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This Chicken Alfredo Bake is an easy casserole recipe made with pasta, homemade Alfredo sauce and lean chicken breasts. Meal prep and freezer friendly.
I first shared this recipe on Spend with Pennies.
School is in full swing and along with it come all the after school activities, lessons, homework and related chaos.
This is our first year doing piano lessons with our 7 year old, which is the first extra curricular activity we’ve had all.year.long.
This means our lives are feeling a little busier than ever before, with two kids in school and one busy toddler.
It’s easy, make ahead recipes like this Chicken Alfredo Bake to the rescue. (A few of our other favourites? These Ricotta Stuffed Shells and Turkey Stuffed Peppers).
Perfectly prep-ahead-able, freezer friendly (so you can make 2 8×8’s instead of a 9×13” pan if you prefer and freeze one for a particularly crazy weeknight), and the family devours it.
How to make this Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake:
Hear me out: there are a few steps to preparing this Chicken Alfredo Bake, but cooking everything in advance is (a) essential, and (b) going to save you all the prep time when dinner rolls around.
- Cook your pasta: you can use any kind of short pasta for this recipe: macaroni, bowtie pasta, fusilli, rotini, or anything your heart desires! You can also use white or whole wheat pasta as you prefer.
- Cook your chicken: you can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, but I like to use chicken breasts. This recipe calls for cooked, chopped chicken, so it’s great for leftovers from a whole chicken or if you’ve made a big batch of this Instant Pot Shredded Chicken or this Crockpot Shredded Chicken. Don’t have leftover chicken? Throw these Slow Cooker Chicken Breasts in and they’ll be ready in no time!
- Cook your Alfredo sauce: you can absolutely use store bought Alfredo sauce, just make sure you choose one that tastes like something. I honestly haven’t found a store bough Alfredo sauce that compares to homemade, so I’ve included my recipe for simple Alfredo sauce in the recipe. But if you need to take a shortcut, it’s an easy way to save time.
- Throw it all together: after everything is prepped, you just toss it together and either bake or stash it in the fridge or freezer for later.
How to make this Chicken Alfredo Bake in advance:
STORE IT IN THE REFRIGERATOR:
You can prepare your casserole, wrap tightly, and refrigerate up to 2 days.
You may be able to get away with a little bit longer, but it will depend on the freshness of your ingredients when you started.
To serve, simply follow the directions for baking whenever you’re ready!
STORE IT IN THE FREEZER:
To freeze this Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake, prepare completely, then wrap tightly (I like to do plastic wrap then tin foil to prevent freezer burn, but you do you) and freeze flat on a shelf.
To bake, you can either place in the refrigerator overnight to thaw (this is going to give you the best results as the pasta won’t become as mushy since it doesn’t have to cook as long to reheat), then remove the plastic wrap and recover with foil to bake.
You can place the pan from the freezer into the oven while it is preheating, and add 20-30 minutes to the bake time (approximately — cook until heated). I always recommend baking with foil or covering of some sort to prevent drying out.
Chicken Alfredo Bake
This Chicken Alfredo Bake is an easy casserole recipe made with pasta, homemade Alfredo sauce and lean chicken breasts. Meal prep and freezer friendly.
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