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Tender chicken, pasta and mushrooms in a creamy-cheese and white wine sauce, baked in the oven until golden and bubbling. It’s a rich and comforting family dinner.
“Made this on Sunday. So good it’s made the lamination stage! Thanks Nicky x”
Nicky’s Notes
The ‘sauce-cling’ you get with fusilli and a creamy sauce? Oh my days 😍
I often make tomato-based pasta dishes, but today I felt like sharing a rich and creamy pasta bake.
This one is definitely rich! Pasta smothered in a creamy sauce with a little garlic and a hint of white wine (optional) with parmesan, cheddar AND mozzarella! Not forgetting the shredded chicken (a great way to use up leftover chicken) and lots of lovely mushrooms.
What makes this so good:
- It’s that perfect mix of family comfort and restaurant quality flavours
- Using rotisserie chicken means I don’t have to chop up raw chicken 🥳
- You can make it ahead and refrigerate or freeze – it reheats like a dream!
Table of Contents
📋 Ingredients for Chicken Alfredo
***Full recipe with detailed quantities in the recipe card below***
Pasta
I use Fusilli for this, but you can use any larger-sized pasta you like – such as Spiralli (pasta spirals), Penne (tubes cut on the diagonal), Rigatoni (ribbed pasta tubes, square-cut on the ends) and Farfalle (pasta bows) all work particularly well, with no change in amounts or cooking times.
You can also use Ziti – which is similar to Rigatoni, but a little smaller and not ribbed.
Abbreviated Recipe
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***
Cook pasta and drain. Fry onion, mushrooms, salt, pepper and garlic, add wine and bubble for a few minutes, stir in stock, cream, cooked chicken, parmesan and cooked pasta. Transfer to baking dish, top with cheese and bake until golden.
Recipe Tips
- If you want it a little more saucy, reserve half a cup of the pasta cooking water and stir it in when you add the pasta to the pan with the chicken.
- Don’t fret on the wine – any white wine will be fine. If you don’t want to use wine, add a little more stock and a tablespoon of lemon juice instead.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It🍽️ What to serve it with
- Garlic Bread is always a winner
- A simple salad
- Roasted broccoli or green beans
📺 Watch how to make it
Creamy Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 400 g (14 oz) dried pasta (I used fusilli)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion peeled and finely chopped
- 230 g (1/2 lb) baby chestnut mushrooms sliced in half
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) white wine
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) chicken stock
- 240 ml (1 cup) double (heavy) cream
- 2 cooked skinless chicken breasts roughly chopped or shredded
- 100 g (1 cup) finely grated parmesan
- 50 g (1/2 cup) strong cheddar grated/shredded
- 50 g (1/2 cup) mozzarella cheese grated/shredded
- 1 small bunch of parsley roughly torn
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F (fan). Boil a large pan of water and cook the pasta for 1 minute less than recommended on the pack. Drain.400 g (14 oz) dried pasta
- Whilst the pasta is cooking, heat the oil on a medium heat, in a large frying pan. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens.2 tbsp olive oil, 1 onion
- Add the mushrooms, salt, pepper, and garlic, and cook for a further 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until the mushrooms are tender.230 g (1/2 lb) baby chestnut mushrooms, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 2 cloves garlic
- Add the white wine, turn up the heat to high and allow the wine to bubble for a few minutes until reduced by half, then turn the heat back down to medium.120 ml (1/2 cup) white wine
- Add the chicken stock, cream, shredded chicken, and half of the parmesan and stir together until the cheese melts.120 ml (1/2 cup) chicken stock, 240 ml (1 cup) double (heavy) cream, 2 cooked skinless chicken breasts, 100 g (1 cup) finely grated parmesan
- By now the pasta should be cooked. Add the drained pasta to the pan and stir together until the pasta is coated in the creamy sauce.
- Transfer the contents of the pan to a large baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan and the cheddar and mozzarella on top, then place in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is golden brown.50 g (1/2 cup) strong cheddar, 50 g (1/2 cup) mozzarella cheese
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with parsley before serving.1 small bunch of parsley
Video
Notes
What type of pasta to use:
I use Fusilli for this, but you can use any larger-sized pasta you like – such as Spiralli (pasta spirals), Penne (tubes cut on the diagonal), Rigatoni (ribbed pasta tubes, square-cut on the ends) and Farfalle (pasta bows) all work particularly well, with no change in amounts or cooking times.You can also use Ziti – which is similar to Rigatoni, but a little smaller and not ribbed
Make Ahead
Make ahead up to the point where you have sprinkled the cheese on, then cool, cover with foil and refrigerate for up to a day.Take out of the fridge for an hour before cooking it, to take the chill off the dish (otherwise you mind find you get a cold spot in the middle when baking it).
Keep the foil on and heat in the oven at 190C/375F (fan) for about 10 minutes, then remove the foil and continue to heat for a further 15 minutes, until hot throughout.
Note: the dish will be a little less saucy if you make it ahead, as the pasta will absorb more of the liquid. You can a few tablespoons of stock or hot water before heating the pasta to ensure it’s still saucy if you like.
Will it freeze?
Yes, once cooked:Cool quickly, cover and freeze. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then take out of the fridge for an hour before cooking it. Reheat in the oven (covered in foil) at 190C/375F for about 20-25 minutes until hot throughout.
Add a few tablespoons of stock or hot water when reheating the pasta to ensure it’s still saucy. Nutritional information is per serving (this recipe contains 6 servings)
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was first posted in 2020. Updated since with recipe improvements and for housekeeping reasons.
? Frequently Asked Questions
It’s a very simple white sauce, usually made with butter, cream and parmesan. It’s most commonly seen with the Italian classic – Fettuccine alfredo.
I’m going with a similar flavour profile here, but with some added extras (such as garlic and more cheese!) to make it even more delicious.
Yes! You can make ahead up to the point where you have sprinkled the cheese on, then cool, cover with foil and refrigerate for up to a day.
Take out of the fridge for an hour before cooking it, to take the chill off the dish (otherwise you mind find you get a cold spot in the middle when baking it).
Keep the foil on and heat in the oven at 190C/375F for about 10 minutes, then remove the foil and continue to heat for a further 15 minutes, until hot throughout.
Note: the dish will be a little less saucy if you make it ahead, as the pasta will absorb more of the liquid. You can a few tablespoons of stock or hot water before heating the pasta to ensure it’s still saucy if you like.
🍲 More fantastic Pasta Bakes
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Did 1+1/2 times the recipe as cooking for 8. I found the pasta to be nicely coated in the sauce and the flavour was really good. A great way to use up my leftover turkey! Would certainly cook it again. The whole family commented on how good it was
This could’ve been so much better. It was a very decent start, but as an experienced home cook, I should’ve remembered my instincts and made a roux with the oil and onion mixture before adding the other liquids. Instead of a creamy sauce that coated the pasta, it was kind of a watery mess that fell to the bottom. Flavors were fine though. OK as a base recipe but really needs a lot of work before I would give this five stars. Also the number of pop-up ads and other distractions make this site almost unusable. Probably won’t be back. But appreciate the effort of the author nonetheless. If the site were cleaner and easier to use, I’d reconsider.
Great flavour but did not turn out as creamy as I’d expected. Next time I’ll increase the amount of cream and chicken stock by about another half.
Lovely easy recipe the only thing I changed was I added cajun spice and some smoked sausage and sweetcorn it was delicious thanks for the recipe 😊💖🍽
LOVED it! Was surprised by how good it tasted at first bite.
I’ve already shared it with others.
Thank you for the recipe and for sharing UK measurement conversions for the ingredients!
Really enjoyed this so did the family.
I like all of your pasta bakes that I have made so far, veggie (made this last night – lovely) tuna, beef and chicken. Chicken is my favourite. I have plenty more to work my way through so I’m looking forward to cooking them.
Sorry I’ve not been much help but thank you for your lovely recipes.
Keep safe and well x
Really lovely so tasty and yummy!
This was delicious! The only thing I substituted was the wine for apple cider vinegar and I added TONS more cream as I didn’t want it to be dry. Turned out great 🙂