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 made this for dinner tonight and my husband that is a picky eater even loved it. The crunch of the parm cheese made this dish delish. It was defiantly a WIN for this house.
Hi Maegan.. Would I be able to prepare this the night before and keep it in the fridge to bake the next day for dinner? I start work really early and get home in the evening so prepping the night before is a must for me and my family
Hi Heather! Absolutely, such a great idea! Just prep up to the point of baking, keep covered in the refrigerator and bake when ready. Enjoy!
Made this for supper tonight. It was excellent. A keeper recipe for sure.
So great to hear, Debbie! It’s one of our favorite dinners too! Continue to enjoy! 🙂
My husband is allergic to chicken broth is there any thing else I can use.
Hi Angela! You could use vegetable broth or just water as a substitute for the chicken broth. Hope this helps. Enjoy!
Hi there! Any thoughts on if this could be frozen before baking (to give to a new mom)? Thanks!
Hi Mia! I would recommend baking it and then freezing it so she could just defrost and reheat. I’m afraid the other ingredients will absorb too much of the chicken broth if frozen before baking which could result in a dried out casserole or the pasta turning out crunchy since it cooks while the casserole bakes. I hope this helps!
Do you cook the chicken before putting it in the pan to bake?
Hi Joanna! No, it all cooks as the casserole bakes. Enjoy!
Hi! I was copying an older version of this recipe into my personal recipe files, and I noticed you used to have all-purpose flour in the streusel. May I ask why it was removed? I want to optimize my casserole! Thanks!
Hi Laura! I updated the recipe after making it a few times without the flour and finding that the texture of the streusel was actually better without it. The panko gives it such a great crunch that I felt was weighed down by the flour in the original recipe. 🙂
How long would the bake time be if you double or triple the recipe. I need to feed 8 adults, 2 teenagers and 6 younger ones.
Thank you
Hi Heather! I would recommend baking them in multiple 9×13-inch baking pans/dishes and keeping the baking time the same. Enjoy!
I’m about to make this using bowties, should I adjust the cooking time?
Hi Katie! No, I think you should be just fine on the baking time with bowtie pasta instead of penne. Enjoy!
Could I use regular bread crumbs instead of Panko?
Hi Jan! Yes, I just prefer panko because they’re bigger and crispier, but regular bread crumbs would still taste great too. Enjoy!