Need a fix it and walk away dinner?! Toss everything into the pan and let the oven do the work! It’s even going to cook our pasta for us. It’s that easy.
In true Featherstone Nutrition style, this recipe packs the carbs, protein, and color you need at a meal into one dish. Because some nights, we just don’t have time for anything else!
Use whole wheat rotini or rigatoni to follow the cooking time in this recipe. If you use another shape or type of pasta, it may take less time to cook. Check your pasta and see how it’s doing. And, if it looks like there is a little too much liquid – just take the foil off the dish and let it keep cooking.
This pasta bake is great for leftovers and saves well in both the refrigerator and the freezer. Dinner one night makes leftover lunches for days.
Grab your favorite sauce – this makes all the difference!
If you prefer ground meat sauce with your pasta, I got you covered! Cooking a pound of bison <or your preferred ground meat> on the stove & adding it to the rest of the ingredients makes a mean, fast pasta dish as well. Or, if you’re feeding a crew – make them both!! See the recipe below for both options.
Chicken Parmesan Bake
Ingredients
- 1 lb whole wheat pasta
- 3 cups water
- 24 oz tomato sauce
- 5 oz spinach, fresh
- 1½ lb chicken tenderloins, raw
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt & pepper
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- 1 Tbsp oil
- ¼ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 9x13 inch pan with oil.Add uncooked pasta, water, tomato sauce & spinach to the pan. Carefully stir. Place uncooked chicken on top. Sprinkle chicken with garlic powder and a little salt & pepper.
- Cover dish with foil. Cook for 40-50 minutes. The shape of the pasta will alter your cook time. Whole wheat rotini & rigatoni took 45 minutes. Spaghetti may take less time.
- While baking, combine panko, Italian seasoning, salt, oil & Parmesan cheese in a bowl. When chicken is cooked through to 165 degrees & pasta is al dente, remove from oven. Uncover.
- Sprinkle panko mixture evenly over the pan. Top with mozzarella cheese Return to oven. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Notes
My cooking skills are novice at best, so when I saw this easy-bake recipe, I thought it was worth a try. I am SO glad I did! It is delicious, fed me for a whole week, and was as easy to make as it sounds. I subbed dairy-free cheese from Trader Joe’s and it worked perfectly for me. This is now part of my regular meal-prep rotation. Thank you, Meghann!