantastic product. Here’s a link to one that I’d recommend. It’s important that you have an accurate thermometer, so you shouldn’t go too cheap. 
Once the chicken is cooked, tent the dish with foil and let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes. Here’s my chicken 👇🏻 After it has rested, go ahead and shred it and set it aside.
While the chicken is resting, put your water on for your pasta and start making the Alfredo sauce. Cook the ziti in salted water according to package instructions. For the Alfredo sauce, you want to add the minced garlic and EVOO to a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Then add 6 tbsp of flour and stir. Cook the flour for another minute. It will look lumpy and dry. Don’t panic. This is what it will look like 👇🏻
Add the chicken broth- slowly- one cup at a time, whisking constantly. Then slowly add the milk one cup at a time, still whisking constantly. Bring it to a low simmer until it thickens up. Add the salt and a good amount of pepper. Then freshly grate some Parmesan into the sauce and stir. Heat the sauce just until the cheese is melted and the Alfredo sauce has thickened. There wouldn’t be any clumps in your sauce.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and lightly spray a 13” x 9” baking dish with cooking spray. Now drain your ziti and put the drained pasta back into the pot. Add the chicken and the Alfredo sauce and give it a good stir. Feel free to grate a little extra Parmesan in there too.
Pour half of the chicken and ziti into the baking dish and top with a good sized handful of mozzarella cheese. Not a kid-sized handful. A fully grown adult handful. Then layer the remaining pasta over top. Then another handful of mozzarella.
Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes until desired crispy-doneness. Top with fresh chopped parsley. This 👇🏻 was perfect for me (was about 20 minutes).
Feel free to add any desired veggies or even toss in some Cajun seasoning. One of the fantastic things about this dish- besides how delicious and simple it is to make- is how customizable it is!
**Recipe very slightly adapted from Gimme Some Oven
| Prep Time | 25 Minutes |
| Cook Time | 20 Minutes |
| Passive Time | 15 Minutes |
| Servings |
Servings
|
- 2 Tbsp EVOO
- 8-10 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 6 Tbsp AP Flour
- 2 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- 2 Cups Milk I used 1%
- 2 Cups Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Salt and Pepper
Ingredients
For the Chicken
For the Alfredo
Other
|
|
- Consider doing a quick brine on your chicken to start. Please see notes above.
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place chicken into a baking dish. Brush melted butter onto both sides of chicken and sprinkle with garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Bake for about 20 minutes until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- While the chicken is cooking, cook the ziti in salted water according to package directions. Also begin the Alfredo sauce. Add 2 tbsp EVOO to a large saucepan and add the garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the flour and stir constantly for 1 minute to cook the flour. Mixture will be dry and lumpy. Whisk in the chicken broth one cup at a time and then the milk, whisking constantly so that there are no lumps.
- Bring the sauce to a low simmer until it thickens slightly. Add the salt and pepper and freshly grated Parmesan. Cook until the sauce has thickened and the cheese is melted.
- When chicken is cooked, tent the baking dish with foil and allow the chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes and then shred it and set aside.
- Drain the cooked ziti and place the pasta back into the large pot. Combine the ziti with the Alfredo sauce, the shredded chicken and maybe add a little more fresh Parmesan.
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and lightly spray a 13x9 casserole dish. Place half of the pasta into the dish and then top with a handful of mozzarella cheese. Add the remaining half of pasta and then another handful of mozzarella.
- Bake for about 20 minutes until it’s hot and bubbly, the cheese is melted and it’s slightly crispy on top. Top with fresh chopped parsley and serve hot.
Welcome to Cupcakes and Sarcasm! My name is Maggie and I am the creator of C & S. I am a wife and mom of two beautiful kiddos. I grew up in Columbus, Ohio and now live in Northeast Ohio with my family. I have been cooking and baking since I was a kid. I decided in 2017 that I wanted to share my passion (and recipes) with all of you! On this site, you’ll find easy and delicious recipes- both savory and sweet. I’ll also sprinkle in some stories of parenting and our adventures along the way.