Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.
You don’t even have to boil the pasta, cook the chicken, or sauté the vegetables! Just stir everything together and 10 minutes later you’ll have a Dump-and-Bake Creamy Chicken Penne Pasta that’s ready for the oven. It’s a one pot meal that makes weeknight dinners easy!
There are certain recipes that are just guaranteed to be a hit with the kids (and with the husband)! If it involves creamy penne pasta, I can throw just about anything else into the casserole and know that my boys will clean their plates.
This particular cheesy, creamy chicken dinner is full of fresh vegetables and tender penne pasta for a simple, nourishing and satisfying dinner with virtually ZERO prep work!
How long do you cook the penne pasta?
The pasta, chicken, and vegetables all cook together in one dish, thanks to the dump-and-bake method. Unlike other casseroles that require multiple steps, this recipe cuts out all of the time consuming tasks. You know what that means? It means that there’s less hands-on time for you, and fewer dishes to wash at the end!
After 10 minutes of work, the creamy chicken penne pasta cooks in the oven for a total of about 55 minutes. This ensures that the pasta is tender, the chicken is cooked through, and the vegetables are soft. It’s like magic…and everything is done at the same time!
I know that your family will love the creamy, cheesy sauce while you will appreciate the ease of this dish (and the fact that your kids are actually devouring their veggies)!
Perfect for any picky eater, this Chicken Penne Pasta is a must-make for busy parents!
If you’ve tried this Creamy Chicken Penne Pasta or any other recipe on The Seasoned Mom, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! You can follow me on Facebook, on Instagram, on Pinterest, and on Twitter!
Dump-and-Bake Creamy Chicken Penne Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 can (10.5 ounces) condensed cream of celery soup (NOT diluted) (I used Campbell’s Healthy Request)
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth or water
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup diced onion (I used frozen diced onion as a shortcut)
- 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
- ½ cup diced red bell pepper
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- ½ lb. raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite-sized pieces
- 1 ½ cups uncooked penne pasta
- 1 cup grated American or cheddar cheese, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together condensed soup, milk, chicken broth, and pepper. Stir in onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, celery, raw chicken, uncooked pasta, and ½ cup cheese.
- Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. Cover tightly and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove foil and give everything a stir in the dish. Sprinkle remaining ½ cup of cheese over top. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 30-40 more minutes, or until pasta is tender and chicken is cooked through.
Your Dump and Bake Chicken Penne Pasta is a dream for any working mom! I’m always looking for quick and easy to prepare meals to work with my busy schedule, and this recipe would provide the perfect quick home-cooked meal. I’ll be dropping this recipe onto my thumb drive to pull up at home, and so I can prepare this tonight. I always appreciate when you provide the nutritional facts, because I never have the time to look it up!
Thanks, Denise!
This looks amazing! I can’t get enough of baked meals at the moment because it’s so cold here!
Yes! This is perfect for your changing seasons in Australia!
Now that’s a good looking recipe! I hope it’s as delicious as it looks! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Isadora!
Could this be turned into a freezer meal? And at which point in the directions would you recommend putting it in the freezer?
Hi! Yes, I think it would work fine as a freezer meal. I would assemble it according to the recipe instructions through step 3. Cover and freeze until ready to bake. Then, when the time comes to bake the dish, I would allow it to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before it goes in the oven.
Hope that helps, and let me know if you give it a try. I haven’t done that myself, so I’d love to know if it works! 🙂
Turned out well. Thank you.
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.
Awesome! Thanks, Mike!!
As a man, this was a great easy dish to make. I made my homemade cornbread to go with it. And a salad!
Awesome! Thank you!!! 🙂
I enjoyed the dish, but I don’t think my guys were big fans. I had to cook it longer than directed and ended up turning the oven up to 450. I will probably make it again, although it won’t classify as a family favorite. I do like being able to just dump everything in one dish!
Delicious! My husband and I loved this recipe! The only thing I would do differently next time is make sure the soup is mixed with the broth and milk until creamy. Mine stayed separated through the baking and so did not look creamy. But still tasty! My husband can be picky but he loved this!! Thank you for our new dinner idea!
I also used bow tie pasta because that’s what I had and it cooked nicely!
Thank you, Melinda! I’m so glad that even your picky hubby approved. 🙂
Can I replace the penne pasta with uncooked rice instead?
Hi! I’ve used uncooked rice in similar recipes before, but I haven’t tested it with this particular recipe. I think it would work, but you may need to adjust the cooking time a bit longer. Let me know if you give it a try!
I hadn’t cooked in over a year. My step children just decided it’s best to disrespect me as much as possible, so naturally I decided to give up cooking good home cooking food. Going out was getting old so I decided to try this recipe. I doubled the recipe and boy am I glad I did! I was glad it was so easy to make in case something happened with the step kids, I wouldn’t feel like I slaved all day for nothing. They were being mean to me all day, but when they are this, they gathered around me telling me this is the BEST dinner they had ever ate!!! My daughter said her tongue had no taste buds because she burnt them off, she couldn’t wait for it to cool to eat it because it looked, smelled, and tasted sooooo good! I wish I could copy al the texts that all the kids sent me last night about this dinner!! My husband agree with them too! This is definitely the best and easiest recipe available! Thank you Blair! BTW I had to forward the recipe to my oldest daughter who just moved out and is learning how to cook! Perfect for her to try!
Oh, that makes me so happy to hear, Tessa! Thank you! I hope you’ll try some of the other dump-and-bake recipes on my blog. They’re all so easy — and total timesavers in the kitchen!
Hello Blair!
I recently found your website when googling a slow cooker chicken stew (which I am also making at the moment) when this recipe for dump and bake chicken Parm popped up in a video. I don’t usually like those but I was intrigued with the thought of a quick chick Parm that require almost no work!!
I added some frozen veggies and used an ancient grain spiral pasta to make it even healthier and lower carb but still with the comfort of pasta with it.
It was delicious.!! I’m single and sometimes hate cooking for one as it’s a lot of work. So, this simple recipe which I did with amounts for 2 people worked perfectly and quickly. Thank you!!
I also want to try your Aunt Bee’s biscuits. I never have luck making biscuits so I’ll let you know how it goes!!
I truly enjoyed my Saturday afternoon finding your recipes and becoming more excited about finding simple delicious meals. Thank you!!
Hi, Jennifer! I’m so glad that you found my site and that you’re having fun trying some new recipes in the kitchen. Thanks for taking the time to leave me a note. I hope you love the biscuits! 🙂
My friends and I keep this in the rotation, everyone loves it!!
Thanks, Maureen! I’m so glad that you like it! 🙂
Delicious, we made last night and my kids and husband loved it. We added black olives because my husband loves them and it came out very yummy. Thanks for the recipe. We will make again for sure.
Would adding broccoli and cauliflower work with this recipe?
Hi, Jane! Yes — I think that would be great! If you prefer the broccoli/cauliflower really tender, you might want to parboil it (or steam it in the microwave) before adding it to the dish.
Can I make this with Costco Rotisserie chicken? And, use frozen peas?
Yes and yes! That sounds perfect. 🙂
So far, not impressed. It’s been in the oven for 1.5 hours and the pasta is far from cooked. Turned up the oven and put the lid back on. Hoping for the best so I don’t waste food at this point.
Excellent…I added a shallot finely diced, some chopped fresh tomato as I had no bell peppers and added a generous 1/2 teaspoon of Herbs de Provance…my shredded cheese in the fridge was Velveeta Mexican mix shred.. I live in an RV with a 3 ft x 4 foot kitchen..which includes the sink area and the area I put my convection oven and coffee maker. Anything I can fix in a short time, with a one pan clean up, that is tasty and satisfying…I am all in. This will be made again…and again…and I am reading through all your dump recipes!
Wonderful, Maggi! I’m so glad that you found these recipes. They’re perfect for your kitchen! 🙂
This is my first dump and bake recipe. A great idea, and it tastes really good. At my advanced age I don’t cook much anymore, so for me this was a lot more prep than I had imagined. Mainly the chopping. Next time, if I make it again, I will do all that ahead of time.
Cook times in a cast iron Dutch oven? Looking good so far but it’s deeper than the baking dish. Thank you!
Hi, Tim! I’m not sure — I haven’t tested it a Dutch oven. In general, I find that the cast iron conducts heat better than ceramic baking dishes, so I’m guessing that it will cook faster in the cast iron Dutch oven. Just start checking it about 10-15 minutes early, and leave it in as long as necessary. You’ll be able to tell easily when it’s done because the pasta will be tender. Just don’t let it cook for too long or the pasta will get mushy.
This was the best! Can see any veggie added. Put frozen peas in mine. Reminded me of pot pie.
Thanks, Terry! Yes, it definitely has a similar flavor to pot pie — plus the pasta! 🙂
This is so good! Took about 10 minutes to put together. I added garlic, thyme, parsley and salt to mine but I add that to every chicken dish. I also substituted drained corn for the mushrooms because of an allergy. All 4 of the men in my house had second helpings of that tells you anything. (I doubled the recipe)
Yum! Thank you for sharing, Danielle. We’re so happy you enjoyed it!
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!
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!