I think that I managed to pack all of the season's best fresh veggies and herbs into one cheesy casserole! This Dump-and-Bake Summer Pasta with Zucchini, Corn, Tomatoes, and Chicken is a quick, light, and easy dinner that your family will love. It's so simple and so fast because you don't even have to boil the pasta! Just stir the ingredients together in one dish and pop it in the oven!
Just because it's summer doesn't mean that I've totally given up on cozy comfort food! I've only shifted gears a little bit and turned our cool weather favorites into more seasonally appropriate dishes like this Summer Pasta! Because you can only eat so many salads...
But wait! Before you run off and assume that this is a heavy, calorie-laden meal that won't jive with your bathing suit goals, hear me out!
I've lightened up the dish with loads of fresh vegetables, lean protein, and a broth-based sauce for a dump-and-run summer pasta that has less than 300 calories per serving!
Getting Kids To Eat Their Veggies
Over the past 7 or 8 years, I have found that the best way to encourage all of my boys to eat their veggies is to add the nutritious stuff to familiar meals that the kids already know and love.
I'm not "disguising" or "hiding" the vegetables, but instead making them more palatable and mild by combining them with the flavors and textures that the boys enjoy.
So when you're faced with a garden full of zucchini, fresh tomatoes from the farmer's market, or leftover grilled chicken from your recent cookout, there's no need to force-feed a grilled chicken salad to your toddler!
Instead, you can bake a fresh and light summer pasta with zucchini for an easy dinner that comes together in a matter of minutes (and it just happens to include zucchini). This is about as easy as cooking gets, since you don't even have to boil the pasta!
Making This Summer Pasta With Zucchini, Corn & Chicken
- This pasta is great for using any leftover veggies so use whatever you have
- Add different herbs and spices such as parsley and oregano
- Don't have chicken? Try using bacon or sausage
More Pasta Recipes To Try:
Dump and Bake Summer Pasta with Corn, Zucchini, Tomatoes and Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 cups diced, cooked chicken
- 1 cup halved grape tomatoes (can substitute with a can of undrained diced tomatoes)
- 1 small zucchini (about 1 cup), diced
- ½ cup corn kernels (fresh, canned, or frozen is fine)
- 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 425°F (220°C). 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, zucchini, corn, 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.
What a pretty pasta, Blair! I love how you combined fresh produce and comfort food. You're so right...summer doesn't mean giving up comfort foods, and this looks like the perfect dish. I love all of your dump and bake meals!
Thanks, Gayle! Veggies are the best way to lighten up a cozy comfort food dish, and this one definitely delivers. 🙂
My family has loved all of the other Dump-and-Bake dishes that I’ve made, and it seems like you guys have too! What’s not to love, right? You don’t even have to boil the pasta or prep any ingredients, and the noodles come out tender and perfect every time!
Hi, Lisa! Thanks so much for stopping by! I agree -- dump-and-bake dinners are life changing! Definitely the easiest way to "cook"! 🙂
These look yummy!! Thanks!!
Thanks, Brenda! I hope that you have a chance to try it!
This a keeper dish will be making this one real soon thanks for the lovely recipes you put out here for everyone to try
Hi, Kat! Thank you so much! I hope that you enjoy the dish, and I appreciate your note! 🙂
I made this and the flavors were really great! Mine came out very soupy which is not what I was expecting with a bake, did I do something wrong?
Hi, Sam! I like there to be some sauce with the pasta so that it's not too dry, but I wouldn't say it should be soupy. If the pasta was cooked through and tender, it should have absorbed the majority of the liquid in the dish as it cooked. I'm not sure what (if anything) you did wrong, but you can certainly test it with a little bit less liquid next time and see if that works better for you. If it's too dry as it's cooking, you can always add more liquid towards the end. Hope that helps!
Yum, my whole family loved this, and my college age son asked me to put it in the recipe pile he is taking back to school next month. I used elbow macaroni, which is what I had. Next time, I think I will double the zucchini (or add a yellow squash). I also used fresh rosemary in lieu of basil, because again that's what I had on hand. It was really delicious and very easy. Thanks!
Hi, Teresa! Thanks so much for letting me know. Your version sounds perfect, and it's always high praise when the kids approve too! 🙂
Hi Blair: I made this dish for dinner last night, and it was FANTABULOUS! I used Whole Grain Penne Rigate', and I also added in an 8 oz. can of (drained) mushroom stems & pieces,, since my family loves mushrooms. I served this dish with a tossed Italian salad, and I gotta tell ya....it received RAVE REVIEWS from my (fussy) family! It's now on my 'Rotation List' . Thanks for yet another delicious recipe.
Hi, Angela! That's so great! I'm glad to know that the whole grain pasta works as well, since I hadn't tested it myself and I thought it might need a longer cooking time. I'm thrilled that your family enjoyed the meal too! 🙂
Hi,
We love this recipe! My neighbor just had a baby and I’d like to make it as a freezer meal for her; do you think it would work to bake it—freeze—reheat?
Hi, Sarah! I'm so glad that you like it! Yes, I think that will work well! As with any other pasta casserole, the noodles may have a slightly different texture when thawed, but it should still work well. 🙂
300 calories per serving is actually really impressing when it comes to a pasta dish. This will be a super dinner throughout the week!
I agree, Kelly! Thanks to so many healthy veggies and lean protein, this pasta dish isn't one that will weigh you down! 🙂
If u don't add the chicken , do you have to do anything different??? Sounds delicious but I don't eat chicken
Hey, Tiffany! Nope, you don't have to do anything differently. You can replace it with a can of drained, rinsed beans if you prefer, or just leave it out entirely. The cooking instructions should still be the same! 🙂
Has anyone tried no chicken? i'm wondering if i should just leave it out (vegetarian) , is there a type of bean you suggest?
I haven't tried it, Kimberly, but it should work just fine! You could add a can of drained and rinsed garbanzo beans if you want some added protein, but I don't think that it's necessary. 🙂
What a terrific use of fresh ingredients! Mind if I distribute copies at a Farmer's Market? I will highlight your website so everyone will be able to find your page.
That's no problem. Thanks for checking, and thanks for sharing it with your friends!
This was a hit Round our table and we're making it for a second time already. Any thoughts on how well this would freeze after being baked?
Awesome! I love that your family enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know, Melissa!
I honestly don't know how it would freeze. It should be fine, but the texture of the pasta might be slightly off? I haven't tried it myself. 🙂
Wow, can't wait to try it! Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe. "Dump and Bake" is a great concept.
Thanks, Richard! It's the best way to make a casserole! ENjoy. 🙂
Love it!!! Thanks for these awesome 'dump and bake' recipes. Please keep them coming ????
I'm so glad that you enjoy them, Dorianne! I have many, many more similar dump and bake recipes coming soon!
I admit I was a skeptic; would the pasta truly cook well, would it be watery, would it be bland. Oh, but there was no need to worry! This is an amazing dish I will be making again soon. And, the leftovers, I think will be good cold over salad greens, too. Very flavorful and easy. Love using my fresh veggies and herbs! Thanks!
Excellent! I'm so glad that you enjoyed it, Danielle!!! 🙂
Is it supposed to turn out watery?
Hi, Brittany! No, the pasta should absorb most of the liquid in the dish as it bakes in the oven. You want a little bit of thickened "sauce" in the dish so that it's not too dry at the end, but it shouldn't be soupy and watery.
Very watery. Disappointed.
Sounds delicious! Do you think this would work as a freezer meal?
Hi, Megan! Since you're dealing with uncooked pasta, I think it's best to throw it together just before baking. I've never tried it as a freezer meal, but I would worry that the pasta would start to absorb some of the liquid and might have a funny texture after thawing. Just a guess, though, since I haven't actually experimented. 🙂
If you're looking for some quick dump-and-bake freezer meals, definitely check out this post: https://www.theseasonedmom.com/5-dump-bake-freezer-meals/
Hope that helps!
Super good! I'm always looking for recipes that are fairly easy to make, somewhat healthy and something the whole family will eat. This hit the jackpot and everyone asked for seconds. Next time I think add some more chicken broth because some pasta on the top weren't submerged & didn't cook. Other than that, it was terrific!
Thanks, Katie! I'm so glad that it worked for your entire family! That's when you know it's a winner. 🙂
Anyone try this in a crockpot?
Hi, Cathy! No, I haven't tried it in a slow cooker myself, but I bet it would work! You will just need to keep an eye on it so that the pasta doesn't get overcooked if it's in the pot too long.
Turned out great and so yummy! My pasta took 55 minutes to cook through but I do live at 6,800’ Thanks for the easy recipe!
Great! So glad that it worked well for you, Julie! 🙂
Made this tonight. It was delicious! Will definitely be making it again!
Wonderful! Thanks, Deb!
My family and I have tried this meal. Hands down amazing. We added baby spinach and crushed red pepper. Can't wait to make again for my family
That's wonderful, Kelly! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
This recipe is amazing! And also easy to change up with whatever veggies we have on hand. We tried it earlier in the week and the whole family loved it! So happy I found your site. It has helped make dinner-time easy and stress free!
That's awesome, Chelsea! Thank you!
Yummy! Ran across this recipe and it is amazing. My picky little girl ate zucchini !!! My family of 4 ate the whole casserole. I didn’t use corn and replaced the penn pasta with colorful rotini noodles made from vegetables. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thanks, Heather! I'm so happy to hear that! 🙂
Hi blair! Can this be made with shredded chicken? I am having friends over this weekend and cannot wait to serve this dish but I typically prefer shredded chicken . Thank you!
Absolutely! The shredded chicken would work perfectly!
Flavors were great and very easy! For some reason, I ended up with a ton of chicken stock still left in the pan.. 40 minutes cooked the pasta fine so I'm not sure what happened?
I'm so glad that the flavors were good! I like to have some broth left in the dish, which thickens from the starches released by the pasta and creates a "sauce" to keep the dish moist. While some broth/sauce in the dish is normal and intended, I'm not sure why there would have been a ton left at the end. Sorry I can't be more helpful in that regard. 🙂
A great light summer dish! Loved It
Thanks, Tim! 🙂
Just made this for dinner and it is a tasty dish. If I make it again, I will cook the pasta first. Some of the pasta was crunchy, even though there was quite a bit of broth left in the dish. I used a slotted spoon to dish it out.
Hey, Lisa! It sounds like the dish needed to bake a bit longer. The pasta shouldn't be crunchy at the end and there shouldn't be too much broth in the dish. Hope that helps, and I'm glad that you otherwise enjoyed it. 🙂
The dish ends up very, very watery. The pasta really should be cooked separately and then combined. Or perhaps half the amount of chicken broth. So much liquid left over at the end.
Hey, thanks for this recipe! It has become a regular party of my rotation, good through the whole year!
Just wondering if I could freeze leftovers? Going to lose my oven to kitchen renovations soon and would love to pre-bake and store portions for microwaving in the coming few months!
Hi, Natasha! I'm so glad that you like it! 🙂
You can definitely freeze the leftovers -- just beware that the texture of the dish may be slightly "off" after thawing. Just like any pasta casserole, the freezing and reheating process may make the pasta a bit mushy or gummy -- not terrible -- just not as good as when it's straight out of the oven. Also, the frozen vegetables may be a bit mushier and release more liquid after thawing. Hope that helps!
When we had our kitchen renovated years ago, I relied heavily on slow cooker dinners. I could plug my Crock Pot into an outlet in the laundry room and just prepare dinner that way. You could even prepare slow cooker freezer meals so that you can just stash the prepped dinners in your freezer and then cook them as needed. Here are a few links to freezer meal prep sessions that you might find helpful: https://www.theseasonedmom.com/?s=freezer
Can you make this with uncooked chicken?
Hi, Jenny! Yes! I've made many other similar dump-and-bake casseroles with raw chicken and it works fine. Just make sure that you dice the chicken into small enough pieces so that it's cooked through by the time the pasta is done. 🙂
WARNING!
I used the Banza chickpea pasta and it turned out TERRIBLE! The pasta was all mushy and doughy. It ruined everything for me. I imagine I would really love this dish, and will probably try in the future, but for now a little scared. If you are looking into a gluten free pasta, look elsewhere.
Hi, Katie! I've tried that chickpea pasta (not in this recipe) once before, and I thought it was pretty bad, too. 🙂
Any thoughts on how this would be without cheese? Similarly good?
Hey, Emily! It should still work without the cheese -- it will just be missing that cheesy flavor and texture. 🙂 Enjoy!