This easy and delicious chicken parmesan casserole is ready to serve in under an hour when you don’t have time for a traditional chicken parmesan. This is the perfect cheesy, saucy weeknight dinner!
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Best Chicken Parmesan Bake
Over the years I’ve learned to deconstruct original dishes by simplifying the method but still keeping the same texture and flavors. I’ve done it with lasagna soup and BLT pasta salad, and I’ve even made a bacon chicken ranch casserole. Anything that makes for quick and easy dinners the whole family will love (even the picky eaters) I’m all for!
Casseroles are one of my favorite ways to accomplish this. They require so little effort and still deliver big flavors. Chicken parmesan casserole is all of that, plus it’s a one-dish dinner that can be made using store-bought rotisserie chicken or leftovers! It comes together with tender noodles, your favorite spaghetti sauce, plenty of mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and a buttery bread crumb topping.
Serve this chicken casserole with a fresh green salad, antipasto salad, or a classic Caesar side salad and a basket of garlic bread or these amazing homemade garlic breadsticks.
Chicken Parmesan Casserole Ingredients Notes
The complete list of ingredients with amounts are listed in the full recipe card below.
- Rigatoni pasta: Rigatoni can be swapped for penne pasta, fusilli, or large elbow noodles. You’ll cook it separately to al dente in salted boiling water and then mix it in before baking.
- Marinara sauce: Use your favorite store-bought pasta sauce or homemade marinara sauce.
- Chicken: Grab a rotisserie chicken from the store if you don’t have any at home, or you can quickly cook up a couple of boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs and shred them.
- Mozzarella cheese: For the best results and creamier, melty cheese, grate your own low-moisture mozzarella.
- Shredded Parmesan cheese: I would also recommend grating your own Parmesan for freshness and the best flavor, but a jar of pre-shredded cheese will work just fine.
- For the crunchy topping: Breadcrumbs, melted butter, Parmesan cheese, and parsley for garnish. I use Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs for extra flavor.
Variations
1. If you have breaded chicken (like chicken tenders) you want to dice up and use, you can. You can skip the added breadcrumbs if you’d like if you use these.
2. Use regular breadcrumbs or even panko bread crumbs and add your own Italian seasoning for flavor.
3. For extra tomato flavor, pour in some canned diced tomatoes with the sauce.
4. Next time I’m going to try it with my recipe for pink sauce.
5. Swap the parsley for fresh basil for garnish.
6. For a kick, use spicy marinara sauce or add red chili flakes to the sauce.
How to Make this Chicken Parm Casserole
This recipe will come together with 15 minutes of prep time. The oven does the rest!
Step 1: Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook the pasta to barely al dente (usually a minute less than it states on the package) in a large pot of boiling water. It will continue to cook as it bakes, so you don’t want to overcook it at this point. Drain the pasta and transfer the noodles back into the pot.
Step 2: Pour the marinara sauce over the cooked pasta, add the shredded chicken and cheese, and stir to combine.
Step 3: Transfer this pasta mixture to a prepared 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Bake in a preheated 375°F oven uncovered for 20 minutes.
Step 4: Combine the breadcrumbs, melted butter, Parmesan cheese, and parsley in a small bowl. Mix and then sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture evenly over the top of the casserole.
Step 5: Bake for another 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Tips
If you’re cooking chicken specifically for this dish, you may as well throw some extra chicken breasts in the pan and freeze some for easy dinner recipes next week.
Be sure to spray your baking dish with a nonstick coating spray for easier cleanup.
How to Store Leftovers
Refrigerate: Keep leftovers of this delicious cheesy casserole in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Freeze: Once it has completely cooled, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and a layer of foil for extra protection, then put it in a freezer bag. Freeze it for up to 2 months! Thaw it in the fridge overnight before reheating. This casserole can also be frozen prior to cooking too. I freeze it without the breadcrumbs though. Wrap the dish in plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil for that extra protection.
Reheat: This reheats beautifully in the microwave. If it is dry, add a tablespoon or 2 of chicken broth, water or extra sauce or water and cover the dish with a damp paper towel.
If you are reheating a lot, you can place the dish in a cold oven and then turn the oven on 350° F and heat for 15 minutes or until heated through.
Can I make chicken casserole ahead of time?
Absolutely! That’s one of my favorite things to do for busy nights. Assemble it without the breadcrumbs on top and refrigerate it for up to 2 days. Bring it to room temperature and then bake as directed, adding the breadcrumb mixture partway through baking. You can also place the dish in a cold oven and turn it on. Just remember to not place a cold dish in a hot oven or it can crack.
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Chicken Parmesan Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 cups dry rigatoni about ¾ pound
- 32 ounces marinara sauce store-bought or homemade
- 2 ½ cups chicken cooked and shredded (I used rotisserie chicken)
- ¾ cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
Topping
- 1 cup breadcrumbs Italian seasoned
- ⅓ cup butter melted
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- Parsley for optional garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F and spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Cook the Pasta
- In a large pot, add water and a tablespoon of salt and bring to a boil.
- Add the dry pasta and cook for one minute less than al dente (which is noted on your package).4 cups dry rigatoni
- Drain the pasta into a colander in the sink.
Assemble the casserole
- Place the cooked noodles back to the pot you cooked it in and pour in the marinara sauce, cooked chicken and cheeses and stir to combine.32 ounces marinara sauce, 2 ½ cups chicken, ¾ cup mozzarella cheese, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- Pour the chicken and pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish and bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
- In a small bowl , add the melted butter, breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese and mix together well.1 cup breadcrumbs, ⅓ cup butter, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, Parsley
- Sprinkle the breadcrumbs mixture over the top of the casserole after the 20 minutes of baking and then bake for an additional 10 minutes until golden brown.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclosure
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.
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