A true dump-and-bake-style meal, this no-boil chicken alfredo pasta bake will quickly become your go-to easy dinner meal!
Table of Contents
This recipe is…
You’ll Love This Easy Dinner
I love the convenience of a true one-dish meal, and this no-boil chicken alfredo pasta bake is no exception. You get the creaminess of alfredo pasta without having to bring out a single pot. That’s right, this entire dish is made in a casserole dish in the oven, no pots or boiling water necessary! It’s a hearty and flavorful meal packed with protein from the chicken and umami flavor and texture from the mushrooms, all married together in a super creamy alfredo sauce. And the best part is how easy it comes together!
Recipe Ingredients
- 12 ounces of penne pasta
- 30 ounces of alfredo sauce
- 1 ½ cups of chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 1 ½ pounds of chicken breast
- 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon of Balanced Bites Italian Blend (or 1 tablespoon italian seasoning + 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon of pepper
- Parmesan cheese, for garnish
- Fresh parsley, for garnish
Best Store-Bought Alfredo Sauce
The best alfredo sauce for baked chicken alfredo is whichever sauce is your favorite! Truly, any alfredo sauce will do, so go with what you like. We love Rao’s for the quality of its ingredients.
How to Make
As promised, the process to make this chicken alfredo bake is the easiest! Here’s how you’ll make it:
- Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Season the chicken. Cube your chicken into approximately 1” pieces and season it with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Prep the pasta. To a 9×13 casserole dish, add the pasta, alfredo sauce, chicken broth, and lemon juice. Stir to combine, then add the chicken and mushrooms and give the ingredients one more stir to ensure everything is well incorporated.
- Cover and bake. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes.
- Garnish. Remove the foil carefully, the steam will be hot! It may look like a lot of liquid, but the alfredo will set after a few minutes. Top with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
- Serve and enjoy!
How to Store
To store your chicken alfredo bake, let the dish cool completely, then cover the dish or transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Recipe Tips for Making Ahead
Prep the chicken. Cube and season your chicken ahead of time and store in a covered container in the fridge.
Measure your ingredients. Measure out your chicken broth, lemon juice, and spices, then store them together so they are ready to go.
Recipe Variations
This recipe is delicious as written, but there are certainly tasty ways to switch things up. Here are some ideas:
- Make it gluten-free. Use a gluten-free pasta (we used this one) and alfredo sauce (check the label – not all alfredo sauces are gluten-free!) to make this chicken alfredo bake gluten-free.
- Make it dairy-free. Omit the parmesan cheese and substitute a dairy-free alfredo sauce to make this dish dairy-free (we promise it’s just as tasty!).
- Sub the mushrooms. If you’re not a mushroom fan or prefer a different vegetable, you could substitute some hearty broccoli florets. Sun-dried tomatoes would also be a tasty addition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! The steam created from covering the dish while baking is what helps the pasta cook, so you’ll definitely want to cover your chicken alfredo while baking.
Yes! In fact, all of the cooking in this recipe happens in the oven.
While fettuccine is probably the most common pasta associated with alfredo, this recipe will work with a lot of different kinds of pasta. We used penne pasta, but you could substitute fusilli, farfalle, or caserrece.
Since alfredo sauce is typically made with parmesan and romano cheeses, we find that fresh parmesan or a parmesan blend is the best addition!
More Favorite Pasta Recipes
No-Boil Chicken Alfredo Bake
Ingredients
- 12 ounces penne pasta
- 30 ounces Alfredo sauce
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breast cubed
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 1 tablespoon Balanced Bites Italian Blend (or 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning + 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- Parmesan cheese for garnish
- Fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400℉.
- Cube your chicken into approximately 1” pieces and season with the Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- To a 9×13 casserole dish, add the pasta, alfredo sauce, chicken broth, and lemon juice. Stir to combine, then add the chicken and mushrooms and give the ingredients one more stir to ensure everything is well incorporated.
- Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes.
- Remove the foil carefully, the steam will be hot! It may look like a lot of liquid, but the alfredo will set up after a few minutes. Top with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
- Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Make it gluten-free. Use a gluten-free pasta (we used this one) and alfredo sauce (make sure to check the label, we were surprised to find that most alfredo sauces we found were gluten-free) to make this chicken alfredo bake gluten free.
- Make it dairy-free. Omit the parmesan cheese and substitute a dairy-free alfredo sauce to make this dish dairy-free (we promise it’s just as tasty!).
- Make it vegetarian. Simply omit the chicken if you prefer a vegetarian meal.
- Sub the mushrooms. If you’re not a mushroom fan or prefer a different vegetable, you could substitute some hearty broccoli florets. Sun-dried tomatoes would also be a tasty addition.
Nutrition
I usually rave about your recipes but this one just flopped. 40 minutes was not long enough. Both the chicken and and pasta were not cooked.
I’ve made this recipe twice and both times the chicken hasn’t been cooked through, so I’ve had to put it in for additional time. The second time I even cubed the chicken smaller. Any thoughts on why?
Man, Sarah, we have no idea. We’ve made this a TON of times (through recipe testing and photographing, plus for dinner for our own families) and have never run into any issues with the chicken cooking. If you make it again, you could try pulling the pasta bake out of the oven halfway through, giving it a good stir, and then cover it tightly with the foil again for the second half of the baking time. I hope that helps!
I made this last night. I was trying to duplicate the Chicken Alfredo sold at Costco for $20+. The flavor was good but the results were a disappointment. I followed the recipe very carefully. I cooked it for 40 minutes and the pasta was still to hard so I added another 20 minutes. Took it out of the oven and let it sit for 20 minutes before serving. At that point I had soup with hard noodles.
Oh no! We’re so sorry to hear that, Jimmy. We haven’t had that experience, and it’s so hard to know what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you. Thank you so much for the feedback!
This was really really good and SUPER easy! I love no boil recipes not only because they are easy but also because the noodles absorb so much flavor. I will definitely be moving this into our regular rotation. I included some roasted broccoli instead of the mushrooms since that is what I had on hand. I also was out of chicken breast and used boneless skinless thighs instead.
Great swaps, Dara! We’re so glad you loved this recipe!
I wanted to love this! But the chicken wasn’t cooked after 55 minutes, and the pasta was either soggy on the bottom or uncooked and crunchy on top. Pasta bakes never work well for me. Does it have to do with the altitude in CO?
Hi Kate! We’re so sorry to hear this! The altitude could absolutely have an impact. The only other thing we can think of is to pull the pasta bake out halfway through and stir it really well, then cover it tightly again and continue the bake. I hope that helps!
I thought the recipe was easy to make and I wanted to like it but I didn’t like the taste of the chicken broth with the pasta I felt like that’s all I tasted and I didn’t taste much of the Alfredo sauce.
Bummer, Stacey! Thank you for your feedback!
Do you cook the pasta first??
Hi Kim! No, you don’t cook the pasta first!
Chicken was raw after the 40 min. The only thing I can think of is that maybe it was a little too much chicken. Maybe next time I’ll just do 1lb.
Will definitely make again! It was so easy to put together and my husband loved it so much he deemed it “dangerous”. I added some frozen peas as a nod to one of my favorite dishes at Carraba’s and it was delicious!
Haha. We love to hear that, Bethany! Peas make for the perfect addition. Thank you so much for taking the time to share how much you and your family enjoyed this recipe. It means a lot to us! -Team FF
Tasted great but my chicken not cooked thru. Icut it smaller than 1″, baked for 40 minutes. Then another 15. Still a bit pink inside and chewy.
We are so sorry that happened, Kersten! We know how frustrating it is when a recipe doesn’t work out the way you expected. It’s so hard to know exactly what went wrong since we can’t be there in the kitchen cooking with you. We’ve made this recipe a dozen times and have not had any issues with the chicken doneness. -Team FF
Me too. Still trying to get cooked chicken. Yikes! But it smells good.
Looks delicious! Will it mess things up if you prep it all together the day before and store it in the fridge?
It shouldn’t! This is meant to be an easy prep-ahead dish as well. Enjoy! -Team FF
Can this be baked and then frozen? I might try a small portion of it to test it. I understand (not from experience) that sometimes the creamy casseroles separate.
Yes! This can be baked and frozen. We have not had any issues with it separating. Enjoy! -Team FF
This has been by far THE BEST pasta dish I have ever made! Pasta is a must have here in my house, my husband loves it! He is a hotel/restaurant manager and very hard to go above his expectations when it comes to cooking. He was over the moon with this dish (and so was I). I love the lemon flavor and could not believe how easy it was to make it. The chicken was very flavorful too (I seasoned it ahead on prep day). I also used Primal Kitchen Alfredo Sauce (worth the extra money to make this dish even better). I cannot wait to have family and friends over to show off this meal. Thank you!!!
We are SO glad that everyone in the house loves this dish! What high compliments from all. Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us. -Team FF
Just made this in prep for dinner tonight and am having to keep myself from eating it all right now. I made sure to use a really good quality Alfredo sauce and seasoned the chicken well. This was so easy. It’s definitely going into regular rotation. Now I want to try more no boil pasta bakes!
We are so glad to hear that, Kiara! We love the ease of a no-boil pasta bake. Thank you so much for always taking the time to share your feedback with us. It means so much! -Team F&F
Does is freeze and reheat well? And how would you reheat it?
I second this question! I am a huge fan of prepping/freezing meals. Please let us know your thoughts. Thank you.
Hi Quinn and Stefanie! This should freeze and reheat well. You can freeze it whole, or in individual servings. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat in the microwave or oven. -Team FF
What is the serving size?
Hi Amanda, this recipe makes approximately 6 servings, so we recommend basing serving size off of the end product, or 1/6 of your dish once baked. -Team F&F