No boiling pasta or breading chicken to make this Chicken Parmesan Casserole. An incredibly easy and fun spin on a classic the whole family will love!
Easy Comfort Food
As soon as the temps started to drop, I started planning out all the yummy soups, stews and casseroles I love to make during cold weather. This Chicken Parmesan Casserole totally fits the bill. Al dente pasta, marinara, chunks of chicken and a parmesan topping baked golden brown.
Everybody loves Chicken Parmesan and this spin on the Italian classic is so easy you’ll want to make it every night of the week.
No Boiling Noodles or Breading Chicken
When I say easy, I mean easy easy! You don’t even have to boil the pasta. It just cooks as it bakes cutting down on cooking time. No time wasted waiting for water to boil and the pasta bakes up perfectly…not too soft, not too firm!
You don’t have to bread the chicken either. Chunks of chicken bake in with the pasta and then the casserole is covered in a savory parmesan streusel that creates the same cheesy crisp coating everyone loves about chicken parmesan.
Serve it with salad or garlic bread and ta da! Dinner. You’re going to want to bake this casserole over and over and over again, it’s so darn delicious and super easy!
Ingredients and Supplies for Chicken Parmesan Casserole
(see recipe card at the bottom of this post for measurements and details)
Ingredients:
- Penne pasta
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
- Italian seasoning
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Marinara sauce
- Low-sodium chicken broth
- Shredded mozzarella
- Unsalted butter, melted
- Panko
- Shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup thinly chopped fresh basil
Supplies:
- 9×13-inch baking pan or dish
- Nonstick cooking spray
- Large mixing bowl
- Medium mixing bowl
How to Make Chicken Parmesan Casserole
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan or casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the pasta, chicken pieces, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, marinara and chicken broth.
- Pour evenly into prepared pan. Cover pan tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- While the pasta is baking, prepare the Parmesan streusel. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, panko and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Stir in the parmesan.
- Once pasta has baked for 45 minutes, remove the foil from the pan and gently stir pasta mixture around. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and then the Parmesan streusel.
- Return to the oven and bake for 15 minutes until cheese is melted and streusel is crisp. Sprinkle with chopped fresh basil just before serving.
Storage
Store leftovers tightly covered or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Italian Dinner Favorites
From family-friendly takes on the classics, to the labor of love you’re so proud to serve, my Italian Dinner Favorites are sure to make your meal magnifico!
If you make this Chicken Parmesan Casserole, be sure to snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram @thebakermama so I can see. If you’re on Facebook, be sure to join my Friends of The BakerMama group to connect and share all the fun and yummy recipes of mine that you make! 
I just love seeing how inspired and creative y’all get with the ideas I share. Enjoy!
xoxo,
Chicken Parmesan Casserole Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 5 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 mins
- Yield: 8-10
- Category: Meals
Description
No boiling pasta or breading chicken to make this Chicken Parmesan Casserole. An incredibly easy and fun spin on a classic the whole family will love!
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) package penne pasta
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (24 ounce) jar marinara
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1–1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
Parmesan Streusel:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup panko
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 cup thinly chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan or dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the pasta, chicken pieces, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, marinara and chicken broth. Pour evenly into prepared pan. Cover pan tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- While the pasta is baking, prepare the Parmesan streusel. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, panko and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Stir in the parmesan.
- Once pasta has baked for 45 minutes, remove the foil from the pan and gently stir pasta mixture around. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and then the Parmesan streusel. Return to the oven and bake for 15 minutes until cheese is melted and streusel is crisp.
- Sprinkle with chopped fresh basil just before serving.
I just made this for dinner tonight and it was awesome. Incredibly easy and straightforward. I cut the recipe in half since there are only two of us and it was perfect with just the right amount of leftovers. Can’t wait to make it again.
Hi, Cindi! I am so glad it was easy and that you enjoyed it so much! Thank you for sharing!
This was incredible! So easy, and delicious. It’s nice to have an extremely simple to put together dish that is a crowd pleaser. I didn’t have all the listed ingredients, so I substituted the best I could. I used three different kinds of pasta (that’s what I had in the pantry), enough to make 1 ½ x the recipe. I used a 1 ½ jars of Classico spaghetti sauce, extra parmesan, and because I had no panko on hand, I used saltine crackers blended in my food processor. It all worked so well! Will do again and again. Thank you!
Hi, Cindy! So happy it worked out for you! The crackers were such a clever substitution. Thank you for sharing!
Great recipe. I doubled the marinara sauce and so glad I did. Otherwise I feel like it would’ve been too dry.
Hi, Vicki! I’m happy you enjoyed it!
Can this recipe be made with rotisserie chicken? Can it be made a day in advance? Can it be frozen? I am making it for the first time for card club dinner tomorrow night.
Thank you in advance for your response.
Linda
Hi Linda! I’ve never tested the recipe with rotisserie chicken or already cooked chicken so I’m not sure how the texture would hold up as the casserole bakes to cook the pasta. I’m thinking it would be best to wait until step 4 in the instructions and stir the rotisserie chicken into the cooked pasta at that point before proceeding with the recipe. To make in advance, I would recommend preparing it to the step just before adding the cheese and streusel on top and then let cool slightly before covering with foil and placing in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Once ready to serve, remove it from the refrigerator and place it in a 350°F oven, still covered in foil, to heat through for about 15 minutes. Remove the foil and proceed with topping the casserole with the cheese and streusel and baking it off. If you want to freeze the casserole, cover it with plastic wrap and then foil and let it chill completely in the refrigerator for several hours first. Then transfer the casserole to the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, let it defrost completely in the refrigerator overnight and then remove the plastic wrap, cover with foil and heat in a 350°F oven for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Or you can heat directly from frozen by removing the plastic wrap, covering with foil and heating in a 350°F oven for about 1 hour or until heated through. I hope this helps and that everyone enjoys!
my family really liked this.
Hi, Tori! I’m so glad to hear that!
Made this tonight and the family LOVED it! I used chicken thigh meat since I had it on hand, so the chicken was extra tender. I loved not having to boil the noodles or cook the chicken in advance — so easy and delicious! Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi, Kristen! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for leaving a review!
Super easy and delicious! Any thoughts as to how you would adjust to prepare in the pressure cooker?
Hi Amy! I’ve never used a pressure cooker so I couldn’t say for sure, but from what I hear, I’m thinking you could prepare the recipe as is, just in the pressure cooker, but you probably won’t get the crisp streusel on top that gives the casserole that familiar chicken parmesan texture. Let me know if you try it and how it turns out! Fingers crossed…
This was delicious!! All six of my kids ate it and loved it!!! Miracle meal! Thank you for the recipe!!
Yay, Summer! This makes my day! So happy to hear your sweet family enjoyed it so much! xoxo
Oooo.. this was delish! The only thing I did different was made my marinara sauce from scratch instead of using a store bought one (got the recipe from allrecipes.com) and I used gluten free pasta and bread crumbs. I Loved how you just put it all together and baked it. Everything was cooked perfectly and everyone loved it! Thank You!