Baked Ziti With Chicken at Home

Creamy, cheesy Baked Ziti with Chicken is packed with pasta, peppers, seasoned chicken, and melty Provolone—like a chicken cheesesteak in pasta form.

If you’re craving a tomato-based sauce, try my original Baked Ziti recipe!

Baked Ziti With Chicken

This recipe is slightly adapted from Lauren Grier’s cookbook, Modern Comfort Food. When you want satisfying, hearty comfort food without using canned soup, this book is reliable! Lauren’s Baked Ziti with Chicken is amazing—ultimate comfort food that still tastes fresh.

This casserole is incredibly satisfying—cheesy, flavorful, and has a great mix of textures. If you like Philly cheesesteak with chicken, you’ll recognize those flavors in this dish.

Quick Tip

A few of our other favorite comfort-food meals to put on your list to try next: Sausage Rigatoni, Creamy Beef and Shells, or Chicken Divan.

Baked Ziti With Chicken and Vegetables

There are four components to this recipe: 1. vegetables, 2. chicken, 3. pasta, and 4. the cheesy cream sauce.

The pasta is boiled in a separate pot, but we then cook the vegetables, chicken, and sauce all in the same pan at different times. By cooking each component in the same pan, we’re building and layering flavors, which will enhance the final dish. When the chicken gets removed from the pot, make sure to leave behind all those lovely browned bits. Those will get whisked into the sauce to add an incredible depth of flavor to the final dish.

How To Make Baked Ziti With Chicken

1. Boil pasta in salted water so the pasta is seasoned and the dish does not taste flat.
2. Sauté veggies until nicely charred. Use a hot burner and stir occasionally.
3. Cook chicken. Slice chicken in half widthwise so the thinner pieces cook faster.
4. Make the cream sauce in the same pan. Whisk butter and flour, then add milk and cheese. It is ready when it coats the back of a spoon and you can draw a line through it that holds.

Baked Ziti With Chicken Recipe Tips

• Use ultra-thin sliced Provolone cheese. We’ve tried this recipe with regular Provolone slices and the thin slices. With the thicker slices, the cheese is a bit overwhelming and tends to take over. Use these ultra-thin slices for best results! And if you can’t find them, we’d recommend topping the casserole with freshly grated Parmesan cheese instead.
• Don’t use pre-shredded cheese in the cream sauce. Pre-shredded packaged cheese has a cellulose coating that keeps it from melting as smoothly. It tends to make the sauce overly gummy.
• Under-boil the ziti. Since we’ll bake the ziti after it’s been cooked, make sure to drain it 1 minute before the package suggests for al dente. This way, as it bakes it will end up evenly tender instead of perhaps mushy.
• Season at every step. Seasoning is very important for this dish and we want to season as we cook (while also keeping in mind that the cheese adds more saltiness to the dish as a whole). You can salt the pasta water as the ziti cooks (thus seasoning the ziti), seasoning the vegetables, seasoning the chicken, and seasoning the cream sauce. Taste all the elements as you cook and add a dash more if any of the flavors seem flat.

More Comfort Food Favorites:

Dinner

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

Breakfast

Biscuits and Gravy

Dinner

Meatballs and Orzo (ONE Pot!)

Dinner

Olive Garden Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked ziti pasta (or rigatoni pasta, 3 cups)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup thinly sliced yellow onion
• 1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper
• 1 cup thinly sliced green pepper
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 pound, thinly-sliced in half widthwise)
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 (7.6-ounce) package ultra-thin sliced provolone cheese (divided, see note 1)
• Chopped fresh parsley (skippable)

Method

1. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and keep nearby. Heat oven to 400°F.
2. Fill a large pot with water, bring to a boil, and add 2 teaspoons salt. Add pasta and cook per package instructions, minus 1 minute. Strain pasta and move to the prepared baking dish.
3. Melt butter in a large nonstick pan over medium-a hot burner. Add onion, red and green peppers, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Sauté for 7–10 minutes until softened and golden brown. Remove from heat, mix in red wine vinegar, and pour the mixture over the pasta.
4. Cut chicken breasts in half widthwise to create 4 thinner filets. Gently pound each piece to even out thickness. Season both sides with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper each, and divide 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning evenly over pieces.
5. In the same pan, heat oil over a hot burner. Add chicken in a single layer and cook for 3–4 minutes per side until cooked through (160°F internal temperature). move to a plate, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Chop chicken and add it to the peppers and onions. Do not rinse the pan!
6. Return the pan to a medium burner and add butter. Once melted, whisk in flour and cook 1 minute, scraping up any browned bits. Gradually whisk in milk and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Remove from heat and mix in provolone until partially melted. Pour the sauce over chicken, peppers, and pasta. Gently stir until everything is well coated and combined.
7. Smooth the top in an even layer, then add provolone slices or Parmesan (see note 1). Place dish in oven, uncovered, and bake about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown. Remove from oven, finish with fresh chopped parsley if desired, and enjoy promptly!