Spinach Artichoke Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound short pasta (I like rigatoni, ziti or penne), uncooked
- 2 cups cubed chicken, already cooked
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup sour cream, full fat, or Greek yogurt
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
- 1/2 cup parmesan, grated
- 10 ounces frozen spinach thawed and drained of water
- 1 can artichokes chopped, 14 oz.
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tsp red pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook pasta according to package instructions until almost al dente ( I cook mine about 1 minute less than directed for al dente).
- While pasta is cooking, combine the sour cream and softened cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl and use an electric beater to mix until smooth and creamy. Add in the heavy cream and mix. Finally, mix in the milk.
- From there, add in chicken, spinach, artichokes, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, parmesan, onion, garlic and seasonings. Stir to combine. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and then add it to an oil sprayed 9×13 inch pan.
- Pour the spinach and artichoke mixture over the pasta and stir to combine and fully coat the pasta. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and bake about 25 minutes, checking at 20 minutes, or until cheese on top is melted and mixture is bubbling. You can broil the last 2 minutes if desired for browned crispy cheese.
- Cool for about 5-10 minutes before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.
Notes
Make sure to cook the pasta al dente, or just under that. This will keep the pasta from becoming too mushy when baking. And no one wants that! This chicken, spinach and artichoke pasta casserole is even better the next day as well if you make sure to cook the pasta under just so slightly.
Use full fat dairy. It is possible for dairy that is lower in fat to curdle up a bit when baking. While it is still edible, it certainly is not as appetizing. Evaporated milk can be subbed in for the whole milk too in order to make the pasta the creamiest.
Make this recipe gluten free. Use your favorite gluten free pasta and cook as directed as well and then add it into the recipe.
Freshly shredded cheese works best. If you use pre-shredded cheese, it won’t melt quite as well as freshly shredded due to the cellulose added to the package.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!