Creamy, cheesy chicken alfredo and penne, baked to perfection… for the white sauce pasta lovers!
If there are two things I love it is 1) creamy, saucy dishes involving lots of cheese and pasta noodles, and 2) extremely easy dinners that will please almost anyone I serve them to. And I’m sure you’ve figured out that this recipe is very much both of those things.
The first step is to boil some penne noodles, just til tender. I actually had a jar of both white and wheat mixed in together so I just used both and I loved how it turned out. While the noodles are boiling, cook the chicken on the stove. It’s only seasoned with salt and pepper because you’re going to be covering it with that creamy cheesy sauce I mentioned earlier. So cook the chicken, chop it up, and then whip up your saaaaauce. So easy. So creamy. So cheesy. So YUM.
Then just throw all of that into a bowl – the noodles, the chicken, and the sauce – and give it a good stir. Dump all of that pasta happiness into a casserole dish, top it off with more cheese because, CHEESE, and then bake it for a few minutes. And that’s all she wrote you guys. Chicken Alfredo Baked Penne. Your life is forever changed.
What people are saying about this Chicken Alfredo Baked Penne
“Tiffany, I have to complement you on this recipe.This is the best chicken alfredo I have ever had. I doubled the recipe so I could have another nights dinner for the family and so glad I did. I used a Costco roasted chicken but everything else was exact. Thank you for posting this.” – Pat
“Loved this recipe! As a college student I’m always looking for easy dinners and this was sooo delicious! All my roommates loved it too, definitely making again. Thank you!” – Grace
“Tiffany, Thank You for this recipe! Just made it tonight for dinner. My 5 & 7 year old boys LOVED it! So did my husband and I as well. It gets “tricky” finding new recipes that my family will like and eat.” – Randee
“Made this last week & my whole family loved it!! My kids are 11, 7 & 4 months so I love when I find an easy recipe that is also delicious. Definitely my new favorite! Thanks for sharing.” – Sylvia
If you love this recipe, you’ll go crazy for my Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo!
Chicken Alfredo Baked Penne
Ingredients
- 8 ounces penne noodles - (I used a combination of white and whole wheat)
- 2-3 chicken breasts - salted and peppered
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 3 cups heavy cream - or milk, (I used fat free half & half)
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese - divided
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt - to taste
- pepper - to taste
- optional: parsley for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add penne noodles to a large pot, cover noodles with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil until easily pierced with a fork. Drain and set aside.
- Pound chicken to 1/2 inch thickness and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook in a greased skillet over medium heat 5-6 minutes on each side until cooked through. Chop into 1 inch pieces and set aside.
- In the skillet where you cooked the chicken (you can just wipe it out with a paper towel to get rid of any leftover tidbits from he chicken) melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, sprinkle flour over the butter and stir til it clumps together. Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Stir in garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste (I used about 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper) Add 1/3 cup parmesan cheese and stir until melted and completely incorporated.
- In a large bowl combine cooked penne, chicken, and the sauce and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to a greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melty and begins to brown around the edges. Sprinkle with chopped parsley if desired and serve.
Absolutely wonderful. The first chicken alfredo recipe that had BOTH the kids asking for seconds, AND thirds.
Can this be made ahead and frozen?
I made this for Superbowl Sunday for my roommate and his friends. They absolutely loved it!i did make a whole box of pasta and doubled up on the Alfredo sauce. Thanks for the great recipe! I’ll definitely be keeping this in my rotation to make again for sure.
This taste so good my kids love it for sure this is added to my favorite new recipes. Thanks
Kid approved- woohoo! Happy to hear it was enjoyed by all!
Next time i would use 16oz. Pasta. There is enough sAuce. Top witj a handful of mozz. Before baking.
Thanks for your feedback!
This was DELICIOUS!! I made it with GF pasta and flour and my family loved it. Went back for seconds! I added nutmeg and paprika to mine and used some leftover pork tenderloin in place of the chicken but those were the only changes. We used FF half and half like you suggested and it was quite good.
Sounds like you did a great job, Evie! Way to go!