Loaded with protein and incredible cozy flavors, this Cheesy Chicken Pasta Bake is sure to be a dinner winner!
This Cheesy Chicken Pasta Bake is a recipe that I've made more times than I can count! In the south, a gift of a homemade goodie says I love you and care about you! I love giving this ready-made, pop-in-the-oven chicken bake as a congratulations on your new home gift, a congratulations on the new baby gift or a I'm sorry for your loss gesture.
With its irresistible combination of tender chicken, pasta, and gooey sour cream and cheese, this dinner is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Whether you're preparing a comfort food meal for the family or hosting a get-together, this dish will surely leave everyone with happy bellies and asking for seconds...and the recipe!
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need
Ingredient Amounts Listed in the Recipe Card Below
- Seasoned Cooked Chicken
- Sour Cream
- Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
- Colby Jack and Cheddar Cheeses
- Pasta (I use Al Dente Carba Nada Pasta)
- Butter
- Butter Crackers
Tools You’ll Need
- Large and Small Mixing Bowls
- Medium Stockpot
- Spatula
- 13"x9" Baking Dish
Why You’ll like this Recipe
- It's a one dish wonder everyone will love!
- You can make it ahead of time!
- It makes for a great homemade goodie gift!
- It's super easy to make with simple ingredients!
- It's quintessential comfort food!
How to Make this Recipe
- Cook pasta per package directions in boiling salted water and drain.
- To a large mixing bowl, add sour cream, condensed cream of chicken soup, both cheeses and chicken. Fold until well combined.
- Add the drained pasta, and fold again until well combined.
- Pour the mixture into a 13"x9" baking dish and spread evenly.
- In a small bowl, stir together melted butter and crackers until it resembles a crumble. Evenly distribute the crumble on top of the chicken mixture.
- Bake 28-30 minutes or until the mixture is bubbling at the edges and the crackers are slightly browned.
Tips and Substitutions
- I use a low-carbohydrate, high protein pasta in my recipe, but 10oz of most pasta/noodles varieties would work. This recipe is excellent with regular pasta, egg noodles or amish egg noodles.
- Regular or light sour cream both work in this dish.
- If you don't like using cream of chicken soup from a can, here is how you can make it from scratch (make sure to double the ingredients below because this recipe calls for 2 cans):
- Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in ⅓ cup all-purpose flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in ⅓ cup milk and ⅓ cup chicken broth until well combined. Season with ¼ teaspoon onion powder and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes or until thickened and creamy.
- Rotisserie, leftover or homemade chicken all work in this dish. If your chicken isn't pre-seasoned, consider adding garlic, salt and/or flaky poultry seasoning to the chicken mixture.
- In this recipe's video, I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs that I cooked in the crockpot on high for 3-4 hours in chicken broth with 1-2 teaspoons each poultry seasoning and garlic powder and ½ teaspoon salt.
Storage
- After the casserole has cooled completely, store leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator up to 4-5 days.
- Freeze leftover casserole in an air-tight, freezer-safe container up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator prior to heating up.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can this recipe be made ahead of time?
- Yes! You can make the filling ahead of time, cover tightly and refrigerate until you're ready to bake it. Don't add the cracker/butter mixture topping until you're ready to bake it.
- Can this recipe be made ahead of time and frozen to make at a later date?
- Absolutely. Again, make the filling only, cover tightly and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight before baking. Add the cracker/butter mixture topping when you're ready to bake it.
- What's an alternative pasta I can use in this dish?
- I've made this and had success using regular pasta, egg noodles and amish egg noodles. While it might work just fine, I haven't tried it with alternative pastas like chickpea, bean, lentil or rice pasta.
- What size pan would I use if I halved this recipe?
- If you want to bake half now and save the other half for later or give to a friend, divide the filling and topping into 2 9"x9" pans. The bake time will adjust to 20-25 minutes, or until the mixture is bubbling at the edges.
- Is this recipe gluten-free?
- No, there is gluten in the pasta, crackers and soup. However, you could experiment with using gluten-free alternatives.
More Recipes Like This
- Next Level French Onion Chicken
- Easy Swiss Chicken Stuffing Casserole
- Easy Chicken Casserole
- Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Cheesy Chicken Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb seasoned cooked and chopped chicken see notes
- 1 ½ cup sour cream light or regular
- 2 10.75oz cans condensed cream of chicken soup see notes for homemade
- 2 cups shredded Colby jack cheese
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 8-10 oz pasta see notes
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 ½ cup crushed butter crackers
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta per package directions and drain.
- To a large mixing bowl, add sour cream, condensed cream of chicken soup, both cheeses and chicken. Fold until well combined.
- Add the drained pasta, and fold again until well combined.
- Pour the mixture into a 13"x9" baking dish and spread evenly.
- In a small bowl, stir together melted butter and crackers until it resembles a crumble. Evenly distribute the crumble on top of the chicken mixture.
- Bake 28-30 minutes or until the mixture is bubbling at the edges and the crackers are slightly browned.
Video
Notes
- I use a low-carbohydrate, high protein pasta in my recipe, but 10oz of most pasta/noodles varieties would work. This recipe is excellent with regular pasta, egg noodles or amish egg noodles.
- If you don't like using cream of chicken soup from a can, here is how you can make it from scratch (make sure to double the ingredients below because this recipe calls for 2 cans):
- Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in ⅓ cup all-purpose flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in ⅓ cup milk and ⅓ cup chicken broth until well combined. Season with ¼ teaspoon onion powder and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes or until thickened and creamy.
- Rotisserie, leftover or homemade chicken all work in this dish. If your chicken isn't pre-seasoned, consider adding garlic, salt and/or flaky poultry seasoning to the chicken mixture.
- In this recipe's video, I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs that I cooked in the crockpot on high for 3-4 hours in chicken broth with 1-2 teaspoons each poultry seasoning and garlic powder and ½ teaspoon salt.
Laura
My family loved this pasta bake. It was so good and easy to make. I also followed your idea to use frozen chicken and cooked in the crock pot like it says. It was so good and I froze what I didn’t use.
Laura Ashley
That is fantastic, Laura! I'm so excited that you made it and liked it so much as well! It means a lot to me that you shared this experience with it!
Cheryl Hinton
What a big hit. Everyone loved it. Very easy and a quick meal.
Laura Ashley
That is FANTASTIC!! I'm so excited that you made it and that it was a hit with everyone!
Tammy Baser
Delish! Made this using rotisserie chicken and wide egg noodles and other ingredients same as recipe except I added a small can of chopped hot green chili peppers. It was a little thick to mix so I added pasta water until it became easier to mix. I cooked longer than suggested s as my dish was deeper and wanted it cooked through the middle. Added the Ritz cracker topping after 30 minutes and cooked another 20-25 minutes to golden and crispy edges. It was so good I didn’t want to stop eating it. This would be a great pot luck dish. Thank you! Love it!
Laura Ashley
Boy does that sound DELICIOUS right now! Adding those peppers was such a great idea too! Thank you so much for making it and sharing your experience with it too! I'm thrilled that you liked it so much!! 🙂