Crispy, tender breaded chicken. Deliciously al dente pasta. A decadent, deep red marinara sauce. Melted cheese, perfectly golden brown atop the bed of pasta and chicken. That’s what we’re making today, a fantastic chicken parmesan casserole that’s as easy to make as it is to enjoy.
You can put this chicken casserole together with any leftover chicken you have. Alternatively, you could make it from scratch. There are plenty of options, all equally delicious. A delectable red sauce, plenty of pasta and cheese, and you’ve got a taste of Italy in your own home.
Chicken Parmesan Casserole
You simply need to combine super crispy breaded chicken with pasta, seasoned marinara sauce, baby spinach and loads of hot melted mozzarella and Parmesan cheese to get this awesome recipe underway. It’s a heartwarming, family friendly recipe that will appeal to just about everyone. There’s just something so comforting about carbs, cheese, and sauce!
We’re sure you’ll love this recipe. Here’s why!
- You can make it up to two days ahead of time. Everybody knows sauce tastes better the next day!
- Got some leftover breaded chicken? Time to use it up!
We encourage you, however, to try this recipe with fresh chicken. Bread it yourself and taste the difference. Our top tip for convenience is to bread a lot (and we mean a lot) of chicken all at once, freezing what you don’t need. Breaded chicken freezes really well!
You'll Need
You’ll need some super simple key ingredients to get this chicken parmesan casserole going. These are:
- Pasta
- Marinara sauce
- Mozzarella cheese, shredded & separated
- Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- Baby spinach
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Flour
- Seasoning
- Eggs
- Italian breadcrumbs
- Vegetable oil
- Butter, unsalted
- Fresh Parsley, to garnish
Pasta: you can use penne or ziti pasta instead of tortiglioni if you like.
Cheese: For best results, we encourage you to shred a block of low-moisture mozzarella yourself. It tastes much better that way. With your parmesan cheese, too, it’s best to shred it yourself from the block.
Butter: it gives your chicken a beautiful golden color.
How To Make Parmesan Chicken Casserole
- Your first step is to cook pasta. You’ll want to cook it for one minute less than the package recommends so you have beautiful, authentic, al dente pasta. Be sure to salt your water, too. In Italy, they say your pasta water should be as salty as the sea.
- In a medium bowl or measuring cup, whisk together marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Combine the pasta, baby spinach and seasoned marinara sauce.
- The next step is to prepare the chicken. To do this, you’ll want to slice your chicken to make 4 fillets. Coat it in flour mixture , egg, and breadcrumbs, in that order. Now fry the chicken until golden brown. Allow the chicken to rest for a few minutes so the juices can settle, and slice it.
- Now to assemble your casserole! Place about half of the pasta/sauce mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish, and top with half of your chicken and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Next, you’re going to add the rest of your pasta. Then you’re going to top this with the remaining chicken and cheese. Now you have your beautiful casserole layers!
- The next step is to bake it in the oven at 375° for 25 minutes, uncovered.
Shortcuts
As with any recipe, there are a few easy shortcuts you can take to make cooking simple and stress-free.
- You can use frozen chicken tenders if you like. They’re a great way to get this recipe together in a short amount of time. You’ll need to let them sit at room temperature for approximately five minutes, then carefully slice them into smaller strips before adding them to the casserole. You won’t need to adjust the cooking time or temperature for this recipe if you’re using frozen chicken.
- You could also use leftover rotisserie chicken! This is a great way to use up any chicken leftover from the rotisserie. It also cuts out the time you’d otherwise be taking to bread your chicken.
- You can add some crunch factor to rotisserie chicken by combining 1 cup of breadcrumbs with ⅓ cup melted butter. Sprinkle this mix over the top of your casserole before baking at 375° F for the last 10 minutes of baking.
Chicken Parmesan Casserole Pro Tips
Want to give this dish an extra touch of homemade love? Try using your own homemade breadcrumbs to bread the chicken!
Bread large quantities of chicken at once and freeze the leftovers. By “large quantities”, we mean seriously large. Double or triple the amount of chicken you’d otherwise use so you have plenty of leftovers.
Master a simple, classic marinara sauce to make this recipe. A great marinara sauce is key to many Italian recipes.
Make-Ahead Method
You can assemble your casserole up to two days before cooking. Of course, you’ll want to refrigerate the dish, so when the time comes to cook it, be sure to let it sit at room temperature for thirty minutes. To cook the casserole you’ve made ahead of time, bake it at 375°F.
Storage
You can easily refrigerate this dish. It retains a lot of moisture thanks to the breadcrumbs, spinach and the marinara sauce. You can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
It freezes really well, too! Pasta, sauce, and breaded chicken will all freeze just fine. The trick with reheating is to defrost the casserole in your fridge the night before you intend to use it.
How to Reheat
If you’re reheating this casserole, we encourage you to gently spoon some extra marinara sauce over the top to prevent the pasta from drying out while baking.
Love Parmesan Chicken? Try these!!!
Ground Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf
Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken
Hellmann's Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Air Fryer Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Mayo
Parmesan Chicken and Tortellini
If you make this recipe be sure to leave a comment or give this recipe a rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐! I will be happy to hear from you!
Chicken Parmesan Casserole
Ingredients
- ¾ pound 340 grams tortiglioni, ziti or penne pasta, uncooked
- 32 ounces 1 liter marinara sauce
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese grated and divided
- 9 ounces 250 grams baby spinach
- 2 large boneless and skinless chicken breasts halved horizontally to make 4 fillets
- ¾ cup flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ¼ cup Italian breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons butter unsalted
- Fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water according to the package instructions. Drain and return to the pot.
- In a medium bowl or measuring cup, whisk together marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Toss the pasta with the seasoned sauce, Parmesan cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and baby spinach. Set aside.
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Prepare everything for breading the chicken.
- Bowl 1: In a shallow dish mix together the flour, red chili flakes, salt and pepper.
- Bowl 2: whisked eggs.
- Bowl 3: breadcrumbs.
- Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, then in the whisked eggs, and dip into the breadcrumbs to evenly coat.
- Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Fry chicken until golden and crispy, about 4-5 minutes each side. You may need to cook it in batches.
- Place on the cutting board and slice.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F| 190°C. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish.
- Add half of pasta mixture. Top with half of chicken and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Add the remaining pasta. Top with the remaining chicken and 1 cup o mozzarella cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. For a crispier top, broil further for 1- 2 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh parsley.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Storage
Storage : you can easily refrigerate this dish. It retains a lot of moisture thanks to the breadcrumbs, spinach and the marinara sauce. You can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. Freeze: it freezes really well, too! Pasta, sauce, and breaded chicken will all freeze just fine. The trick with reheating is to defrost the casserole in your fridge the night before you intend to use it. Reheat: if you’re reheating this casserole, we encourage you to gently spoon some extra marinara sauce over the top to prevent the pasta from drying out while baking.Make ahead
You can assemble your casserole up to two days before cooking. Of course, you’ll want to refrigerate the dish, so when the time comes to cook it, be sure to let it sit at room temperature for thirty minutes. To cook the casserole you’ve made ahead of time, bake it at 375°F.Nutrition
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Laura says
Made it today and it was fantastic! Thanks for sharing!
chefjar says
Hey, Laura! I am glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Lisa says
The best chicken I've ever made was this. Even the little ones in my family loved it.
chefjar says
Hey, Lisa! I am glad you enjoyed this chicken parmesan casserole! And thank you for sharing your experience!
Rebecca says
Absolutely delicious! Even my notoriously picky 5 year old loved it. She even asked for seconds.
chefjar says
Wow! Thank you for your kind feedback, Rebecca!
Victor says
I've never had parmesan chicken casserole before but this makes me want it so bad! I'll have to give it a try!
chefjar says
Thank you, Victor! It is one of our favorite casserole dishes!
Chelsea says
I'm making this for sure. Keep posting your recipes. Love them and gives us ideas when we get stuck eating the same things.
chefjar says
Thank you, Chelsea!
Deborah says
Wow I can smell that deliciousness from here. Must make this!
Gabanna says
This is hands down the most delicious meal I've ever eaten. So incredibly delicious. Will definitely make again!
chefjar says
Thanks so much for sharing your experience! I agree, this is one of the most delicious casseroles! Thanks so much for the great review!❤️
Giselly says
Bright delicious flavors and quick! It was a hit in my household.
chefjar says
That makes me so happy to hear! Thank you!
Kathie says
This has been one of our family favorite casserole recipes since I first made it for one of our son's birthdays! This is one of his favorite dinners. You can't go wrong with this one!
chefjar says
Thanks so much for the great review!❤️ Glad you liked the recipe!
Jason says
Loved this recipe. I added chopped garlic instead of garlic powder. My wife and I have it a one of our regular dinner meals.
chefjar says
That makes me so happy to hear Jason, thanks so much for the great comment!😀
Kylie says
Followed the directions exactly as stated and this turned out excellent! Thank you!
chefjar says
That makes me so happy to hear Kylie, thanks so much for the great comments!😀
Alexo says
This tasted so delicious and really flavorful! Simple to make as well.
chefjar says
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️ I am glad you liked the recipe!
Rhianne says
I made it for my family over the weekend and received so much praise!
chefjar says
Thank you, Rhianne! I am glad you liked this recipe)).
Laura Matias says
One of our favorite chicken recipes! Comes out perfectly every time!
chefjar says
Thank you Laura!
Mariana says
This is such a great recipe, absolutely loved it. Thank you very much, this will now be in my recipe collection.
chefjar says
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️ I am glad you liked the recipe!
Chelsea says
This was a huge hit with my family! Definitely going into my recipe binder.
chefjar says
Thank you, Chelsea!
Alessia says
This recipe is a really easy way to enjoy a delicious casserole. Everything about it was perfect! Thank you for the extra tips and tricks!
chefjar says
Thank you, Alessia!
Suzanne says
Loved this recipe, both my husband and I had two helpings at dinner. Seasoning was perfect! Thanks for another great recipe!
chefjar says
Thank you Suzanne!
Scarlett says
This casserole recipe is outstanding. My five year old daughter who is a very picky eater had three helpings!
chefjar says
Thank you Scarlett! I am glad you liked the recipe.
Holland says
So easy to make and scrumptious!
chefjar says
Hey, Holland! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️ I am glad you liked this recipe!
Nevena Nikolic says
Huge success!! Worked out very well. Great comfort food.
chefjar says
Hey, Nevena! I am glad you liked this chicken casserole and thank you for sharing your experience!
Francine says
I tried this recipe last night and it was a major hit at my house!
chefjar says
Hey, Francine! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️ I am glad you liked this chicken casserole recipe!
Eliete says
Just made this and it was wonderful! The whole family raved this recipe!
chefjar says
Thank you, Eliete!
Audri says
I made this last weekend for my husband and children. This will now be a steady rotation in our house. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
chefjar says
Thank you Audri!