Make this easy Chicken Parmesan Casserole with homemade breaded chicken, chicken tenders, or with leftover rotisserie chicken! Add in some pasta and lots of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese!
Best of all, you can make this casserole 2 days ahead of time!
Chicken Parmesan Casserole
When you combine super crispy breaded chicken with rigatoni, warm marinara sauce, and loads of hot melted mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, good things happen.
Want to hear my 3 favorite things about this casserole recipe?
- You can make it up to 2 days ahead of time. Score!
- It’s a great way to use up leftover breaded chicken.
- You can use frozen chicken tenders for an amazing shortcut.
Personally, I like to use fresh chicken and bread it myself.
I know that can be a process, so I tend to bread a ton of chicken all at once and freeze it for future meals. Breaded chicken (before or after baking/frying), freezes super well.
Ingredients
See recipe card at the bottom of post for full ingredient amounts and instructions
- Rigatoni Pasta: You can also use penne pasta.
- Marinara Sauce: Try my homemade marinara recipe!
- Mozzarella Cheese: For best results, shred a block of low moisture mozzarella. It melts the best and tastes the freshest.
- Parmesan Cheese: Finely grated into a powder from a block. (For best results.)
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Flour
- Seasoned Salt
- Eggs
- Italian Breadcrumbs: Preferably homemade
- Vegetable Oil
- Butter: Gives the chicken a golden color
- Fresh Parsley: To garnish.
How to Make it
Boil the Rigatoni.
Cook the rigatoni for 1 minute less than the al dente point. Drain.
Prepare the Chicken.
Slice the chicken breast into thinner strips. Season it and coat it in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs. Fry it until golden brown. Slice into bite-sized pieces.
Assemble the Casserole.
Combine the rigatoni and marinara sauce. Pour half into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Top with half of the chicken and cheese.
Add the rest of the rigatoni. Top with remaining chicken and cheese.
Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. If you prefer a browner, crisper top, increase heat to 425 and bake for about 5 more minutes.
Shortcuts:
Use Frozen Chicken Tenders:
- Frozen chicken tenders are a great way to make this recipe in a short amount of time.
- Let them sit out at room temperature for about 5 minutes and carefully slice them into smaller strips prior to adding to the casserole.
- No modifications to the baking temperature or cooking time should be required.
Use Leftover Rotisserie Chicken:
- This recipe is a perfect way to use up leftover rotisserie chicken and cut out the time it takes to bread the chicken cutlets.
- To add some crunch, combine 1 cup of breadcrumbs with 1/3 cup melted butter. Sprinkle it over the top of the casserole and bake at 375° F for the last 10 minutes of baking.
PRO Tips For Chicken Parmesan Casserole
- I like to use my own homemade breadcrumbs when I bread chicken.
- I also prefer to bread large quantities of chicken at once and freeze it for easy weekday chicken Parmesan.
- Rao’s marinara sauce is superb with this casserole and is worth the cost.
Make-Ahead Method
- This casserole can be assembled up to 2 days ahead of time.
- Before baking, let it sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Cover and bake at 375°F for 15 minutes. Remove cover and bake for 25 more minutes.
Storage
Refrigerating:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Freezing:
- This pasta freezes well and reheats best if defrosted in the fridge overnight prior to microwaving or baking.
- You may want to spoon additional sauce on it before reheating to prevent the pasta from becoming dry.
Chicken Parmesan & Pasta Casserole Recipe
Make this easy Chicken Parmesan Casserole with homemade crispy chicken, frozen chicken tenders, or with leftover rotisserie chicken! Add in some pasta and lots of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese!
Ingredients
- ¾ pound rigatoni pasta
- 32 oz. marinara sauce
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese shredded & separated
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
- 2 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ¾ cup flour
- 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ cups Italian breadcrumbs
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- Fresh Parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Tip: Bread the chicken while you wait for your pasta water to boil and for the pasta to cook.
Prepare the Pasta
- Boil water and cook the rigatoni for 1 minute less than al dente- (Refer to package for cooking time).
- When the pasta is ready, drain it add it back to the pot. Toss with 32 oz. of sauce, 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of the mozzarella. Set aside.
Prepare the chicken
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and cut into strips about ½ inch thick.
- Create an assembly line for breading the chicken:
- Bowl #1: 3/4 cup flour + 2 tsp seasoned salt + 1/4 tsp pepper.
- Bowl #2: 2 whisked eggs.
- Bowl #3: 1.5 cups breadcrumbs
- Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, then briefly in the whisked eggs, then smother them in the breadcrumb mixture until completely covered. Use your palms to gently flatten the chicken a little bit more once it’s coated in the breadcrumbs.
- Add ¼ inch of oil to a pan along with the butter, which helps give the chicken a golden color. Turn to medium-high heat.
- Once the pan is heated, use kitchen tongs to carefully lower the chicken into the oil, you’ll need to cook the strips in batches. Cook for about 4 minutes per side, until golden brown. You may need to add more oil as the chicken cooks.
- Place the cooked strips on a paper towel lined plate. The paper towels absorb the excess oil, leaving you with crispier chicken.
- Slice the strips into smaller bite-sized pieces.
Assemble the Casserole and Bake
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Add half of the rigatoni/sauce mixture. Top with half of the chicken strips, 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Add the remaining rigatoni. Add the chicken strips and the remaining Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. If you prefer a browner, crisper top, increase heat to 425 and bake for about 5 more minutes.
- Garnish with fresh parsley. Serve with Garlic Bread with Cheese!
Notes
Storage:
Using Frozen Chicken Tenders
Nutritional information shared is an estimate and is based on the ingredients in the recipe card. The information provided is per serving, there are 5 servings in this recipe. Nutrition :
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- This pasta also freezes well and reheats best if defrosted in the fridge overnight prior to microwaving or baking.
- You may want to spoon additional sauce on it before reheating to prevent the pasta from becoming dry.
- This casserole can be assembled up to 2 days ahead of time.
- Before baking, let it sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Cover and bake at 375°F for 15 minutes. Remove cover and bake for 25 more minutes.
Using Frozen Chicken Tenders
- Frozen chicken tenders are a great way to make this recipe in a short amount of time.
- Let them sit out at room temperature for about 5 minutes and carefully slice them into smaller strips prior to adding to the casserole.
- No modifications to the baking temperature or cooking time should be required.
- This recipe is a perfect way to use up leftover rotisserie chicken and cut out the time it takes to bread the chicken cutlets.
- To add some crunch, combine 1 cup of breadcrumbs with 1/3 cup melted butter. Sprinkle it over the top of the casserole and bake at 375° F for the last 10 minutes of baking.
- Low-moisture, whole milk mozzarella shredded from a block will melt the best in this recipe!
Nutritional information shared is an estimate and is based on the ingredients in the recipe card. The information provided is per serving, there are 5 servings in this recipe. Nutrition :