Recipe Background
Chicken Parmesan Pasta Casserole! Get hyped up! Get excited! It's pan-fried, golden-brown chicken and tender pasta and rich marinara sauce and melty cheese! This is the good stuff! This is why we all look forward to dinner! This is the kind of meal where seconds aren't only welcome but expected! This is Chicken Parmesan Pasta Casserole! The party is only just beginning!
Chicken Parmesan Pasta Casserole! Get hyped up! Get excited! It's pan-fried, golden-brown chicken and tender pasta and rich marinara sauce and melty cheese! This is the good stuff! This is why we all look forward to dinner! This is the kind of meal where seconds aren't only welcome but expected! This is Chicken Parmesan Pasta Casserole! The party is only just beginning!
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound rigatoni pasta
- 1 (32-ounce) jar marinara sauce
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese finely grated, divided
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese shredded, divided
- 2 small chicken breasts boneless and skinless
- 3/4 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups Italian breadcrumbs
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons butter
- fresh parsley to taste, for garnish
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Lightly grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish.
- Cook the rigatoni in boiling water for 1 minute less than needed for al dente according to the package directions.
- Drain the pasta and add it back to the pot.
- Toss the pasta with the marinara, 1/3 of the parmesan, and 1 cup of the mozzarella.
- Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel and cut them into 1/2-inch-thick strips.
- Add the flour, the seasoned salt, and the pepper to a shallow bowl.
- Whisk the eggs in a second shallow bowl.
- Add the breadcrumbs to a third shallow bowl.
- Dredge the chicken strips in the flour mixture, then in the whisked eggs, and then in the breadcrumb mixture until they are completely covered.
- Add the vegetable oil and the butter to a pan and heat over medium-high heat.
- In batches, carefully add the chicken strips to the hot oil and cook until they are golden-brown and their internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, about 4 minutes per side.
- Continue the pan-frying until all the chicken strips are cooked, adding more oil as needed.
- Place the chicken strips on a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.
- Slice the strips into smaller bite-size pieces.
- Add 1/2 of the rigatoni and the sauce mixture to the prepared casserole dish.
- Add 1/2 of the chicken pieces on top of the sauce, then top with 1/3 of the parmesan and 1 cup of the mozzarella.
- Repeat the layers ending with the remaining cheese.
- Bake the casserole, uncovered, until the pasta reaches al dente and the cheese has melted, about 25 minutes.
- Garnish the casserole with the parsley and serve.
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