Baked Cheesy Chicken Pasta

This recipe is great because it uses things that we always have in our cupboard and is pretty dang foolproof. I mean, honestly, you can’t go wrong with chicken, pasta and cheese! It was quite easy and pretty efficient on time too!

Baked Cheesy Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp butter
Salt & pepper
1/2 lb. pasta (rotini, penne, rigatoni, bowties- whatever you’d like)
1 tsp olive oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c. + 1 Tbsp. flour
3 cloves minced garlic
3 c. milk
3/4 c. shredded cheese (I used a provolone/mozzarella mix)
3/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Boil pasta until al dente- about 3 minutes under recommended time. Set aside.
While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Season chicken with salt & pepper and cook until no longer pink inside. Remove from pan and thinly slice. Set aside.
In a medium pot or dutch oven, melt butter and add flour and garlic. Whisk together and cook for about 1 minute (you are creating roux- the thickener for your cheese sauce).
Gradually add milk while whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer and whisk frequently while sauce thickens. It may take a few minutes to thicken, just keep whisking!
Remove pot from heat and gradually stir in cheeses.
Add chicken and pasta to pot. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
Pour mixture into a greased baking dish.
Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes or until top is golden and bubbling. Let stand for a few minutes before serving.