You don’t even have to boil the pasta for this quick and healthy Dump-and-Bake Chicken Caprese Pasta! With only 5 minutes of prep, the easy, family-friendly recipe is a fresh and fast way to get dinner on the table!
You get home at the end of the day and the last thing that you feel like dealing with is a complicated supper. You’re tired, your family needs your attention, and there are piles of laundry threatening to take over your house. Heck, you don’t even know what to make for dinner!
It’s evenings like this when I turn to simple, fresh meals that I can feel good about feeding my family — but that don’t require much effort on my part!
Classic Italian ingredients like garlic, tomatoes, basil, mozzarella and pasta come together in a one-dish casserole that you only have to stir together. There’s no need to even boil the pasta!
What is “Caprese” Pasta?
The term “Caprese” typically refers to a simple Italian salad that’s made with sliced fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and fresh basil, and seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper.
I borrowed the same flavors from the classic salad and transformed them into this healthy entree by adding chicken and pasta!
As the penne cooks in the oven it absorbs most of the broth and releases starches that thicken the sauce. Combined with the melted cheese, the end result is a light-yet-creamy sauce that coats the roasted chicken, vegetables, herbs and pasta.
In other words, this Dump-and-Bake Chicken Caprese Pasta is a simple (and delicious) solution for those busy evenings when you just don’t have the time, energy, or desire to worry about dinner!
Cook’s Tips – Chicken Caprese Pasta
- Some readers have noted that they found the dish to have too much broth at the end of baking. I prefer this, because when you stir the dish together it acts as a “sauce” and prevents the pasta from feeling dry or sticky. However, if you do NOT want much broth in your pan, that’s fine too. It’s a matter of personal preference. You can reduce the liquid to 2 1/2 cups for a less “soupy” final product.
- Cooking for Just Two? The recipe ingredients can easily be cut in half (or in quarters) and baked in smaller dishes. If you cut the recipe in half, use an 8-inch square baking dish. If you want to prepare just 2 servings, cut the ingredients into fourths and bake in small individual dishes. The rest of the cooking instructions remain the same.
- For an equally easy vegetarian pasta bake, try this ravioli lasagna with ricotta and spinach.
More Chicken Pasta Recipes To Try;
- Dump and Bake Chicken Pot Pie Pasta
- Dump and Bake Creamy Chicken Penne Pasta
- Dump and Bake Chicken Florentine Pasta
- Chicken Alfredo Pasta Casserole
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 Caprese Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 cups diced, cooked chicken
- 1 3/4 cups halved grape tomatoes (can substitute with a can of undrained diced tomatoes)
- 12 ounces (about 3 cups) uncooked uncooked penne pasta
- 3 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth*
- 8 ounces (about 2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- ½ cup chopped or torn fresh basil leaves divided
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F (220C). Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In the prepared dish (or in a separate bowl), stir together cooked chicken, tomatoes, uncooked pasta, chicken broth, 1 ½ cups of mozzarella cheese, about half of the basil leaves, minced garlic, and salt.
- Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
- Uncover; stir. At this point you should check the pasta to make sure that it is al dente (firm but just about finished cooking). If it’s still too hard, cover the dish and return to the oven until pasta is al dente. Then move on to the next step.
- Sprinkle remaining ½ cup of mozzarella over the top. Bake uncovered for 5-10 more minutes (or until cheese is melted and pasta is tender).
- Garnish with remaining basil leaves just before serving.
Hi Blair,
This was delish, I subbed the wheat pasta out for green lentil penne pasta and it was phenomenal. So that’s always an option for a gluten free family. Thanks for a great meal
Shelbey
Excellent! Thanks for that great tip, Shelbey!
Can I incorporate pesto into this recipe ? If so , how would you? TIA
Hi, Amy! Yes! I think that’s a great idea! I would stir about 1/4 cup of pesto right into the dish with the other ingredients before baking! Let me know if you give it a try. 🙂
Can you substitute water for the chicken broth?
Hi, Christina! Yes, technically you could use water and the cooking process would work; however, I wouldn’t suggest it because the chicken broth gives the dish a lot of flavor that the water would be lacking. 🙂
I think it is my all-new favourite.healthy Dump-and-Bake Chicken Caprese Pasta! recipe was simple and delicious!My taste buds love this.Life changer!
How nice easy and tasty This healthy Dump-and-Bake Chicken Caprese Pasta was too yummy?
I had so much broth left in the dish and the pasta was fully cooked-did I do something wrong?
I’m not sure, Katy. I like to have at least some broth left in the dish at the end to keep everything moist — otherwise the pasta gets too dry and sticky. It shouldn’t be swimming in tons of broth, though. Maybe the pasta measurement was off? Not sure exactly what you did so it’s hard for me to help troubleshoot. 🙂
I measured three cups of pasta but that left about one cup in the box-maybe next time I will use the whole box. I just drained some of the extra broth and it was delicious! Thanks for your response.
Sounds great, Katy! You can either use more pasta next time or just decrease the amount of broth. Either way should work fine! 🙂
This is one of my go-to recipes!
Awesome, Natalie! It’s so easy, right?! 🙂
Hi: The pin I found on Pinterest for this recipe did not have your URL on it. I had to come here and repin so I could find it again. It looks so good I have to find it. You have so many great recipes I am pinning away
Hi, Susan! I’m so glad that you found the recipe, and thank you for pinning! I hope that you get to try it soon! 🙂
Hi, will this be enough for a family of 5 or do you recommend doubling the recipe?
Hey, Natalyne! This should be perfect for a family of 5. 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! We added fresh mozzarella cheese since we were out of the shreds. We also drizzled a balsamic glaze over the top after cooking. YUM! One thing, It took way longer than 5 min prep because we had to cook the chicken. Maybe add a little extra time to the total. Other than that, a great weeknight dinner!
Hi, Tara! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! 🙂
You’re right — it definitely adds time if you have to cook the chicken first. I like to use rotisserie chicken or a pre-cooked chicken like Tyson Grilled n’ Ready strips or Perdue Shortcuts when I’m in a rush to avoid that extra time. Hope that helps, and thanks again for your note!
Hi Blair,
I’m thinking of making this tonight but I’m concerned about the precooked chicken getting dried out during the baking time does that typically happen?
Hi, Jaime! No, I’ve never had anyone complain about the chicken drying out. Usually casserole recipes call for cooked chicken, so that part isn’t unusual. Hope you get to try it! 🙂
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Super delish!!! I used 2.5 cups broth, added spinach and drizzled balsamic at the end!!! Will be making again. Thanks for the recipe!
Perfect! So glad that it was a hit, Beth! 🙂
Could you use a different type of pasta? Like spaghetti?
Hey, Sarah! Yes! Here’s an example of a similar recipe where I used spaghetti: https://www.theseasonedmom.com/dump-bake-chicken-spaghetti/
It should work well in this dish, too!
I actually ran into the opposite problem as some of the posters. I didn’t have enough liquid. I don’t know if it was the pan I used or the pasta. What was done was done to perfection but the noodles around the outside and on top were dry, as if they didn’t get any of the broth at all.
I’m planning on making this again. It was a hit(what they could eat of it, lol) but I will be increasing the amount of broth to 3 cups.
Thank you for the new go-to chicken-pasta recipe.
Thanks, Melissa! I’m glad that you can enjoy it with a few tweaks! Different pans, different pasta, and the different temperatures that our ovens cook at can all play a role in these subtle differences, so hopefully it will be perfect the second time around. 🙂
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I really like this recipe. It works great with gluten free pasta too. We also liked it with sun dried tomatoes. Thank you!
I just copied this recipe sounds delicious. Can I cook my pasta first then continue with the recipe
Hi, Carolyn! Yes — you can definitely cook the pasta first; however, you’ll need to significantly reduce the amount of liquid that you use in the recipe, since the pasta will not absorb any liquid if it’s already cooked. The uncooked pasta absorbs liquid as it bakes, and also releases starches that thicken the “sauce” in the casserole, so it will just be a different texture. 🙂
or cook the pasta before hand,, only 10 minutes extra, and do that while getting everything ready,, then you won’t have to bake so long,, basically to just warm up
I have already made this twice, we love it. I don’t have basil tonight, going to add in raw spinach and try that.
So glad that you like it, Debora! I’m sure the spinach will be delicious — just a different flavor than the basil. Enjoy!
I love all the leftover broth. It is absolutely delicious to dip crusty bread in. I make this for my picky girls all the time and they love it.
That’s awesome, Jessica! Picky kids are the toughest critics (I know, because I’ve got them in my house, too!). 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to come back here and let me know that it’s a success.