A simple and delicious casserole version of a dish every family loves! Give this Chicken Alfredo Bake a try for your next dinner! Pasta, chicken, lots of cheese, and yummy seasonings make this recipe a hit!
Everyone loves a good casserole, and why not make one from the classic Chicken Alfredo?! Not only is this recipe delicious and cheesy, but it’s loved by all and perfect for a crowd.
casserole version of a classic
Who doesn’t love Pasta?! I’ve shared our love before and admit that we make at least one pasta dish a week. Our favorites include Spaghetti, Homemade Mac and Cheese, Creamy Penne Pasta – you name it!
Today’s recipe is also a new favorite – Chicken Alfredo casserole. We love it for so many reasons, but just like the other pastas listed, we love them because:
- They are always delicious – usually butter and lots of cheese are involved (which means you can’t go wrong).
- The WHOLE family loves it.
Yes, it’s true – my kids aren’t always picky, but we still struggle to get in some green veggies. Pasta is never an issue though, which means we make it all the time.
We LOVE Fettuccine Alfredo and knew a casserole version with chicken would be just as good. Of course, everyone loved it, and with lots of cheese, chicken and delicious spices, I have a feeling you will too. 😉
How to make + BAKE
This Alfredo bake begins with cooking the pasta, as directed on the box (we used penne for this recipe) as well as cooking the chicken.
Always try to marinate your chicken, if possible, because it adds so much flavor. We do this by throwing it in a bag of Italian dressing and let sit overnight or even a few hours!
Slice your marinated chicken in half so they are thinner pieces so they cook through evenly, then rub them in a mixture of seasonings before cooking them in a skillet with oil (you can also BAKE your chicken).
To make the sauce, melt the butter in another large skillet. Add garlic and cook for 1 – 2 minutes. Using a wire whisk, mix in flour and stir until bubbly. Mix in half & half and milk, then stir to combine. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to low heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
With your whisk, mix in 1½ cup of cheese. Cook an additional 5 minutes until sauce starts to thicken and then remove sauce from heat.
Cut your cooked chicken into bite size pieces and add to a large bowl. Add the cooked pasta to your bowl and then the sauce. Mix everything to combine.
Spray a 9×13 baking pan with non stick spray. Add the pasta mixture to the pan and sprinkle with an additional 1½ cup of cheese, then bake this cheesy chicken casserole for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.
Can you use other pastas? You can definitely use your pasta of choice for this recipe. We used penne, but you can also use fettuccine, mini penne, rigatoni, or linguine. We recommend using penne or fettuccine.
You can also add veggies to this dish too – fettuccine and broccoli would both be great additions.
MAKING AHEAD + FREEZING
Can you make this ahead of time? We often make baked pasta dishes ahead of time. We typically do this the morning of. Just make as directed and then cover and place in the fridge for up to 24 hours in advance.
Can you freeze baked Alfredo? Yes, you can. Whether it’s leftovers or before it’s baked, you can freeze this dish if done properly for up to 2-3 months in the freezer.
What to serve with?
There are so many great sides and breads that go great with this chicken Alfredo casserole. Here are some of our favorites:
Again – so many options! Be sure to check out our sides and salads for even more ideas.
There are quite a few steps to this recipe, but they are so easy! If you’ve made pasta dishes like this before, then it’s all pretty standard. You can even change it up by adding some of your favorite veggies or making a non-meat version and leaving out the chicken. 😉
For more cheesy pasta recipes, check out:
- Creamy Garlic Penne Pasta
- Bowtie Pasta with Italian Sausage
- Chicken and Asparagus Pasta
- Three Cheese Pasta Bake
- Homemade Mac and Cheese
- Cheesy Baked Tortellini
Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake
A delicious and simple casserole version of the dish every family loves - Cheesy Chicken Alfredo Casserole! Pasta, chicken, lots of cheese, and yummy seasonings make this pasta casserole a hit!
Ingredients
- 12 oz. pkg penne pasta
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts marinated in Italian dressing if desired
- vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp thyme
- 1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 TB olive oil
- 1/2 c butter
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 4 TB flour
- 3 c half and half
- 3 c milk
- 3 c Kraft Italian Five Cheese Blend divided
- Italian Seasoning, garnish
Instructions
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If time allows, always try to marinate your chicken. Throw them in a bag of Italian dressing and let sit overnight or even a few hours will help your chicken to be tender and full of flavor.
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Cook pasta as directed. Drain and set aside.
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While pasta is cooking, heat 1 - 2 TB of oil in a skillet on medium heat.
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Slice your marinated chicken in half so they are thinner pieces. This will help them cook through evenly.
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In a bowl mix salt, pepper, thyme and poultry seasoning and rub it on all sides of your chicken breasts. Add chicken to hot oil and cook on both sides until done (about 15-20 minutes). Remove to a plate to let cool.
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While chicken is cooling, preheat your oven to 350 and start on your sauce. In a separate large skillet melt the butter; add garlic and cook for 1 - 2 minutes.
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Using a wire whisk, mix in flour and stir until bubbly. Mix in half & half and milk, stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce to low heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
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With your whisk, mix in 1½ cup of cheese. Cook an additional 5 minutes until sauce starts to thicken. Remove sauce from heat.
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Cut your cooked chicken into bite size pieces and add to a large bowl. Add the pasta to your bowl and then the sauce. Mix everything to combine.
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Spray a 9x13 baking pan with non stick spray. Add the pasta mixture to the pan and sprinkle with an additional 1½ cup of cheese.
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Sprinkle with pepper and bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.
I have a question about the Italian Five Cheese Blend w/cream cheese, where do you get it or what kind of cheeses are they? Love your site, thanks!!
You can find it at any grocery store or even Super walmart carries it.
Looks great. Thanks, can’t wait to try it.
How much cream cheese?
The cheese is actually called: Kraft Italian 5 Cheese with Cream Cheese. There isn’t additional cream cheese since it already comes in the cheese package. Does that make sense?
I’m still confused. I tried adding 3lbs cream cheese like you said, but all we had was maple walnut flavor. I put in a bunch of extra apple sauce to counter the sweetness, but it ended up starting a fire in the oven. Are your temperatures in Celsius or Fahrenheit? Thanks for your help lil luna.
The degrees are in Fahrenheit. I’m sorry you’re having trouble. The cheese is a blend with cream cheese in it. If you could find that cheese, it will make the difference, instead of substituting other ingredients that will change the outcome of the recipe. Hope that helps!
this looks delicious!! Is there any reason it couldn’t be made up ahead of time, kept refridgerated and then baked at a later time? Thanks!
I think it would be fine to make within 24 hours of being eaten, but it may need to cook just a few minutes longer. 😉
It’s called Kraft Italian 5 Cheese Blend with a touch of Philadephia cream cheese. I figured that’s what she meant when I saw it. You can find it at any grocery store near you…
Thanks, Deedee! 😉
I would like to try some of these recipe.
What’s half and half? Thank u kindly
Ruth, Half and Half is a 50/50 blend of milk and cream. You can find it in the milk/dairy section of your grocery store. Hope this helps. 😀
Thanks for helping out! 😉
Hi, we don’t have a lot of these things in south australia, any chance anyone could recommend similar things that i can get here?
Thanks for the great recipe. Looking forward to trying it with a gluten free twist. BTW, You’ve got a couple of typos in your recipe (Chicken Alfredo Casserole), in the ingredient list vegeatble oil should be vegetable oil and in the instructions italain should be Italian.
Would love to know what you do to make it GF. I’d love to add it to the post so others could make it GF too. And thanks for the update on the recipe. Must have been added during one of my late work nights where I was half asleep, lol!!
I have been unable to locate that cheese blend in Massachusetts. I bought some cream cheese to add-any guess how much to add to mimick the shredded cheese blend? I have a six cheese Italian blend. Making it tomorrow. Thank you.
Hmmm, I’d guess about 2 oz of the cream cheese bar. If you try it with this amount could you let me know how it turns out?? I think it just adds a bit of creaminess to it. 😉
I COULDN’T find the right kind of cheese either! So i took your advice & added 2 oz of cream cheese. Turned out great!!! Super creamy! Thank you 😊!
You are so welcome!! So glad it turned out 🙂
Caroline I couldn’t find this cheese on any central Mass stores either! I used the kraft 5 cheese that doesn’t have the cream cheese in it. Everyone still liked it. I just added more half and half and milk.
(*_*)
Chelle
Recipe looks amazing but can you explain what half and half is for me.. Thanks
Here is a link that explains what half and half is. 😉
http://www.thekitchn.com/what-is-halfandhalf-ingredient-intelligence-205959
How many servings?
When do you use the olive oil? I cooked my chicken in the vegetable oil but wasn’t sure when to use the olive oil?
That was totally confusing. Just updated the recipe, so thanks for the heads up. When you’re cooking your chicken you can cook it in 1-2 TB of vegetable or olive oil and that is the only time you use the oil. 😉
Do leftovers of this taste okay, or is it something you have to eat it immediately?
The leftovers taste AMAZING!
Thanks Nicole and I agree!! It’s perfect for lunch the next day!
Sounds more than delish. If anyone has done without frying chicken, please post. I detest the mess of frying, but do on rare occasion.
You could poach it in chicken broth.
You could also use a purchased roasted chicken, taken off the bones and skin and chopped or shredded into bite size pieces. That would eliminate the cooking the chicken step
I like to do that, too when I am in a hurry or last minute 🙂
Looking forward to making this.
How many servings to this recipe?
Serves between 8-10. 😉
3 cups of half and half plus 3 cups of milk seems like an awful lot of liquid
I just made this and the sauce was so liquidy, it was almost like water. Im really hoping it will thicken in the oven because im making this for somebody that just Had a baby. 🙁
This recipe was delicious! When I ran by the store to grab the ingredients, they didn’t have that exact cheese blend so I just used a store brand Italian cheese blend. It still turned out great! I also used some diced chicken I had previously made and stored in the freezer, so it reduced my prep time by about 20 minutes. Thanks for sharing, we really enjoyed it.
Have you ever made this and frozen it? Did you freeze before or after baking. Thanks!
Thyme (ground) or (leaves)???
Thanks.
I used ground Thyme:) Enjoy!!!
I made this tonight, and my sauce/cheese curdled. 🙁
What temp was your setting on the skillet? When you add the cheese, it should just be on low and only for the 5 min. I haven’t had any issues with it curdling before, so I’m trying to think of what could have made it do that. I’m thinking the setting may have been to high? Let me know!
This was very good! I “cheated” and used the chicken from a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store! Much less prep involved and the seasoning on the chicken was perfect for this recipe. One question…this made a TON of food…can the leftovers be frozen and used at another time for a meal? I am not sure how the pasta would do once it thaws out and gets reheated. Has anyone tried freezing the leftovers? Thanks! Becky
Hey, that’s ok! I use that chicken sometimes, if I’m in a hurry! I haven’t tried freezing it, so I’m not sure how it would be. Hopefully, someone has and they’ll respond. Thanks so much for giving it a try!
I could not find the cheese blend with the cream cheese together. I saw in a previous comment you said 2 oz of the cream would be the right amount to add, should I add when I mix everything at the end before I bake it?
Going to make this tonight, can’t wait!
You could add it in step 8 with the cheese to the sauce mixture. Hope you like it!! Let me know what you think!
It was amazing, thank you for wonderful recipe!
Thank you so much for letting me know!!!
I made a double batch of this and froze half and it was fine when I defrosted it.
Thanks so much for sharing that!!
I made this, it looked amazing and smelt great. But it tasted like sour milk, really bad. And no, the half and half and milk were new.
I’m sorry that it did. I wonder why? Mine hasn’t smelled like that, so I’m trying to think what it could have been. Thank you though, for giving it a try!!
This is a family favorite, it has replaced my pampered chef Alfredo sauce. I cut the liquids in half, I use 2 cups of heavy whipping cream and 1 cup of milk. I like to add chopped broccoli In the mix.
That sounds yum! Thank you for sharing! I’m glad you like it!
I made this and it was delicious. Super easy and my family gobbled it down. I enjoy this Alfredo sauce and it is so easy to make. This is my go to for chicken Alfredo. 5 ⭐️
Yay!!! SO happy to hear that! Thanks so much!
I don’t have half and half at home is it feasible to substitute whole milk for the half and half?
I haven’t tried, but I’m sure you could. I know you could add butter to it, as well or heavy cream. I would google substitutes for half & half & see what it suggests. Hope that helps you & hope you like this recipe!
This was super yummy! Other comments were right – this does make a LOT of food. I halved the recipe and my family of 3 will have plenty of leftovers for dinner tomorrow. The sauce was great even though it took time and work – all good sauces take work! And they’re way better than the kind from a jar. Those that said their sauce was sour – I think they boiled the whole time instead of taking it down to a simmer. Serve with a side of green veggies and you’ve got a perfect meal!
Thanks so much!! And, I agree that the good stuff takes time! I am so glad you all liked it!
You should edit your recipe to mention Hat you need a VERY large skillet to hold all the milks. Mine boiled over and made a mess of my stovetop.
I’m sorry that happened. As long as you stir it every now & then, your milk mixture shouldn’t burn. Thanks for giving it a try though!
Just discovered something else, I used cold milk and cream and it took so long for them to come to a boil that the mixture burned. Tastes awful and have to throw away.
Always interested in new ideas and ways to create delishous meals.
Me too!! Let me know what you think of the ones you try 🙂
When do u add the Italian Seasoning?
It’s just a garnish, so as soon as it comes out, you could sprinkle some on 🙂
At step 6, how high of heat do I need to use? After I added the flour to the butter, it clumped up really bad and wasn’t able to unclump after that.
I would just have it on medium, probably not any higher. Sorry it clumped up! Hope you’ll try it again!
Is easy and like that you have a photo/ video
Three cups of half and half AND three cups of milk seem like a lot of liquid… is that a typo??? We were unsure so we cut both in half and it was delicious!!!
No typo 🙂 I am glad it turned out & that you liked it! Thank you for letting me know!
Thanks!
Just wanted to say that I LOVE this recipe! I’m still pretty new to cooking, but when I looked up cheesy chicken alfredo, and this one popped up; I knew it was the one I wanted to make.
I was a little low on half and half and couldn’t find that cheese so I used a four cheese blend, and it still turned out incredible!
I can’t wait to make it again with the correct amounts needed!
Even my whole family liked it and went for seconds!
Yay!! I am so glad to hear that! Thank you so much for sharing!
Prepped this last night to bake today- any idea the best way to make from the refrigerator?? I was thinking covered for half hour and then uncovered for an additional 20mins or so??
I would just follow the directions & you may add some time or you can uncover towards the end 🙂 Hope you like it!
Am I missing something? When do you add the milk?Robin
It’s in step 7 🙂
I have made Chicken Alfredo from scratch for many years. Tilamook cheeses now have 4 sauces. They give you everything but the chicken. Will repost when I have tried the alfredo
Oh my gosh! This dish was amazing! My family absolutely loved it. Then next time I make it though I am going to divide it so we an have some at a later date. I used cheddar cheese as I couldn’t find the Kraft Italian cheese but it still came out delicious.
Cheddar cheese works too 🙂 I am glad your family loved it! Thank you!
Would it be okay to use less half and half? I only have 2 cups. Also im wondering why so much when theres already 3 cups of milk? Just seems like a lot
You could 🙂 It makes it so creamy.
There are 2 different types of Kraft Italian 5 Cheese. One says with Philadelphia Cream Cheese, the other doesn’t. the one you mentioned in the recipe does not say with Philadelphia but down in the comments you say use the one with cream cheese?
The one with cream cheese 🙂 Hope you like it!
Can I just use leftover baked chicken or rotisserie chicken? if so, what quantity?
Of course 🙂 I’d use like 2 cups. You could always add more or less, depending on how much chicken you like. Enjoy!
Hello, looking forward to trying this out!! I am going to try and make it tonight, refirgerate it and put in crock pot tomorrow. I know from other alfredo sauces, the butter seperates but from the comments about left overs, i am guessing this is not the case here?
I am salavating just looking at the pictures!! 🙂
It’s a good one! Hope you like it! Not really, but we hardly ever have left overs. Enjoy!
This looks so good. I love anything with alfredo sauce so I know this will be amazing. Thanks for sharing!!
I do too!! Hope you like it 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
I’m taking a meal to a family and this would be perfect! Do you know if it would be freezeable? Sorry if you mentioned this and I missed that part!
Yes, totally can. Thank you for sharing this 🙂
your chicken alfredo recipe sounds so good! That’s a go to for my husband and me, however, we’re gone alot and I was hoping you could share how I might be able to do this in my crock pot. The time and any other suggestions. Thank you!
I have not tried it in the crock pot, but I am sure it would work. I would think low for 3-4 hrs setting.
Amazing
Thank you so much!! I agree 🙂
What a great recipe and it turned out perfect.. My family love it. The leftovers were even better the next day. My daugter Is already asking when can i make it again!
Yes, leftovers are better the next day! I am so happy to hear your family loved it! Thank you!
Really good of course i added a little splash of spanish seasoning to my chicken but everythjng else was followed exact.
Perfect! Thank you for letting me know!
I know, it probably doesn’t taste as good, but could you use a jar of alfredo sauce & wood you recommend adding anything to it if I did that to doctor it up some??
You sure could. I would just continue to add the spices on the recipe 🙂 Hope you like it!
In stead of making the sauce can i use jared Alfredo sauce???
Yes, of course 🙂 Enjoy!!
Can you use heavy whipping cream instead of the half and half? If so how mUch should i use?
I personally have not tried that, so I would need to experiment on the right amount of half & half. I wouldn’t want to tell you the wrong amount.
This was OK BUT THERE WAS NO “ALFREDO” TASTE TO IT. I LOVE YOUR WEBSITE AND USE A LOT OF YOUR RECIPES BUT THIS I PROBABLY WOULDN’T MAKE AGAIN…SORRY
No worries..thank you for trying it 🙂
So good! i recommend using fennel in the chicken marinade or when you’re cooking it. Cheers.
Glad you liked it! Thank you so much!
Any kind Of italian dressing?
Yep, any kind of Italian dressing 😉 Enjoy!
Just subscribed to this website recently. LOve the RECIPES! I prep my dinner for the week every sunday. I have used at least one of your recipes every week. Very delicious and easy. Instructions included on make ahead or Freeze. Thank you and keep the recipes coming.
You are so welcome & I am so glad to hear that! Thank you!