Chicken Penne Casserole
This is my family’s favorite casserole recipe. I make it every week or two and we never tire of it. I like that I can clean my kitchen and then relax while it bakes. It won’t disappoint! —Carmen Vanosch, Vernon, British Columbia
Reviews
This is a delicious casserole! It does take some prep work before baking, but well worth it. We found it to be dry the first time, so we like to double the sauce.
Pretty good. I followed this recipe, except for the salt and red pepper flakes. The chicken was tender and had lots of flavor.
By substituting eggplant, zucchini and/or mushrooms for the chicken, this could be a very good vegetarian casserole. You could also use any or all of those ingredients to "bump" up the dish, if you like those ingredients. As one previous reviewer mentioned, I love that the recipe is versatile enough to accommodate variations to the family's tastes.
To the commentor who used Parmesan because they didn't have Romano: those two cheeses are pretty much interchangeable.
Looks fabulous. Can’t wait to try it.
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I really want to try this recipe but I live in a very hot climate and don't want to turn on my oven. Has anyone tried making it in a crock pot?
Excellent recipe, everyone loved it. The sauce would be great with any pasta. I am going to make a lasagna today using the sauce.
This did not take as long to make as I thought it would. I did do a few short cuts though. I didn't blend the tomatoes and it turned out just fine. I only simmered the chicken mixture 10 minutes and only left the dish in the oven for 10 minutes after uncovering. It still was delicious. Ground beef or sausage could easily replace the chicken. I'm not a big fan of chicken in red sauces but most dishes of this kind use beef or sausage so the chicken was a nice change of pace. The chicken could even be shredded or cut very small so it's not as noticeable. This could easily be prepared ahead of time for a busy next day. Prepare the chicken mixture and refrigerate since it's the step that takes the longest or prepare the entire dish and bake it the next day. We are a family of 5 and so there is only a few small servings left over. Next time I may double it and bake it in a 9x13 pan instead of an 8x8.
Made this for my family of picky eaters. I read previous comments as well prior to making. Yes it does take some prep time as people have statdd. Also, scared for it to be "bland" as I knew I'd be leaving out salt to accommodate sodium-restricted family members, I took the advice of doubling up the other spices. I used mozzarella, provalone and parmesan for the cheeses. This was a HUGE hit with everyone and I love that it seems like this recipe could leave room for a lot of little personal tweaks and substitutions if one so chose to implement any. Definitely committing this to the recipe book!