Chicken Parmesan Casserole
This chicken parmesan casserole combines everything you love about classic chicken parmesan, with a baked pasta dish.
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 729kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb. dried penne pasta or any short-cut of pasta (rigatoni, etc)
- 48 oz marinara sauce I like to use either homemade, or 2 (24 oz each) jars of Rao's
- 1 lb. frozen popcorn chicken
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese divided
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese we prefer using full fat
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
Prepare
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Preheat air fryer to 390°F (or whatever the package of popcorn chicken says), and preheat oven to 350°F. **You can use your oven for the chicken instead of an air fryer, just follow the package directions.**
- Lightly spray a 9x13 or 3 quart baking dish and set aside.
Boil pasta
- Boil penne about 3 minutes less than the package directions for al dente. Drain and toss with a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking.
Cook chicken
- Add popcorn chicken in an an even, single layer to the basket of your air fryer (or on a baking sheet if using your oven). Air fry for 8-10 minutes, or bake for about 15 minutes (if using oven).
Make ricotta mixture
- While the chicken is cooking and pasta is boiling, to a small mixing bowl add the ricotta, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, all of the Italian seasoning, and a pinch of salt and black pepper. Stir well to combine.
Combine and assemble
- Add drained pasta to a separate large mixing bowl. Pour in half (one jar - 24 oz) of the marinara and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Stir to combine well.
- Add popcorn chicken to the bowl (cutting any larger pieces in half first), and stir.
- Add half of the pasta mixture to prepared baking dish, then spread ricotta mixture over the top.
- Top that with about 1 1/2 cups of the remaining marinara sauce, and the other half of the pasta.
- Top with remaining marinara sauce, and remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Bake
- Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until cheese is fully melted and the pasta is hot and bubbly.
Serve
- Serve hot, sprinkled with minced fresh parsley or basil if desired.
Notes
- I've estimated this recipe serves 6, but you're free to divide up the casserole dish into as many servings as you'd like.
- Instead of layering the marinara sauce, you can do the following:
- Add both jars of marinara sauce to the pasta.
- Add half of the pasta mixture to the baking dish.
- Top with layer of ricotta mixture.
- Top with other half of the pasta mixture.
- Top with cheeses and bake.
Nutrition
Calories: 729kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 51g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 128mg | Sodium: 1825mg | Potassium: 1219mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 1702IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 566mg | Iron: 4mg