This chicken alfredo casserole recipe is one of the best pasta dishes! The flavor in this pasta recipe is something you’ll want to experience again and again.
Did you know that chicken alfredo can be eaten in casserole form? Well, now you do! This chicken alfredo casserole recipe is such a delicious version of the classic one we all know and love. This pasta recipe is the perfect thing to make for the friends you are inviting over soon or just for your family for dinner.
Probably you have a similar experience to mine. You discovered chicken fettuccine alfredo at everybody’s favorite local wannabe Italian restaurant, and you fell in love with it. Ya, me too. Little did you know that years later we would all be reading this post for chicken alfredo baked penne together. It’s crazy how similar our lives are 🙃.
This baked alfredo with broccoli is so full of flavor. Just imagine- al dente penne pasta, creamy homemade alfredo sauce, juicy pieces of chicken, just enough vegetables to lighten the dish, creamy homemade alfredo sauce, and, of course, cheese. And did I mention the creamy homemade alfredo sauce?? Ok, I guess I did 😉. This dish is rich and very filling! I promise you will love it.
And if you don’t take my word for it, you can take my husband’s word for it. Here is a direct quote, “Man. I think this is even better than your mac and cheese.” That, coming from him, is pretty serious. I advise you to listen to his wisdom and to make this recipe 🤓.
This post is all about how to make this chicken alfredo casserole recipe.
Ingredients for this Chicken Alfredo Casserole Recipe
- Fresh broccoli- For some reason, broccoli and pasta just go together perfectly. I love this combination.
- Cherry tomatoes- I love the color this adds to a normally pretty colorless dish.
- Chicken breast- The chicken in this recipe is anything but bland. If cooked correctly, it will be a super juicy addition to the pasta.
- Seasoning- You can season the chicken with salt, pepper, paprika (or chili powder if you like it a little spicier), and thyme. For the sauce, you’ll need salt, pepper, chili powder, and nutmeg.
- Pasta- I used penne pasta in this recipe. Technically you can use other types of pasta too, though. You could try fusilli, conchiglie, rotini, or ziti. Anything like these should work.
- Gouda cheese- For this recipe, I used a mixture of standard gouda cheese and an orange and white marbled gouda. This is why my casserole turned out more orange, but if you use only white gouda, expect to see a difference in color.
Ingredients for the Alfredo White Sauce (especially for this chicken alfredo casserole recipe)
- Butter- There’s no way around it. Alfredo sauce always has a lot of butter, and this sauce is no exception. What a nice treat it is.
- Garlic- Garlic is super important to give flavor to your alfredo sauce. Actually, it’s one of the main flavors in alfredo sauce, so don’t be shy about adding the full amount.
- Heavy cream- This makes up most of the liquid part of the sauce. I used 32% fat heavy cream in my version, but anything around that number should work.
- Cream cheese- This helps to thicken the Alfredo sauce.
- Grana Padano cheese- I recommend buying a whole chunk of this and shredding it yourself. Actually, I recommend that for all of my recipes. I never buy pre-shredded cheese unless it’s an emergency. Cheese melts a lot better if it’s grated from a block at home, and it’s really not that hard or time-consuming. P.S. You can shred fresh parmesan if you prefer.
- Fresh oregano- While you can technically use dried oregano, I highly recommend using fresh. There’s no way to up your cooking game quite like using fresh herbs. It’s a super simple hack.
- Lemon juice- I love what lemon juice adds to the Alfredo sauce. Why is lemon juice not more common in Alfredo sauce? This is another super easy way to make the sauce taste a little fancier with almost zero trouble.
How to Make this Chicken Alfredo Casserole Recipe
Step 1
Start by sauteing the fresh chopped broccoli in butter. Let it cook until it’s almost reached the perfect, soft (but nowhere near mushy) texture. About 3 minutes before it’s done, add in the halved cherry tomatoes. Let them cook just a bit until they’re just starting to soften. If the tomatoes are mushy, you’ve cooked them too long. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper.
Step 2
Next, in a large saucepan, melt the butter for cooking the chicken. While it’s melting, season the chicken with salt, pepper, paprika (or chili powder), and thyme. Add the chicken breast into a hot saucepan. It should sizzle when you put it in the pan.
Let the chicken sear on the first side. To do this, make sure not to move the chicken once you put it in the pan. Flip the chicken and do the same for the second side. (Make sure not to let the chicken cook too long and get dry!) Once the chicken is done, take it out of the pan and set it aside. Chop it into bite-sized pieces.
Step 3
In the same pan where the chicken was cooked, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Once the butter has melted, add in the minced garlic. Let it flavor the butter by cooking it for a few minutes until you can smell that it’s making a difference 😂.
Now it’s time to whisk in the heavy cream. Pour it in slowly, a little at a time while whisking. At first, there will be streaks of melted butter through the cream, but it will get smoother after whisking it for a minute. Add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, and chili powder into the sauce.
Step 4
Once the sauce has come together, turn the heat to low and add in the room temperature cream cheese and the shredded grana Padano (or parmesan) cheese. Stir them around occasionally while they melt. Don’t rush this process because it’s better for them to melt slowly. Once they’re melted, add in the fresh chopped oregano and the lemon juice. Make sure everything is mixed together well. The sauce should look like the picture above.
Step 5
While the cheeses are still melting into the sauce, start boiling the water for the pasta in a large pot. Make sure to salt the water generously. This will add a beautiful flavor to the pasta while it’s cooking. Add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook it until it’s al dente, according to the package instructions. Drain the pasta as soon as it’s done.
Step 6
Now it’s time to assemble the casserole. In the large pot where the pasta is, add the pieces of chicken, vegetables, 3 cups of the grated cheese, and the Alfredo sauce. Stir everything together gently. Make sure to do this step somewhat quickly after the pasta is drained, otherwise, the pasta will stick together.
Step 7
Put the pasta mixture into a 9×13 casserole dish. Add the remaining cup and a half of grated cheese on top. Put the casserole into a preheated oven at 350°F for half an hour. If you want the cheese to be slightly crispy on top, turn your oven on broil for the last 3-5 minutes of the time. Take the casserole out and enjoy!
Questions about this Chicken Alfredo Casserole Recipe
What is the best cheese for Alfredo sauce?
While most recipes for Alfredo sauce include parmesan cheese, this recipe calls for grana Padano. While there is technically a difference, it’s not such a huge difference. Parmesan cheese tends to be a little bit stronger, so if you decide to use parmesan cheese for this recipe, I recommend using ¾ of a cup instead of a full cup of grana Padano.
What goes well with chicken Alfredo?
Since this chicken alfredo casserole is a very rich dish, I recommend pairing it with something lighter. I think green beans, a salad, or maybe roasted zucchini would work great!
Why is my cheese clumping in my Alfredo sauce?
While it’s melting, it’s normal for the cheese to be a bit clumpy. Keep stirring and it should get better as it melts. However, if your heat is too high, it can also cause this to happen, and you definitely don’t want this. Make sure you melt the cheese over LOW heat.
Can I store this chicken alfredo casserole recipe?
This casserole will definitely be the best when it’s fresh. You can technically store it in the fridge, but when you reheat it, the sauce is most likely going to split, and you’ll have pools of butter. It’s not the best idea, but it still tastes good if you drain the butter pools away 😂. Just keeping it real here.
If you’re looking for other delicious dinner recipes, look no further.
Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole
Cheesy Mexican Chicken and Rice
Cheesy Crockpot Chicken and Rice Casserole
Chicken Alfredo Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
Vegetables
- 2 tbsp. Butter
- 4 cups Broccoli (fresh and chopped into small, bite-sized pieces)
- 2 cups Cherry tomatoes (halved)
Chicken
- 2 tbsp. Butter
- 2 Chicken large breasts (cut in half, lengthwise)
- Salt
- Pepper
- Thyme
- Paprika (or if you want it a little spicier, chili powder)
Homemade Alfredo Sauce
- 12 tbsp. Butter (I know it sounds like a lot, but this makes a lot of sauce.)
- 6 cloves Garlic (minced)
- 4½ cups Heavy cream
- ¾ tsp. Salt
- ¼ tsp. Pepper
- ¾ tsp. Nutmeg
- ½ tsp. Chili powder
- ¾ cup Cream cheese (room temperature)
- 1 cup Grana Padano cheese (grated at home)
- 1½ tbsp. Fresh oregano (chopped)
- 3 tbsp. Lemon juice
Other
- 5 cups Penne pasta
- 4½ cups Gouda cheese (shredded by you)
Instructions
Vegetables
- Saute the 4 cups of chopped broccoli in butter. Let it cook until it's almost done.(Make sure it's not mushy!) About 3 minutes before it's done, add in the 2 cups of halved cherry tomatoes. Let them cook just a bit until they're just starting to soften. Sprinkle on ½ tsp. of salt and ¼ tsp. of pepper.
Chicken
- Next, in a large saucepan, melt the 2 tbsp. of butter. While it's melting, season the chicken with salt, pepper, paprika (or chili powder), and thyme. It should look like this picture. Add the pieces of chicken breast into a hot saucepan.
- Let the chicken sear on the first side. Flip the chicken and do the same for the second side. Once the chicken is done, take it out of the pan and set it aside. Chop it up into bite sized pieces.
Homemade Alfredo Sauce
- In the same pan where the chicken was cooked, melt 2 more tbsp. of butter over medium-low heat. Once the butter has melted, add in the 6 cloves of minced garlic. Let it cook for a few minutes.
- Slowly whisk in the 4½ cups of heavy cream, a little at a time. Whisk it for a minute until it comes together. Add the ¾ tsp. of salt, ¼ tsp. of pepper, ¾ tsp. of nutmeg, and ½ tsp. of chili powder into the sauce.
- Turn the heat to low and add in the ¾ cup of cream cheese and the 1 cup of grated grana padano cheese. Stir them around occasionally while they melt. Don't rush this process. Once the cheese is melted, add in the fresh chopped oregano and the lemon juice. Mix everything together well. This is what the sauce should look like.
Pasta (You can do this part while the sauce is still cooking.)
- Boil the water for the pasta in a large pot, adding plenty of salt to the water. Add the 5 cups of pasta to the boiling water. Cook it until it's al dente, according to the package instructions. Drain the pasta as soon as it's done.
Casserole Assembly
- In the large pot where the pasta is, add the chopped chicken, vegetables, 3 cups of the grated gouda cheese, and the Alfredo sauce. Stir everything together gently. Make sure to do this step somewhat quickly after the pasta is drained, otherwise the pasta will stick together.
- Put the pasta mixture into a 9×13 casserole dish. Add the remaining 1½ cups of grated gouda on top. Put the casserole into a preheated oven at 350°F for 30 minutes. If you want the cheese to be slightly crispy on top, turn your oven on broil for the last 3-5 minutes of the time. Take the casserole out and let it cool for a few minutes before eating.
- Enjoy!
I hope you enjoy this chicken alfredo casserole recipe! I know I did.