Three Cheese Chicken Pasta Bake

Happy Tuesday, y’all! How’s everyone adjusting to the time change so far? My coffee intake has definitely increased the past few days haha! Even though it’s hard to adjust to at first, I love when we spring ahead. Getting off work at 5 and having sunlight for two more hours is sooo nice! 

Anyways, on Saturday I shared this dish with y’all on my Insta stories, and I got some feedback that y’all were interested in the recipe. It’s seriously SO good, so I wanted to make sure you got to try it! It’s extremely quick and easy to make (if you remember all the ingredients… unlike me haha! *face-palm*), and it’s a pretty cheap dish that could last all week. 

I originally found the three cheese chicken pasta bake recipe here, but I tweaked it a little bit. The batch I made fits in a typical casserole dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag Trader Joe’s organic Italian capunti pasta 
• 3 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
• 3 basil leaves
• 1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes
• 1 jar (14 oz.) Ragu chunky tomato garlic & onion spaghetti sauce
• 2 oz. Philadelphia neufchâtel (1/3 fat) cheese, cubed
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese, separated
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tbs. olive oil
• 1 loaf french bread (served on the side)
• garlic salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cook pasta as directed.
3. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large cast iron skillet. Once oil is hot, add & cook chicken breasts on medium-high heat for ~5 min. each side. Once chicken is fully cooked, stir in diced tomatoes, pasta sauce, and basil leaves; bring to a boil. Add neufchâtel cheese and cook until completely melted. Pull apart chicken into bitesized pieces now if desired.
4. Drain pasta; return to pan. Stir in chicken mixture and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Spoon into casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray.
5. Bake 20 min; top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Bake 3 min. or until mozzarella is melted. 
6. Slice french baguette, butter and top with garlic salt. Place on bottom rack for 5 min.
7. Enjoy!

This dish also makes great leftovers for lunch or dinner the next week! #mealprep

Thanks so much for reading!