Chicken caprese pasta bake is an easy freezer-friendly meal that can be baked up fresh, or from frozen! A weeknight dinner that bakes up in 40 minutes, and whole family will enjoy!
Just like our healthier taco casserole, or Mexican-inspired spaghetti squash casserole - this chicken caprese pasta bake is a freezer meal that is comfort food at it's finest!
A perfect recipe to stock up the freezer with, this chicken caprese pasta bake is simple and delicious!
Best of all, you can bake it right from frozen - no need to remember to thaw out your casserole, just pop it in the oven and dinner is ready in just under an hour. A meal prep life-saver to get you through those busy weeks.
Reasons You'll Love This Recipe
- cheesy pasta with chicken and tomato - you can't go wrong with the flavors in this recipe!
- it's made with just 5 staple ingredients (that you likely already have on hand)!
- you can assemble ahead and freeze
- bake it directly from frozen (no need to thaw first!)
Ingredient notes
- pasta - we tested with penne (have not tested whole wheat and have not had great experiences with freeze/thawing whole wheat pasta)
- marinara - go for a simple jarred tomato basil marinara
- boneless skinless chicken thighs- we prefer them over chicken breasts as they are less prone to drying out
- cherry tomatoes- load it up; feel free to swap for your favorite tomatoes.
- mozzarella- regular pizza mozzarella works great for this. Save the fresh mozzarella for a caprese salad!
Step by step driections
Cook Pasta
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Assemble
Heat oven to 400°F. Spray a 9 x 9 inch baking dish with spray oil. Mix together the cooked penne, chicken, marinara sauce and cherry tomatoes. Spread it evenly in the baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese.
bake
Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake uncovered for 10 minutes.
serve
Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes and serve with fresh basil and a drizzle of balsamic reduction!
Tip - 2-Ingredient Balsamic Reduction works great in this recipe (or skip it and use store-bought!)
FAQ
Sure, you could leave it out and make this caprese chicken bake vegetarian. Or you could swap for ground meat, however, be sure to cook and drain before baking everything up.
Sure! The best way to do this would be to cook them into the marinara sauce. Try sautéeing some onions, garlic, shredded carrots, even some spinach could be yummy cooked into the sauce.
Do so at your own risk! Penne is sturdy and holds up to freeze/thawing, making it ideal for this recipe. Lasagna noodles would be another good choice. We have not tested whole wheat pasta and don't know how it would work in this recipe.
Freezer Meal Prep Instructions
Instructions For Freezing
- assemble up to the baking step, but don't bake.
- wrap in tin foil, label with the baking directions, and freeze.
- store for up to 3 months uncooked in freezer.
Tip - make sure you use a metal baking dish if you are planning to put the casserole into the oven from frozen (not glass) to avoid risk of shattering.
To Bake From Frozen
- heat oven to 350°F
- bake frozen casserole (covered) for 55 minutes
- remove cover and bake for another 10 minutes until cheese is bubbly and everything is warmed through
To Bake After Thawing
- heat oven to 350°F
- bake thawed casserole (covered) for 20 minutes
- remove cover and bake another 10 minutes until cheese is bubbly and everything is warmed through
Storage + Meal Prep
This caprese chicken pasta bake is so easy to double up and freeze one portion!
- Cool completely after baking.
- Store in the fridge in the baking dish (covered), or portioned out into meal prep containers for up to 4 days (best consumed within the first 2-3 days to avoid mushy tortillas)
- Reheat in the microwave until steaming hot, or reheat entire casserole (covered) in a 350°F oven for at least 15-20 minutes
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
Chicken Caprese Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups penne uncooked; 7 ¾ oz; 225 g; see note 1
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch pieces; see note 2
- 1 ½ cups marinara sauce half a jar; 325 mL/11 oz
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese shredded
To serve
- fresh basil
- balsamic reduction
Instructions
- Cook pasta - Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Combine - Heat oven to 400°F. Spray a 9 x 9 inch baking dish with spray oil. Mix together the cooked penne, chicken, marinara sauce and cherry tomatoes. Spread it evenly in the baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake - Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Remove cover and bake uncovered for 10 minutes.
- Serve - Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes and serve with fresh basil and a drizzle of balsamic reduction!
Tips:
- this recipe has only been tested with (regular) penne pasta. Swap shapes at your own risk.
- chicken breasts risk drying out in this recipe. Chicken can easily be omitted for a vegetarian version of this recipe.
- Cool completely after baking.
- Store in the fridge in the baking dish (covered), or portioned out into meal prep containers for up to 4 days (best consumed within the first 2-3 days to avoid mushy tortillas)
- Reheat in the microwave until steaming hot, or reheat entire casserole (covered) in a 350°F oven for at least 15-20 minutes
Video
Nutrition Information
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Sue says
I made it with whole wheat rigatoni and a chicken breast. Both cooked in the electric pressure cooker. Homemade marinara. Put it all together and baked for 20 minutes at 325F to bring to temperature, then add cheese (both parmesan and mozzarella) and under the broiler until lightly browned an bubbly. Chicken was fully cooked, and it tasted great.
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Sue, yum - sounds delicious! Thanks so much for leaving a rating and review 🙂
Carrie says
Unfortunately the chicken was completely raw when we took it out of the oven after a half hour - I'm not sure what happened here but if we try it again in the future we'll precook the chicken.
Denise Bustard says
Hi Carrie, I'm so sorry to hear this happened. Thank you for reporting back.
Molly says
Mine was raw as well. Why would this be? I followed all directions as written. I double to give to a friend. Wondering how long I should tell her to bake it so she doesn’t feed her family raw chicken accidentally like I did
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Molly, sorry to hear. Thank you for reporting back. Are you using the directions for cooking from frozen (included in the recipe card) - 50 minutes covered, and 10 minutes uncovered? Perhaps we need to update the recipe card to be more specific. Thanks for your feedback, and I hope this helps!
Carrie says
Is there a reason you say to use metal for freezing? We have Pyrex freezer to oven baking dishes and haven't had issues with using them, but we've also never done a casserole with raw meat.
Denise Bustard says
Hi Carrie! Yes, even Pyrex risks shattering when placing from frozen into the oven.
Leslie says
If you use cooked shredded chicken, how long should you bake for?
Denise says
Hi Leslie! I would still cook for 30 min covered, 10 min uncovered. Hope you enjoy!
Anna says
I made this with rotisserie chicken, absolutely delish. 2 meals and it was gone. Will try again with ground beef and pork. Loved it.
Denise says
Hi Anna! I'm so happy you enjoyed it! Great to hear it worked well with rotisserie chicken.
Becky says
Is it really safe to cook raw chicken frozen with pasta and sauce. Sounds risky to me. I would cook it first thrn freeze and just thaw and heat up later.
Denise says
What is risky, Becky? So long as your meal gets heated to the internal temperature of 165°F, the temperature at which bacteria are killed, there is no risk whatsoever. Your pasta sauce, your chicken, your pasta, everything gets heated to the temperature that kills anything. The risk is when raw chicken touches a sauce or some other ingredient that won't be cooked. Ie: using a cutting board for chicken, then veggies. That is definitely not recommended. I worked in a microbiology lab for 10+ years where we spent a lot of time worrying about contamination etc 🙂
Michelle says
I was so excited when I made two batches. We ate the first right away and I froze the second in preparation for post baby. Pulled it out tonight and followed the directions only to be severely disappointed that it was still frozen solid after 50 minutes I. The oven at the suggested temperature. What did I miss?
Denise says
Hi Michelle, I'm so sorry! I'm really at a loss as it was fully cooked through for us after 50 minutes. What kind of container was yours in? Metal?
Chelsey Jones says
So you add the chicken in raw, correct? Just wanting to be sure!!!
Denise says
Hi Chelsey, yes, the chicken bakes in the oven 🙂
Amanda says
This looks great! Am I supposed to cook the chicken before assembling the casserole?
Denise says
Hi Amanda! I didn't cook the chicken first, just put it right in raw. If you would prefer, you can add cooked, shredded chicken. I will update the recipe card because I've had this question about five times now!