Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Chicken and Pasta Bake Recipe



This cheese-topped pasta bake contains pan-fried chicken, bacon and onion, penne pasta, and chopped mushrooms and semi-dried tomatoes in a generous amount of creamy sauce.

We use raw chicken and cook it before mixing it with the other ingredients. If you would prefer to purchase cooked chicken, or if you have leftover cooked chicken, we recommend that you use 250 grams chicken. Since cooked chicken won't need to be pan-fried, you can omit two teaspoons of the oil from the recipe.

Serves about 4 - 6.

We use a 250ml measuring cup for all of our recipes.

160g (1 1/2 cups) dried penne pasta
Salt, to taste
15ml (3 teaspoons) oil
1 small (about 120g) onion, peeled and very finely chopped
60g shortcut bacon, finely chopped (remove rind if present)
350g chicken tenderloins, breast or thigh fillets, trimmed of any fat or tendons and cut into small bite-sized pieces
2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
100g (1 1/4 cups) roughly chopped button mushrooms
60g (1/4 cup) butter
38g (1/4 cup) plain flour
375ml (1 1/2 cups) chicken stock
335ml (1 1/3 cups) milk
40g (1/2 cup, lightly packed) grated tasty cheddar cheese
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
80g (1/2 cup) chopped semi-dried tomatoes
40g (scant 1/2 cup) finely chopped green onions (green shallots)

Topping
60g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) grated mozzarella cheese
60g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) grated tasty cheddar cheese

Cook pasta in a large (at least 2.75 litre capacity) saucepan of salted boiling water according to package directions or until just tender. Drain pasta and set aside. Rinse saucepan and set aside until required for sauce.

Heat one teaspoon of the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned (about seven minutes). Transfer onion and bacon mixture to a small bowl.

Return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining two teaspoons of oil to the pan and add chicken. Fry, stirring occasionally, until chicken is lightly browned and cooked through (about six minutes).

Add garlic and mushroom to the pan, stir to combine, and then remove pan from the heat and set aside.

Preheat oven to 230 degrees Celsius (210 degrees Celsius fan-forced). If you are not using a fan-forced oven, adjust the oven rack to the centre of the oven. © exclusivelyfood.com.au

In the saucepan used to boil the pasta, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the flour and stir constantly. Once the mixture bubbles, continue cooking and stirring for about 40 seconds.

Then add the chicken stock and milk. Increase heat to medium-high. Don't worry about any lumps in the mixture, they should disappear while stirring (if not, they can be strained out once you have finished cooking the sauce). Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. At this point, if you tilt the saucepan and use the spoon to push some of the sauce aside, you should be able to see the sauce bubbling on the base of the saucepan. Remove from heat and add 40g tasty cheese, salt and pepper to the saucepan.

Stir to combine.

Add bacon and onion mixture, chicken mixture, semi-dried tomatoes, green onion and pasta to the sauce.

Stir to combine.

Pour mixture into a 2.25 litre (9 cup) capacity ovenproof dish.

Sprinkle with combined mozzarella and tasty cheese.

Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes, until hot in the centre and golden brown.

Allow to stand for five minutes before serving.

Store any leftover pasta bake in a covered container in the refrigerator. Suitable to freeze.
© www.exclusivelyfood.com.au


58 Comments:

Blogger Namuelle said...

Thanks for sharing this scrumpcious recipe ! I'll bake it soon and I'll add a comment onto my blog !
Regards from Southern France

9/2/09 3:40 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

Hi there,

is there something you can use besides sundried tomatoes? would normal deseeded and diced tomato be ok??

9/2/09 7:08 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi there, would it be ok to omit bacon and would i need to replace it something else....this looks delish and i cannot wait to try it.Many thanks.

9/2/09 8:49 pm  
Blogger catherine said...

I made this for dinner tonight - simply delicious and very filling. Just a tip - to make this, or any other cheese or white sauce, use a balloon whisk to stir when heating. This will ensure a smooth consistency with no lumps.
Thanks for another great recipe.

10/2/09 8:28 pm  
Blogger Amanda and Debbie said...

Hi Kat

Deseeded fresh tomato might make the sauce a bit watery. If we were using fresh tomato, we would probably reduce the amount of chicken stock or milk by a couple of tablespoons. You could try using roasted capsicum in place of the semi-dried tomato.


Hi Anonymous

You could omit the bacon and increase the weight of chicken to 410 grams.

11/2/09 6:51 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Amanda and Debbie,
I omitted the bacon but forgot to increase the chicken...it was still very delicious. my teenage children suggested i try maybe brocoli and carrots instead of mushies...am unsure how this will would go with the sauce.My son doesn't like mushies so picked at it. They both loved the flavour of this dish. so thanks.

11/2/09 10:09 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for this great recipe. My husband and my 4 and 3 year old sons loved it so much. made this with roasted capsicum instead of semi dried tomatoes and without bacon(we don't eat bacon),really tasty.

15/2/09 1:09 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is just a fantastic recipe. Cooked it last night and it was absolutely beautiful. Not too sure about 'serves 6' people though. I would say 4 people at a pinch (unless we are being piggys!!)

16/2/09 5:03 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Delicious - our family loved it.

I have used many recipes from your blog - thanks you for such a fantastic collection of recipes!

16/2/09 7:07 pm  
Blogger Amanda and Debbie said...

To the person who asked about using broccoli and carrot in place of the mushrooms: We suggest that you cook the carrot and partially cook the broccoli before adding them to the sauce with the other ingredients.

18/2/09 5:36 pm  
Blogger dougie22 said...

G'day girls..another excellent recipe.I'm an old bloke,I love all your recipes and find them easy to follow...have not cooked a crook one yet...Doug

18/2/09 8:05 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh so yummy , use your blog allll the time. Didnt put mushrooms in cause of a disagreeable 4 year old. But we all loved it easy recipe with outstanding results.
I'm yet to find a bad comment on any recipe..
Sam

20/2/09 7:34 pm  
Blogger isparkle50 said...

I'm going to try this recipe in a couple of days. I'm already salivating at the thought of eating this LOL

24/2/09 5:07 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

looks yum, but the family doesn't like the tomatoes.can you omit the sundried tomatoes entirely?

25/2/09 6:14 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for a fantastic recipe. Made this last night huge success. Used chargrilled capsicum instead of tomato and added breadcrumbs (2 slices stale bread)on top of the cheese for a lovely crunchy topping. Will definetly be making this again. Thanks gals!

25/2/09 8:12 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi.
I just found your site and am disappointed that I can't copy and paste a recipe for potato pancakes.
I'm on a fixed income and for me to print the whole page would be a waste of ink that I can't buy all the time.I did write the recipe out however but with all these great recipes you have here I just can't do it....thank you.

28/2/09 3:43 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Very nice recipe, no leftovers at my place!!!

5/3/09 8:09 pm  
Blogger Amanda and Debbie said...

To the person who commented on recipe printing: All of our pages are printer friendly. If you do a print preview, you can see how the recipe will look when printed.

7/3/09 9:58 am  
Blogger Amanda and Debbie said...

To the person who asked about omitting the semi-dried tomatoes: The tomatoes could be omitted without negatively affecting the pasta bake.

9/3/09 3:04 pm  
Blogger surfingtheworldcuisine said...

I found this site only today and I must say it's one of the best foodblogs so far!!! Really interesting recipes and easy to follow instructions!!! Keep on the good job! Definitely trying something today!

11/3/09 8:33 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm about to cook this dish, and wondered, there is only 2 of us and a child, could I freeze the left overs, or reheat the next day?

13/3/09 11:00 pm  
Blogger Amanda and Debbie said...

Hi Littleshad624

The pasta bake is suitable to reheat. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.

15/3/09 5:00 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This recipe was absolutely divine and my husband couldn't stop raving about it. Such beautiful flavours. I'll definitely be making this again and again. Thanks for such a fabulous website.

26/3/09 9:52 pm  
Anonymous Jennifer said...

This recipe was a great success with my family. Tasted wonderful, took a little bit of time to make, but well worth the effort. Keep up the great work!

13/4/09 2:07 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Looks yummy - I need to feed 8 people, would it be ok just to double the recipe?

27/4/09 11:53 am  
Blogger Amanda and Debbie said...

Yes. If you double the ingredient quantities, you may need to increase the cooking times slightly. You could use one large baking dish or two smaller ones.

30/4/09 11:06 am  
Blogger Quinn said...

Thank you!

I did this 3 times in a month and no one is sick of it yet!

http://cookingquinn.blogspot.com/2009/05/chicken-pasta-bake-with-baby-spinach.html

Love all your recipes and keep posting!

31/5/09 11:54 pm  
Anonymous DilO said...

No doubt this is one of the best chicken and pasta bake I've ever made. my girl loves mushrooms and this is a great dinner for us.thanks heaps for this easy recipe.

12/6/09 8:25 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks girls, the recipe is easy to follow and the results are simply divine! I made it with my bf at a friend's place for a get together dinner and everyone loved it. Thank you for the recipe and keep up the good work!

15/6/09 11:56 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I used fresh cherry tomatos instead of sundried and i thought it was delicious!

11/9/09 2:54 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi there,
I made the bake with aubergine and zucchini instead of mushrooms and it tasted wonderfull. Thanks for this delicious recipe!
Regards from Germany

27/9/09 6:28 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi,

Just wondering if i could assemble the dish and refrigerate until I was ready to bake it?? would only be for a few hours.

Thanks for great recipes. I love your site and am a regular.

13/11/09 12:17 pm  
Blogger Amanda and Debbie said...

Yes, that should be fine. You will probably need to increase the cooking time.

13/11/09 12:23 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I made this for dinner the other night and everyone raved about it. I thought the flavours were lovely and I really liked the addition of the chicken stock to the white sauce. Thanks for yet another great recipe!

23/2/10 8:45 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love this recipe. Made it 3 times already and it always taste great. I used normal tomato. My husband and 2 year old kid loved it. Thank you so much.

24/2/10 1:56 pm  
Blogger Eliza said...

This pasta bake is so full of flavour. My fussy husband loves it and my father-in-law thinks it tastes better than restaurant food lol. I've never had a bad recipe from this site, thank you

15/3/10 9:57 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Chicken & Pasta Bake recipe: We had friends over the other night and wanted something filling yet easy to make; I'm the worst cook ever. This recipe was easy to follow and the results were great. (I added too much pasta but still tasted great). It is so much better to make the sauce than to buy a pasta bake sauce. Thanks for the recipe, would recommend this as a staple!

9/5/10 6:42 am  
Anonymous Brianna said...

Absolutely delicious! If you haven't tried it yet, you haven't lived! Fantastic flavours. I have fussy eaters but with this dish there were no complaints whatsoever. I've written the recipe in our family cookbook for future indulgence!

22/5/10 12:24 pm  
Blogger mammahippo said...

Very hearty and yummy. Even my fussy 2 year old ate a whole bowl! Thank you for sharing such fabulous recipes!

29/5/10 7:32 pm  
Anonymous Catro said...

I have used this recipe three times now and this last was the simply out of this world. I'm not sure what I did differently maybe a different brand/style of sundried tomatoes used.

19/8/10 12:38 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yumm... mine just came out of the oven... i used portabelo mushrooms and no sundried tomatos or spring onion and added a sprinkle of parmasean cheese, its delicious

31/8/10 6:44 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This recipe is delicious just the way it is. I never fail with any of your wonderful recipes.

18/9/10 7:41 am  
Anonymous Stacey said...

Another wonderful recipe that has been added to our list of favourites.

20/9/10 8:09 pm  
Anonymous orrellyman said...

This is fantastic. I've now made it 3 times, and find it works best with a leek instead of an onion, and add add spring onions just before adding the cheese topping. Omit the tomatoes, and add extra cheese to the sauce. Marvellous.

16/11/10 11:12 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I used macaroni (coz it's all i had). I added a little white wine, some chives, italian herbs and a 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes.... YUM!!! really really good!!

18/4/11 8:29 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cooked this tonight and it was fab, thanks so much for the recipe! it's going in my book! my whole family enjoyed it so much x x

5/5/11 1:33 am  
Anonymous Mandy said...

This dish didn't last long in my household, very moreish!
Thanks Amanda and Debbie

12/6/11 4:54 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Girls what a fantastic bake, I have made this twice with a little twist of my own, I poach the chicken in the stock rather than frying it, also I use swiss brown mushies for that nutty flavour and finally I use chilli Pancetta instead of bacon for a bit of zing !
p.s. great recipes keep them coming.

19/8/11 11:39 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I made this tonight but I used corn, asparagus, bacon, onion, zucchini, garlic and chicken (and of course pasta). I cooked the onion and bacon together, the chicken and garlic part cooked and then added the zucchini until both cooked, then added the tin of corn and asparagus when mixing it together. I used a whisk to make the sauce and there were no lumps. It came out absolutely beautiful! I'll be making this again!

19/10/11 9:05 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just made this, very easy and yummy. Added grated zucchini, finley chopped celery and grated carrot to bacon and onion mixture as need to hide veggies in things for my toddler. Omitted mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes as my kids and hubby don't eat them. Added quartered cherry tomatoes instead. Didn't have enough cheese so used cream that I had in fridge instead of milk and just sprinkled cheese over top.

18/4/12 6:38 pm  
Anonymous nicole said...

if i wanted to reduce fat content could i make the sauce using cornflour instead of butter. how much would i use.

15/6/12 10:31 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is the tastiest pasta bake ever!

18/10/12 6:22 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I only discovered your blog this week after years ogling foodie blog's and I feel like I've struck gold! So far I've made your vegetable slice, lemon coconut cake and now this pasta bake is in the oven for dinner. It tasted so good at the sauce stage and can't wait to sit down to eat. I'm so looking forward to trying more dishes. Really, really great site and recipes, keep up the great work.

5/2/13 3:21 am  
Blogger Jenwren59 said...

I made this last night and it was lovely. I have a mushroom phobic son so cut the mushrooms into large pieces so he could navigate around them (and the rest of us could claim his), he also isn't too keen on tomatoes but wolfed down the sundried tomatoes. I will certainly cook this again, but I'm not going to make it into a pasta bake, I reckon it tasted the nicest before putting it into the casserole with the cheese on top. Thank you for a delicious dinner meal.

8/3/13 11:13 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This was so good, but the main reason I am posting is to say thank you for using cup measurements as well as grams. It makes it so easy!

6/7/13 10:52 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Brilliant recipe, and easy to follow for a beginner cook like me, thank you! I added about a tablespoon of chili flakes to give it a bit of zing (a bit much, but i do like my chili!)and some sliced zucchini and it turned out great. i only had stock cubes (perish the thought!) but they seemed to work out fine!
Thanks again!!

23/11/13 9:44 pm  
Blogger swapna said...

Really good recipe. Just tried it, I altered the recipe by added adding little paprika and pepper while cooking the chicken. still tasted good

Thanks for the recipe.

30/3/14 1:00 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

Thanks for the recipe kids loved it! I omit the tomatoes as my kids don't like them, makes heaps! Thanks again

24/10/16 9:55 pm  

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