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!
Comfort Food with Ease
We definitely welcomed winter here in Dallas this week and all I’m craving is warm and comforting food to keep me from freezing to death. Okay, it’s only in the 30’s, but that’s still pretty darn cold. I know many of you live in places where it’s below zero right now and you’re probably laughing at me for saying I’m freezing, but I’m such a wimp when it comes to winter. Brrrr!
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. I try to keep them simple so I have more time to snuggle up under a blanket and complain about how cold I am! 😉
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.
And when I say easy, I mean easy easy! You don’t even have to boil the pasta. It just cooks as it bakes. I have to admit, I was kinda proud of myself when I thought to try baking the pasta without boiling it first. Game changer! No time wasted waiting for water to boil and the pasta bakes up perfectly…not too soft, not too firm!
Oh, and you don’t have to bread the chicken either. Pieces of chicken are baked 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.
You’re going to want to bake this casserole over and over and over again, it’s so darn delicious and super easy!
How to Make Chicken Parmesan Casserole
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.
If you make this Chicken Parmesan Casserole, be sure to snap a picture and share it with me or tag me on Instagram @thebakermama so I can see. 
I love seeing how inspired and creative y’all get with the recipes I share. Enjoy the yumminess!
xoxo,
Chicken Parmesan Casserole
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 5 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 mins
- Yield: 8-10 1x
- 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.
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!