Satisfying Creamy and Cheesy Baked Pasta

Baked pasta is such an easy dish to make and one of my favorite baked pasta that I make at home often is made with creamy white sauce with cheese on top. I always serve my baked pasta in individual gratin dishes and I have a darling set that I found at my local Sur la Table store some years ago. In fact I use my chicken shaped gratin dishes as an excuse to make this pasta dish!

Comforting Pasta Dish Full of Chicken, Ham and Eggs

This is a delicious and very satisfying dish that has lots of veggies and protein. If you take a look at the recipe below, the list of ingredients may make you think this is complicated, but it’s not. Pasta mixture you cook in the skillet only takes about 20 minutes. Except for the boiled eggs, you can cook everything in one big skillet and then it’s only 10 minutes of baking time in the 425 degree oven.

It’s also a hearty dish perfect for meat and cheese lovers out there. With every mouthful you’re going to get chicken and ham coated in a creamy goodness. To top it off, you have nice boiled egg wedges baked on top.

Types of Cheese Used in This Dish

I usually use grated Parmesan cheese and shredded cheese blend. Grated Parmesan has enough salt content to season the pasta mixture well, so that I don’t need to season the chicken before cooking them. Shredded cheese is Quattro Fromaggi from Trader Joe’s that I use all the time for various things and it’s something I always have in my fridge. Honestly I think this is a fantastic blend of cheese; Asiago, Parmesan, Fontina and Provolone, combined in one bag!

Here are my other recipes that incorporate Quattro Fromaggi:

Fresh Spinach and Tricolor Pasta

I also need lots of veggies and used an entire bag of fresh baby spinach. For crisp texture even after baking in the oven, I added the entire bag of baby spinach after the pasta mixture was cooked. If you let your skillet cool down for few minutes then add the spinach it will prevent spinach from wilting completely.

For pasta, I chose Tricolor Fusilli from De Cecco. I have a thing for pasta incorporated with veggies like spinach and tomatoes. You don’t have to use Fusilli, you can certainly use other types of pasta. Try other alternatives like:

  • Penne
  • Rigatoni
  • Rotini

For perfectly cooked baked pasta, don’t cook pasta al dente. You want to cook them longer than usual so they have softer texture.

Store it in a Freezer and Enjoy it Later

The recipe below is enough to serve five people but if you’re not going to finish everything you can freeze them and enjoy it later. I usually pack them away in small aluminum containers and on days when I don’t feel like cooking, I pop the container in the oven and you have a delicious meal in 20-25 minutes. They will last (if they last that long) about a month in the freezer.

Creamy and Cheesy Baked Pasta

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Servings: 5

Ingredients

  • 1 large chicken breast, scored and cut into 1" inch chunks
  • 1 slice of ham, ½" inch thick cut into cubes
  • 1 small sweet onion, chopped
  • ½ lb sliced cremini or baby bella mushrooms
  • 1 bag fresh baby spinach
  • 1-2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 cups uncooked pasta (fusili, penne or rigatoni)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • cups milk or half and half
  • 1 cup riesling
  • 3 tbsp grated parmesan
  • cups shredded cheese
  • 5 tbsp all purpose flour
  • 5 eggs

Instructions

Boiled Eggs

  • Boil water in a medium pot over high heat. When the water starts to simmer, add salt and place eggs in the pot carefully.
  • Boil eggs for 6 minutes then place cover and turn off heat. Leave the eggs in the pot for additional 3 minutes then drain the water and pour cold water on the eggs for 2-3 minutes.
  • Peel the shells, cut eggs into wedges and set it aside.

Baked Pasta

  • Cook pasta in boiling water for 15-20 minutes. When done, drain and set it aside.
  • Using paper towel, dry chicken pieces. In a small bowl, add 3 tbsp of flour and coat chicken evenly.
  • Turn on oven to 425°. Heat large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil and butter. When olive oil starts to sizzle, add onions and sauté until soft. Add chicken pieces and cook for 2-3 minutes.
  • Add ham, mushrooms, thyme leaves, wine and 2 tbsp flour to the skillet and stir to combine.
  • Next, add milk or half and half, parmesan cheese, ½ cup shredded cheese and cooked pasta to the skillet. Mix all the ingredients well then turn off heat. When the skillet has cooled off after few minutes, add spinach to the skillet and combine with the pasta mixture.
  • Transfer pasta mixture in individual gratin dish, sprinkle shredded cheese and place boiled egg wedges on top. Place gratin dishes on baking sheet and bake pasta for 10 minutes or until cheese turns golden brown.
 

3 Comments

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