Cheesy Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake – pasta, onion, spinach, chicken, tomatoes, chive-and-onion cream cheese, garlic and mozzarella. This casserole was a HUGE hit!! Everyone cleaned their plate! Can make ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to bake. Great potluck meal!
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Pin This RecipeEasy Chicken & Spinach Pasta Casserole
This Cheesy Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake is a new favorite. We ate this for dinner the other night, and I am ready to make it again! This pasta bake is so easy to make and tastes incredible. It is easy enough for a weeknight, but it would also be a great dish for company. You can even make this ahead of time and refrigerate it overnight. I love make-ahead dishes!
How to Make Chicken & Spinach Pasta
This casserole is very easy to make. Start with boiling the pasta. Mix together spinach, chicken, diced tomatoes, cream cheese, onion, garlic, mozzarella, and the cooked pasta. Spread the pasta in a baking dish. Top with more mozzarella cheese and bake.
- The secret ingredient in this pasta is a container of chive and onion cream cheese. It adds lots of flavor and makes this pasta bake super creamy.
- I used rotisserie chicken for the cooked chicken in this recipe.
- Make sure to drain the frozen spinach really well. I squeeze it with a dish towel or some paper towels to make sure to get as much liquid out.
- Can Cheesy Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake be made in advance? Yes! You can assemble this casserole ahead of time and refrigerate it overnight.
- Can Cheesy Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake be frozen? Yes! You can assemble the casserole and freeze unbaked for a quick meal later. To bake after freezing, thaw completely and bake as directed.
- Write the baking directions on the foil covering the casserole dish so you know the temperature and time to bake the casserole.
What to Serve with Pasta Casserole
This smelled amazing while it was baking. We couldn’t wait to dig in! All you need is a little side salad and a garlic roll and dinner is ready! Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this easy pasta dish:
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Cheesy Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake
Ingredients:
- 8 -oz uncooked rigatoni
- 3 Tbsp dried minced onion flakes
- 1 (10-oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 3 cups cooked chopped chicken
- 1 (14.5-oz) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (8-oz) container chive-and-onion cream cheese, softened
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375ºF. Highly spray a 9×9-inch pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Cook rigatoni according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Drain chopped spinach well, pressing between layers of paper towels.
- In a bowl, combine cooked rigatoni, drained spinach, cooked chicken, onion flakes, tomatoes, cream cheese, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and ½ cup mozzarella cheese.
- Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish, and sprinkle evenly with remaining shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 35 to 45 minutes.
Notes:
- The secret ingredient in this pasta is a container of chive and onion cream cheese. It adds lots of flavor and makes this pasta bake super creamy.
- I used rotisserie chicken for the cooked chicken in this recipe.
- Make sure to drain the frozen spinach really well. I squeeze it with a dish towel or some paper towels to make sure to get as much liquid out.
- You can assemble this casserole ahead of time and refrigerate it overnight.
- You can assemble the casserole and freeze unbaked for a quick meal later. To bake after freezing, thaw completely and bake as directed.
- Write the baking directions on the foil covering the casserole dish so you know the temperature and time to bake the casserole.
Steph
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Pin This Recipe
I used fresh perpetual spinach (picked today), chopped onion and crushed garlic. We had some left over Quorn so mixed this with the cooked chicken.It went down really well and we’ve four more helpings to look forward to.
Has anyone tired fresh spinach, I really hate frozen spinach???
I'm sure this would work fine with fresh spinach
I used fresh spinach. The meal was great – everyone loved it.
Can you use fresh spinach?
I'm sure that is fine
To lighten this up could you use greek yogurt instead of cream cheese?
I would suggest a package of Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese. Regular Greek yogurt is usually a substitute for sour cream
how many servings does this yield?
4 to 6
When do the onion flakes get added?
When do the onion flakes get added?
Its in the directions
I am making this right now. It looks and smells scrumptious!
I am always looking for recipes with spinach. Can't wait to make this and taste the cream cheese in it.
I LOVE, LOVE this recipe! It's much like the Chicken Spinach bake. I also add fresh mushrooms if I have them. It's so yummies! My picky almost 2 year old loves it as well!
I think I will make it tonight.