When trying to get dinner on the table, everyone dreams of effortlessly pulling together something that’s both healthy and ready at warp-speed. Well, you can stop searching, the answer is right here. This delicious chicken bake–a mixture of breast meat with tons of vegetables–can be assembled directly in the baking dish (no additional bowls or equipment required). From there, just slide it into the oven and bake until the chicken is juicy and the pasta and veggies are perfectly tender. There’s a sprinkle of cheese because healthy doesn’t mean boring, but feel free to leave it out.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 10 min |
| Active: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 8 ounces plum tomatoes, halved and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 cup dry ditalini
- 3 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons onion powder
- 2 bell peppers, any color, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 red onion, halved and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 zucchini, halved and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2/3 cup low-sodium chicken stock
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella (about 6 ounces)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Toss together the chicken, tomatoes, ditalini, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, olive oil, onion powder, bell peppers, onion, zucchini and 2 teaspoons each salt and pepper in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish until evenly combined.
- Pour the chicken broth over everything and cover tightly with foil. Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the pasta is al dente, about 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle with the mozzarella and return to the oven until the cheese is melted and just starting to brown, about 10 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 437 |
| Total Fat | 15 grams |
| Saturated Fat | 5 grams |
| Cholesterol | 125 milligrams |
| Sodium | 653 milligrams |
| Carbohydrates | 29 grams |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 grams |
| Protein | 46 grams |
Reviews
I loved that this recipe has lots of vegetables. As a typical American, I find myself normally lacking in consumption of them. The browning of the mozzarella cheese during the last 10 minutes was perfection. Make sure to keep the chicken in big enough chunks so it doesn’t get overcooked.
I made this ahead. Sliced everything and threw it in a bag with an Italian dressing marinade. I didn’t have that kind of pasta but I did have orzo. Only took a half hour. It was good. We will make it again
A little salty for my taste as listed but overall flavor and ease make this a winner. I also only used 1 pepper
Needs work!! The concept is on point! I can add this into my meal prep routine because you can keep in the fridge and add the broth right before cooking. This was blah and needs pizzazz. Also the pasta was undercooked. I love the spice amount but it needs salt. Here’s what I’m doing next time: 1. Cube chicken, season it with s&p and brown it until partially cooked and set aside. 2: par cook the pasta in salty water. 3: take everything and toss into the baking dish. I’ll keep some of that pasta water (2/3 cup), flavor it with chicken bouillon and add to the mix. Toss and add the cheese then. Also add Parmesan. Bake covered, then add more cheese at the end and get that brown and bubbly. I’d use a low fat melty cheese to keep it healthy. That’s how I would do it. At least try, if that doesn’t work, I’ll toss it out of my Saves.
I made this and my family was not impressed, but they aren’t huge veggie fans. I can usually get veggies into a meal if its flavorful, but I found, even with all of the spices, it tasted bland. My husband added hot sauce to his. Pasta was not cooked completely, and I even added a full cup of broth and cooked longer….which led to dryer chicken. I like the idea, but will tweak it by adding more broth, and cutting things into smaller pieces and adding broccoli and using the correct pasta (I subbed with what I had on hand) or orzo. I did use 2 cups of mozzarella, because you can never go wrong with cheese!
I made this recipe last night with no changes. I found the amount of Italian seasoning to be too much. The chicken was dry and some of the pasta was undercooked. Overall, I thought its taste was pretty one-note, and it needed more salt even though it’s a healthy recipe. I think some of the reviewers’ suggestions may make this recipe better, but I don’t think I’ll be making it again.
Made this last night. Found it okay, very bland. If I make again, I would make these changes. 1. Use DARK MEAT!!! Why in God’s name would you use breast meat? It was so dry and overcooked, it was disappointing. Dark meat is the way to go for absolutely sure. 2. Needs more flavor. Fresh herbs like thyme and especially basil would be good. Could also use other vegetables, like maybe fennel. 3. Needs red pepper flakes. 4. Throw in some whole cloves of real garlic! 5. Some of my pasta was a little crunchy, not bad but I would pre-cook the pasta and throw it in right before I put the mozzarella on. Side note: I notice a few of the reviews here complain about too many spices. I totally disagree. I did cut back the kosher salt to about 1 1/3 teaspoons because of the complaints here but that was a mistake. Needed more salt — or maybe substitute some parmesan cheese to reach desired salty-ness.
We thought this recipe was pretty good. I cut the spices in half. And I would recommend putting the pasta in first so that it cooks evenly being in the broth. Mix all the ingredients separately and put on top of the pasta.
Can you add heavy cream along with broth?
I made this last night according to the recipe. It was a bit on the bland side, but that’s easily adjustable. The zucchini turned out to be mushy and the dish a bit liquid-y. My suggestion is to NOT use pre-shredded mozzarella cheese (too dry), but instead top the dish with fresh mozzarella or any other melty cheese. Will make again with these modifications–fresh melty cheese, red pepper flakes, no zucchini.