You can make a cheesy, warm casserole that the whole family will like with ingredients from your cupboard and a few fresh ingredients. It’s not spicy even though it contains RO*TEL and a can of mild green chile peppers; if you prefer the heat, select hot RO*TEL and peppers. Even though this chicken dish from the cupboard reheats wonderfully, I had to keep it a secret or there wouldn’t have been a night two! This simple pantry dinner is finished with a crusty loaf of bread and a green salad.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 40 mins |
| Total Time: | 55 mins |
| Servings: | 10 |
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 1 (16 ounce) package penne pasta
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper – stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
- 1 (8 ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 (8 ounce) packages processed cheese food (such as Velveeta®), cubed
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles (such as RO*TEL®), undrained
- 1 (4 ounce) can mild chopped green chile peppers
- 4 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add penne and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain.
- While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until their liquid is released, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in processed cheese food, diced tomatoes with juice, diced tomatoes and green chiles with juice, and mild chile peppers. Cook and stir until cheese has melted, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cooked pasta and chicken. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake in the preheated oven until heated through, about 20 minutes. Serve warm.
- You may substitute margarine for butter, any shelf-stable processed cheese food for Velveeta, and two (12 1/2-ounce) cans cooked, flaked chicken for leftover chicken.
- You can use two (4-ounce) cans sliced mushrooms instead of fresh mushrooms. Add them when you add the tomatoes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 502 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 42 g |
| Cholesterol | 92 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 30 g |
| Saturated Fat | 12 g |
| Sodium | 949 mg |
| Sugars | 8 g |
| Fat | 24 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I used mild Rotel and cream cheese for the cheese to freeze dry this recipe. Loved the flavor! Will look forward to eating the rest of this in the future!
Followed the recipe pretty close. It was really good, though it makes quite a bit. We ended up freezing half of it and had it later. I think that the reheated one was better than the original.
I halved the recipe and am very happy with the flavor. I used half of a pablano pepper because I do not like bell peppers. I also put about a cup of chicken broth over the top before baking because some said it was a little dry. Mine came out perfect and I will be making this again.
I cut the recipe in half and used sharp cheddar cheese instead of the processed cheese. There’s only two of us, and that’s the cheese I had on hand. The taste was just ok, but the cheese didn’t melt properly in the sauce and globbed together when I added the cold chicken, so we didn’t get that smooth cheesy taste. So, when they emphasize the use of processed cheese, I assume that’s the reason. I think it would have tasted better, too, if I had made the full recipe.
I followed the recipe pretty closely, although I did cut it in half and so used only the Rotel tomatoes. Hubby loved it. It was a bit too cheesy for me, so next time I’ll cut the amount in half. I also cooked the chicken with the onions and peppers and seasoned with taco seasoning. Pretty tasty overall.
Delicious will be making this again for sure
Enjoyed it
i tweekd it a little but made it by chance just bc i had all the ingredients. waxs tasty
Very good. Will decrease amount of pasta next time.
This turned out better than I expected. I followed the recipe as written except for substituting garden rotini in place of plain ziti for extra color. The whole family loved it including the ‘tweener who is quite picky. Next time I plan on doubling the mushrooms and cutting back on the chicken. The sodium content is sky-high so keep that in mind if you’re watching your intake. Will def make again.
Went by the recipe but added a drained can of sliced water chestnuts and used an extra cup of velveeta cheese and a half cup of half and half melted together and poured over the casserole…no leftovers!
I would give this 5 stars for taste, didn’t need to add more heat. But the prep time ((as is often the case) and proportions were off . The prep time says 15 minutes, but I found that was not long enough; perhaps if I had bought sliced mushrooms and cut up the chicken beforehand, it would have saved some time. I also couldn’t fit all that cheese (I used shredded cheddar) or all the pasta in the pot. I sprinkled remaining cheese over top. I also found it on the dry side, so added some vegetable juice. I would recommend only the following changes: use a HUGE sauce pot, cut the pasta down to 12 ounces, and maybe add some liquid. Again, taste was excellent, and everyone loved it. Served with a tossed garden salad which was loaded with vegetables and herbs. I was a filling and satisfying meal. Will probably make again.
PANTRY BEEF CASSEROLE Substituted ground beef for the chicken, delicious!
I made this for Mother’s Day 2021 and it was a hit! I would make it again.
LOVED IT BUT NO GREEN PEPPER, OR ROTTELLE, OR GREEN CHILLES. I USED CHUNKY SALSA 1 MEDIUM JAR INSTEAD. TURNED OUT FANTASTIC. MY WIFE AND NEIGHBORS LOVED IT. I HAD TO MAKE IT AGAIN FOR MY WIFE’S WORK COMPANIONS. SHE IS AN ESSENTIAL WORKER AND THEY LOVED IT FOR MOTHER’S DAY. WILL DEFINITELY HAVE TO MAKE IT AGAIN!! NEXT TIME I’LL TAKE A PHOTO, IT DIDN’T LAST LONG ENOUGH TO TAKE ONE THIS TIME. LOL
This is a very large recipe, so for a family of 4, I would only make half of this recipe. Also I would add cheddar cheese. The Velvety is very bland and it seems to need more of a cheese flavor.
My family loves this recipe. I use spaghetti noodles because that’s what my family likes. Sometimes if I don’t have Rotel, I will sub salsa. Thanks for sharing.
Excellent! I cut the recipe in half. It still required a very large casserole dish! Used green onion, 16 oz container of fresh sliced mushrooms and cut the kernels off two ears of corn and added that. Added paprika. I used shredded Mozzarella cheese, didn’t use near as much as called for. Sprinkled the top with a little bit of italian bread crumbs and some of the Mozzarella. Sauteed chicken breast to use. While they cooled, cooked the pasta and veggies. Used olive oil instead of butter.
The mushrooms seemed like an odd addition to this recipe but they really added flavor. This casserole had just the right amount of spice. Cheesy goodness delight.
Easy and tasty. Made great use of pantry items and leftover roast chicken.
It was a lot of food for a single gal, but I’ll freeze it because it was super yummy and very easy.