This dump-and-bake chicken parmesan casserole is a one-dish dinner that’s healthy, easy to prepare, and incredibly family-friendly. Just combine the raw ingredients in a pan and pop it in the oven — no prep work necessary!
Table of Contents
If you love the ease of dump-and-bake dinners, be sure to try this dump-and-bake shrimp alfredo, this pasta alfredo chicken pasta, this chicken pasta casserole, this chicken divan casserole, a pan of dump-and-bake healthy General Tso chicken, honey soy chicken, and this dump-and-bake chicken taco casserole, too!
Hi, I just made this for dinner and it’s delicious! So easy to prepare, no pots to wash, my 6 y/o loves it and it’s WW friendly! I followed the recipe exactly except I seasoned everything with my own Italian favorites…
– Karen
A chicken parmesan casserole recipe that’s easy, healthy, and kid-friendly! What’s not to love?! The lightened-up dish is a perfect example of a simple and nutritious supper that brings the family together — even on busy evenings — and keeps you out of the kitchen with very little prep work.
Instead of breading and frying cutlets in a skillet, 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 use pre-cooked chicken. Instead, all of the ingredients mingle, share seasonings, and cook together in one big pan.
A Few Notes Before You Get Started
- Dice the chicken into small, bite-size pieces before adding it to the dish. It will cook faster this way, and it will be easier to eat without cutting.
- Don’t have penne pasta? You can substitute with other similar short pasta shapes such as rotini, rigatoni, or elbows. Just pick a pasta that has a similar cooking time as the penne (about 11-12 minutes recommended on the package) — otherwise you’ll need to adjust the casserole’s baking time in the oven.
- Pick a high-quality, flavorful marinara sauce. A delicious sauce will yield a delicious meal. I like Rao’s brand, but any similar variety will work. Or, use pomodoro sauce for a slightly different taste.
- Use Panko bread crumbs instead of regular breadcrumbs. They give the topping a delicious, crispy texture that’s similar to the fried coating on traditional chicken parmesan!
- Total cooking time will vary depending on the type of pan that you use, your brand of pasta, and your individual oven. Glass or ceramic baking dishes will take longer than metal pans, for instance. To know when your casserole is done, taste a bite of the pasta. The noodles should be al dente and much of the liquid should be absorbed.
Serving Suggestions
Pair the healthy chicken parmesan casserole with garlic bread, no-knead cast iron focaccia, roasted broccoli, roasted yellow squash, or a green side salad with red wine vinegar salad dressing. It’s one of those great meals that the whole family can agree on!
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Make Ahead: You can assemble the casserole 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 refrigerator 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.
I just made this for dinner and it turned out perfect. The extra liquid I observed after the first half hour of cooking had disappeared after I added the cheese and bread crumbs. Such an easy meal to put together … And delicious too!
– Deb
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!
Dump-and-Bake Chicken Parmesan Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) package uncooked penne pasta
- 3 cups marinara sauce (about 1 24-ounce jar)
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ lbs. raw chicken breast, diced into bite-sized pieces
- 1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese or Italian cheese blend
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- Optional garnish: fresh chopped herbs such as fresh basil or fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray a 13-inch by 9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In the prepared baking dish (or in a separate large bowl), stir together uncooked pasta, marinara sauce, water, salt, pepper, and raw chicken. Tips: See my suggestions below if you'd like to add even more flavor to the dish (like red wine, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, or crushed red pepper flakes).
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Make sure that your dish is covered tightly so that none of the moisture escapes (the pasta needs to absorb the liquid as it cooks). Bake the covered dish for 30 minutes. Uncover and give the pasta a good stir. At this point the pasta will still be firm and there will still be quite a bit of liquid in the dish. That's fine! Spread mozzarella over the top and sprinkle with breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 10-15 more minutes (or until cheese is melted, top is golden brown, pasta is tender, and chicken is cooked through).
- Garnish with fresh herbs, if desired. Serve!
Notes
- Total cooking time will vary depending on the type of pan that you use, your brand of pasta, and your individual oven. Glass or ceramic baking dishes will take longer than metal pans, for instance. To know when your casserole is done, taste a bite of the pasta. The noodles should be al dente and much of the liquid should be absorbed.
- Be careful not to overcook the pasta or it will become mushy.
- Add more flavor to the dish by replacing some of the water with red wine.
-
Nutrition
Chicken Parmesan Casserole Recipe Variations
- Stir in some veggies. If your kids like peas, zucchini, sliced mushrooms, or frozen broccoli, stir that into the dish as well! If you’re using a larger vegetable with a longer cooking time (like broccoli), you may want to steam the vegetables first before adding to the dish. For something small like frozen peas, you can just add them (still frozen) straight to the baking dish towards the end of the cooking time.
- Add more flavor to the dish by replacing some of the water with red wine.
- Jazz up the casserole with 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, and/or sundried tomatoes.
- Use chicken tenderloins or boneless skinless chicken thighs as a sub for the boneless skinless chicken breasts.
- If you’d like to start with cooked chicken (such as shredded rotisserie chicken) rather than raw meat, that works too. You’ll need about 3-4 cups of cooked, shredded or diced chicken.
- For a similar dish with slightly different flavors, try this dump-and-bake chicken pot pie pasta.
More Chicken Parmesan Recipes
Easy Chicken Parmesan Recipe
38 minutes mins
Chicken Parmesan Casserole
1 hour hr
Healthy Chicken Parmesan
27 minutes mins
This post was originally published in November, 2015. It was updated in September, 2024.
Made it tonight Excellent recipe,, followed it almost exactly.. I used ziti, 1 can herb/garlic pasta sauce (2cup) and 1can tomato sauce to fill out the 3cups sauce,, mozzarella cheese on top of that and 3/4 cup of panko & parm cheese each.. 40 min enitial cook time and 12 min final cook time.. liquid was not that much and finally just enough to keep the dish moist not dry.. My family DOESN’T like cassaroles so I didn’t mention it and they loved it. Sneaky but I know better ????
That’s awesome, Richard! I’m so glad that it was a hit! 🙂
This was a hit! I didnt have any fresh basil so I added some dried to the sauce and water mixture. I also added a bit of marjoram and garlic powder. I used tricolor rotini because that’s what I had on hand. I upped the chicken to 2 lbs. since I was feeding a big family. Everyone loved it. Even my picky eaters 🙂
Perfect! Thanks so much, Alicia!
Somethng went wrong with this dish. I followed the directions but the pasta came out very starchy and pasty. Mayit have been that I used pasta sauce instead of marinara sauce? Everything else was as called for. I did add some garlic poweder, salt and pepper to the chicken before puttng in the pan and added more garlic powder and dried basil on top of mozz, parm and panko. It tasted good but like I said the pasta was not right.
Sounds like maybe the pasta was cooked too long so it had that gummy texture? It might just be a matter of pulling it out of the oven sooner. Sorry about that, Laurie!
Fantastic! I made the complete recipe for my mom and niece; then I eliminated the pastas and added 2 cups of broccoli and spinach for me as I’m cutting my carbs. Do you have a Chicken & Rice casserole?
Thanks, Karen! I’m so glad that you were able to make the meal work for your whole family! I do have quite a few chicken and rice casserole recipes. Here are some ideas to get you started:
– https://www.theseasonedmom.com/chicken-broccoli-rice-casserole-2/
– https://www.theseasonedmom.com/dump-and-bake-italian-chicken-and-rice/
– https://www.theseasonedmom.com/chicken-wild-rice-casserole/
– https://www.theseasonedmom.com/chicken-broccoli-rice-casserole/
– https://www.theseasonedmom.com/dump-bake-chicken-rice-casserole/
– https://www.theseasonedmom.com/chicken-and-rice-bake/
Excellent! As a mom with very little time who love’s to cook. (and Italian) each bite of this tastes like chicken Parmesan w/Rao’s sauce of course and very little effort! Thank you so much for this
That makes me so happy to hear, Michelle! Thank you! 🙂
LOVE this recipe. We make it every 2 weeks !Has anyone substituted Eggplant for Chicken? I am looking for a skinny and delicious Eggplant Parm recipe!!
Thanks, Karen! I haven’t used this recipe with eggplant, but my favorite baked eggplant parm recipe is here if you want to try that: https://www.theseasonedmom.com/baked-eggplant-parmesan/
Enjoy!
Too high in sodium for me. Wish I could try it looks yummy.
I made this last night and it was very tasty. In place of the bread crumbs I used garlic croutons that I crushed. (tip from Chef John at Food Wishes). I happened to see the Lucini Marinara at the store and used that as it was shown in your recipe. It was a little pricey but on a whole the dinner itself was budget friendly and would feed I think 6-7 people easy. This will be printed and put in our recipe box labeled “Budget friendly and yummy”.
Oh, I bet those croutons were perfect! Thanks, Cris!
So easy and tasty. I used gluten free penne which worked out great.
Awesome! Thank you! That’s helpful for other readers to know that it also works with the GF pasta. 🙂
Ok, I can’t believe how simple and tasty this was. I used homemade marinara sauce, regular pasta, and some homemade flax breadcrumbs (since it was what I had), and it was so delicious and easy. I also halved the recipe and cooked it in a smaller dish, and it made four hearty servings. Thank you!
That’s awesome, Tori! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it and made it work with the ingredients you had on hand. 🙂
This is in my bi-weekly rotation! I LOVE it! I follow the recipe and and some garlic seasoning and Italian seasoning. It’s SO good, and so easy! Thank you!
That’s wonderful to hear, Kaitlyn! I’m so glad that you like it, and I appreciate you letting me know. 🙂
My husband made this for me tonight. It was pretty good, although I’m not a fan of melty cheese – I like stringy cheese, and I think gruyere or something along those lines would have been fabulous on this; it tends to stay stringy and gooey with reheating (unlike cheddar and mozzarella, which always form a rock upon reheating). But overall, this was good. I think this is nice and simple and should be in every new cook’s cookbook. My husband is learning how to cook and this was a perfect starter dish for him.
Thanks, Sarah! I’m glad that your husband was able to treat you to a homemade meal. 🙂
Looks great; going to try it, but wanted to make one as a gift for someone… can you freeze it without the bread crumbs and thaw & bake later?
Hi, Nancy! I honestly don’t know — I haven’t tried freezing the dish with the uncooked pasta and all of that liquid before baking. It might work, but it kind of makes me nervous. It will definitely be best if you assemble all of the ingredients in individual bags or containers, and give your friend instructions for stirring the ingredients together and baking right away. You can even give the individual a disposable foil 9 x 13-inch dish to bake it in. Kind of like a meal kit! 🙂
My family loves this. I do add some extra Italian Seasoning and a bit more oregano. Just that makes it really flavorful!
Thanks, Kim!
Sounds amazing! Can you use chickpea or lentil pasta instead?
Hi Lauren! We haven’t tested it but recommend sticking with regular or whole grain pasta if possible as chickpea and lentil varieties can tend to become a bit mushy when baked.
This sounds wonderful and it’s on the menu for this week. It’s just me and husband, so I want to make this into 2 or 3 smaller freezer meals. Should I freeze them before or after cooking? I’ve never frozen a recipe using uncooked chicken. Thank you in advance for the advise.
Curious when do you recommend adding in frozen brocolli?
Hi, Reema! It depends on how soft you like your broccoli. If you prefer it really soft and well done, you can add it at the beginning (while it’s still frozen). If you prefer it more crisp-tender and firm, you can let it thaw at room temp (frozen broccoli is fairly soft once it thaws), and then just stir it into the dish to warm through and cook a little towards the end — before you put the mozzarella and breadcrumbs on top. Hope that helps!
Unbelievably delish!!! And so so easy! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thank you so much, Marie!
Easy to make, delicious meal with a few leftover dishes as well! Thank you for the recipe suggestion!!
Thanks, Joanna! I’m so happy to hear that it was a hit!
Perfect one pan meal. I will be making this often.
Thank you, Diana!
Hi Blair,
For the panko topping, it says sprinkle with panko and Parmesan.
Are you mixing the two together, then sprinkling? Or first putting on the panko, then topping with the Parmesan? Thx.
Hi, Renee! You can do it either way, and it will be great! Combine them first if you like (but you don’t need to). I typically sprinkle the panko on and then the Parmesan. Again, either way is fine — as long as you get both on top! Hope you enjoy. 🙂