You don’t even have to boil the penne, cook the chicken, or sauté the vegetables! Just stir everything together and 10 minutes later you’ll have a creamy chicken pasta casserole ready for the oven. It’s a one pot meal that makes weeknight dinners easy!
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Looking for even more easy dump-and-bake recipes? Try my kids’ favorite sesame chicken noodles, a dump-and-bake meatball casserole, pizza casserole, chicken tzatziki, our pesto alfredo chicken pasta, this ravioli lasagna with ricotta and spinach, aloha chicken, honey soy chicken, a chicken divan casserole, this simple chicken marsala recipe, poppy seed chicken, this chicken a la king recipe, and this dump-and-bake ham, cheddar, and rice casserole, too!
There were supposed to be leftovers; I was counting on it. Alas, it was quite a hit that there were only a few spoonfuls left toward the end. Most popular pasta bake I’ve made.
– Mike
Video: How to Make Chicken Penne Pasta
Dump-and-bake dinners certainly aren’t fancy, but they help us get a homemade meal on the table — even on our busiest nights. This chicken penne casserole is just the latest in our lineup of weeknight winners!
An Easy Chicken Pasta Casserole for Busy Nights
Instead of sauteing or boiling the chicken and vegetables, this version takes advantage of my favorite dump-and-bake method to eliminate tedious prep work. There’s no need to boil the pasta in advance or to pre-cook the chicken or veggies. Instead, all of the ingredients mingle, share seasonings, and simmer together in one dish in the oven.
You’ll also appreciate that this chicken and pasta casserole is family-friendly and incredibly versatile. Change up the ingredients to suit your family’s preferences or to use up whatever you have on hand. For instance, omit the mushrooms, but add frozen corn, peas, or diced carrots. Use shredded rotisserie chicken (instead of the raw chicken) or try cooked sausage. If you don’t like cream of celery soup, swap it out for cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup instead. The options are endless!
Ingredient Notes and Tips for Success
- I typically use the Campbell’s Heart Healthy cream of celery soup, but any similar option will work well. You can pick your favorite flavor of condensed soup to use here.
- For a richer, creamier sauce, stir ¼ cup of room-temperature sour cream into the dish just before sprinkling the cheese on top.
- Cut up raw, boneless skinless chicken breasts into bite-size pieces. The meat will cook in the oven along with the pasta. You can substitute with boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer the dark meat.
- I use Barilla penne pasta, which has a suggested cooking time of 11-12 minutes on the package directions. You can substitute with another short pasta shape like rigatoni, elbows, bowtie (farfalle), or rotini. Adjust the total baking time if you choose a different pasta shape.
- Feel free to swap out the sharp cheddar cheese and instead use shredded mozzarella cheese, Monterey Jack, American, Colby, Pepper Jack, or even some Parmesan cheese.
How to Make Chicken and Pasta Casserole
This creamy chicken penne casserole makes weeknight dinners quick and easy! I’ve included detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview:
- Whisk together the liquid ingredients and the seasoning.
- Add the vegetables, uncooked penne pasta, uncooked chicken, and some of the cheese.
- Transfer the mixture to a greased 8-inch square baking dish (or other 2-quart dish); cover tightly with aluminum foil.
- Bake the casserole, covered, in a 425°F oven for 45 minutes, until the pasta and veggies are almost tender.
- Remove the foil and stir the chicken mixture.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
- Return the dish to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 5 more minutes, until the pasta is tender, the chicken is cooked through, and the cheese melts. Total cooking time will vary depending on the type of pan that you use and on your individual oven. A glass or ceramic casserole dish will take longer than a metal pan, for instance. To know when your casserole is done, taste a bite of the pasta. The noodles should be tender and the sauce should be thicker. Be careful not to overbake the casserole or the pasta will become mushy.
- Let the pasta bake stand for about 5 minutes before serving. Garnish the finished dish with fresh herbs (such as fresh parsley, fresh basil, or fresh thyme) for an added layer of flavor.
Serving Suggestions
This chicken and pasta casserole is basically an entire meal in one dish, thanks to the meat, noodles, and veggies. If you’d like to round out the meal, pair it with flaky biscuits, 3-ingredient buttermilk biscuits, cast iron cornbread, cranberry muffins, pumpkin muffins or pumpkin bread, homemade garlic bread, no-knead Dutch oven bread, our favorite house salad with candied pecans, brown sugar glazed carrots, or Southern-style green beans.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Make Ahead: You can assemble the pasta dish a few hours in advance, or even leave it covered in the refrigerator overnight before baking. The pasta will start to soften and absorb some of the liquid as it sits, so you may need to decrease the baking time slightly. You don’t want to overcook the casserole or you’ll end up with gummy, mushy pasta.
- Storage: This casserole is best enjoyed immediately from the oven. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. The pasta will dry out a bit as it sits.
- I do not recommend freezing this casserole because pasta has a tendency to get gummy and mushy when thawed.
My friends and I keep this in the rotation, everyone loves it!!
– Maureen
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Watch How to Make It
Chicken Pasta Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup, (or sub with cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom soup)
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth or water
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup finely diced onion (I use frozen diced onion as a shortcut)
- 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
- ½ cup finely diced red bell pepper
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- ½ lb. raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite-sized pieces (or sub with boneless, skinless chicken thighs)
- 1 ½ cups uncooked penne pasta
- 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the condensed soup, milk, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Stir in the onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, celery, raw chicken, uncooked pasta, and ½ cup cheese.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove the foil and give everything a stir in the dish. At this point, check to make sure that the pasta is al dente (tender, but with a firm bite). If it’s still too hard, cover again and return the dish to the oven until the pasta is al dente. Once the pasta is al dente, sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of cheese over top.
- Return the dish to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 5-10 more minutes, or until the pasta is tender, the chicken is cooked through, and the cheese melts.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Variations
- Instead of using fresh diced onion, use ¼ teaspoon onion powder.
- Instead of the fresh veggies, use frozen baby broccoli florets. They’re perfectly bite-sized, which means there’s no chopping necessary. Thaw them first and they’ll soften nicely in the oven. If you prefer, you can substitute with about 2-3 cups of fresh broccoli florets. If using the fresh broccoli, you don’t need to pre-cook it. It will be soft by the time the pasta is done.
- Have leftover cooked chicken (or rotisserie chicken) on hand? Stir the cooked chicken into the casserole at the end (just before you sprinkle the cheese on top).
- Use any variety of condensed soup that you like. For instance, substitute with organic condensed soup, homemade condensed soup, or with other flavors of condensed soup (such as a can of Cream of Chicken soup and a can of Cream of Mushroom soup).
- Add buttered Ritz crackers, buttered seasoned bread crumbs, or buttered panko breadcrumbs if you like a crunchy topping.
- Season the sauce with additional herbs and spices. Good options include parsley, thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano, and chives. You can also jazz up the casserole with Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes, and/or sundried tomatoes.
- Add a splash of dry sherry to the creamy sauce for even more flavor.
- For a similar dish, try this dump-and-bake chicken pot pie pasta.
More Dump-and-Bake Chicken and Pasta Casserole Recipes to Try
Dump-and-Bake Chicken Alfredo Casserole
45 minutes mins
Tuscan Chicken Pasta (Dump-and-Bake!)
55 minutes mins
Dump-and-Bake Chicken Parmesan Casserole
50 minutes mins
This recipe was originally published in June, 2018. It was updated in February, 2025.
I haven’t made this yet but I will. My concern is that this dish needs more liquid for the pasta to cook without being too thick, not creamy. Help!! I don’t want to ruin a whole casserole. Tx
Hi, Emily! This is how we’ve found success when testing the recipe multiple times. That said, you can feel free to use more liquid if you like!
Wow! So easy but was amazing. I didn’t use milk, doubled the stock (home made vegetable) but kept everything else the same.
Thank you, Steve! We’re so glad you enjoyed it.
This dish looks perfect for an upcoming ski weekend! I’d like to assemble it about 24 hrs before it would be cooked. Do you think that’s ok as it contains raw chicken?
Hi Penny,
We recommend assembling it according to the recipe instructions through step 3. Then, cover it, and place it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve, following the instructions as normal.
Enjoy!
I’m thinking about doubling the casserole but not doubling the meat. I’d use about 6 ounces of cooked chopped chicken. I assume I would use my 3 quart pyrex. Since I’m not using raw chicken, how would I adjust the liquid?
I would keep the liquid the same, since the pasta will still need to absorb a lot as it cooks. Hope you enjoy!
Is there a way to convert this to a slow cooker meal. I did this once before with this recipe and it came out great, but can’t remember how I did it.
Hi Lisa,
We haven’t tested it, but it might work if you submerge the ingredients in liquid, using a method similar to our crock pot chicken alfredo.
We’d love to know how it goes if you give it a try!
This was a super easy pasta dish and we loved the finished product. I will be certain to fix this again.
Thank you so much, Martha!
I want to make dump penne chicken. Can I use frozen diced onion red peppers green peppers and celery (all in 1 bag) ? If so how much?
Hi, Linda! Yes, the frozen veggie blend should work well. I would use about 1 1/2 cups total. Hope you enjoy!
You need to change the size of the container as well as the ingredients for enlarging the recipe.
This was so delicious! I had penne pasta, chicken, cream of chicken and chicken broth and wanted to make something with it; your recipe was a dream come true! I didn’t have mushrooms, bell peppers or celery so I decided to add diced Roma tomatoes for a splash of color and to have an extra veggie. This is definitely going into my recipe book for future dinners! As a working single mom, this took no time at all to whip together! Thanks again!
Thank you, Bailee! We’re so glad you enjoyed it.
I made a few changes…used 2 cans of chicken, added broccoli and added buttered Ritz cracker crumbs on top. Oh – and I was out of penne and used bow tie pasta instead. Very good! Husband had seconds.
We’re glad you were able to make it work for you! Thank you for trying it out.
Can this be frozen before or after cooking. I am going to presume that since the pasta is not cooked before hand, that freezing before cooking will not work as it will be too dry when cooked. And if cooked first, it still will e too dry. Thinking of what to make ahead of time for a friend.
Hi, Joanne! I never love the texture of these dump-and-bake meals when they’re frozen. I know some readers have had good luck freezing the baked casseroles and then thawing, but I just don’t think the quality is nearly as good as when they’re initially hot from the oven. Some recipes (like lasagna, homemade spaghetti sauce, or this chicken and stuffing casserole) just lend themselves better to assembling, freezing, and then baking. If you want even more ideas, you might find this post helpful.
Delicious! I used farfalle pasta and it did take quite a bit longer for the bowties to become al dente. Great recipe for a quick and easy meal!
Thank you for the feedback, Johanna! We’re so glad you enjoyed it.
Could I add spinach to this dish as well and stir in with the onion and mushrooms?
Hi Ben,
We haven’t tested spinach with this recipe, but it might work! We’d love to know how it goes if you try it out.