There is a new player in town that is just as quick and better than a boxed dish, so move over Hamburger Helper! I use tomato powder, which is less messy than tomato paste (but tomato paste is also acceptable). Regular sour cream has a tendency to curdle, so I do not recommend it. Add more cheese and crema for garnish.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 40 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) package penne pasta
- 3 large egg whites, lightly beaten
- 3 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- 2 (16 ounce) jars Alfredo sauce
- 2 (14.5 ounce) cans Italian-style diced tomatoes
- 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 1 (8 ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1 (8 ounce) package fresh spinach
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Cook penne in boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain.
- Meanwhile, add beaten egg whites to a shallow bowl. Place 2 cups Parmesan cheese into a second shallow bowl.
- Dip chicken into egg whites. Press chicken into Parmesan cheese to coat both sides. Gently toss between your hands, so excess cheese falls away. Place coated chicken on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake chicken in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 18 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
- Meanwhile, heat Alfredo sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and red pepper flakes in a large saucepan over low heat. Allow sauce to simmer while you finish the remaining steps.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; cook and stir mushrooms and spinach in the hot skillet until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir vegetables into sauce.
- Place cooked penne into a serving bowl; slice chicken into small pieces and arrange over pasta. Pour sauce over pasta and chicken. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup Parmesan cheese.
- The nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of Parmesan cheese. The actual amount of Parmesan cheese consumed will vary.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 1024 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 74 g |
| Cholesterol | 141 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 g |
| Protein | 55 g |
| Saturated Fat | 25 g |
| Sodium | 2569 mg |
| Sugars | 13 g |
| Fat | 60 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
By far our favorite dinner! We use heavy cream instead of Alfredo sauce and we always add way more spinach and mushrooms than the recipe calls for since they shrivel and shrink while in the pan. We did about 4 cups of mushrooms (2 packages) and at least 7 big handfuls of spinach (half of the costco size bag— roughly 20 oz) We had actually just ran out of penne when making this recipe for the 15th (or so) time and used cellentani and it was still delicious!
I seasoned the chicken before dipping it in the egg but it came out so good, next time I just won’t make so much!
The Rosa sauce is quite good, I added some salt-pepper-garlic to enhance the flavor but the combination of a good Alfredo (I made from scratch) and the simple ingredients plus the veggies…very nice. I hated the chicken. My family liked it OK (not loved, just liked) but to me it was far too bland. The cheese imparts a decent flavor and it’s saltiness, but it’s one-dimensional. Perhaps that was the plan for the chicken to be that simple since the sauce has a bit more complexity to it? It’s definitely good, I will likely make it again but require some tweaks.
Pretty close to the real thing but needs more spice in the sauce next time. Also, two full jars of alfredo seems like overkill – recipe makes way too much sauce. Otherwise, not bad and not difficult. I live in an area where I no longer have Noodles & Co so this hits the spot when the cravings set in.
Excellent! I switched it up just a bit by taking out the mushrooms and spinach (family not a fan) and added a side of green beans. So very good and simple.
My family really liked this recipe and I appreciated how easy it was to prep by using a jar of Alfredo. I did marinate the chicken for a few hours ahead of time and pounded it so it would cook more evenly.
Really delicious! The only thing I changed was that I substituted the parmesan for asiago (much cheaper with similar flavor profile) and added a full tsp of red pepper flakes. This recipe made A LOT more sauce then what was necessary though. I recommend either doubling the pasta or halving the sauce.
Great dish did the chicken as instructed i only added garlic salt before and after the egg dip. And instead of the tomatoes spinach and red flakes i added bacon. Turned it into a Chicken Alfredo with Parmesan Chicken ??
We will be making it again. It was delicious! Made some alterations to this to keep cost down and save time. Did not coat chicken in egg whites and parmesan cheese. Just lightly sprinkled it with parmesan cheese and baked in oven. Did not buy parmesan cheese to grate, just used the Kraft stuff and added to our own serving not the whole dish. Added a pinch of onion powder, thyme, oregano, and basil. I think we added more mushrooms and chicken than recipe called for. And used bowtie noodles bc we didn’t have penne.
This recipe was a perfect, spring of the moment dish to put together for my company. Instead of jarred Alfredo I used heavy cream, a touch of chicken broth, and homemade tomato sauce with flour to thicken up the sauce. I substituted cauliflower, 3 tomatoes, 1 jalapeño and haberno instead of mushrooms. Also used bread crumbs and parmesean for the baked chicken! With following those tweaks, it was delicious! a little note- I fried up zuchinni and made a fruit salad to pair!
this was so tasty and very easy…substituted shrimp for the chicken…yummy! Makes enough to feed 6!
I love this recipe! The only thing I did differently is I fried the chicken very lightly before placing it to bake. By doing so, it helped the cheese stick to the chicken and it gave the outer layer of the chicken a nice texture and color.
Best Penne Rose I’ve ever eaten. It does make a lot, so I froze the remaining sauce to use later!
So good! We love this sauce!
While this dish was very tasty, it wasn’t what I was looking for. It didn’t taste like Noodle & Co’s penne rosa, but was still tasty nonetheless. Also, this recipe as written is enough for more than 10 ppl. I halved it and still managed to have 5-6 servings.
New family favorite!
My whole family loves this. My kids ate two bowls. I followed recipe exactly. Will definitely be a regular meal at our house.
I made the recipe exactly as it was written, and I thought it was very good! Just a warning, this recipe could feed an army!! 4 of us ate and there is easily enough leftover for 2 more meals. Not a bad thing, I just wasn’t prepared for that.
Very tasty and easy! Took another reader’s suggestion and made homemade alfredo (super easy) and added red pepper with the mushrooms and spinach. Did not have any eggs, so I dipped the chicken breasts in mayo, then the parm cheese. Everyone loved it! Nice bit of spice! Will def make again!
This is absolutely amazing! Italian restaurant taste without the cost! I put basil and oregano in the mix since I had plain diced tomatoes on hand. To make it healthier, I did two cans of tomato sauce with spices added and 1 jar of light alfredo sauce. It tastes just as good and is more than half the calories! I also added minced garlic and did not add parmesan cheese in the sauce. I just sprinkled a little bit of cheese on top onto an individual serving.
Made it for the 22 of us at Engine 42’s firehouse in downtown Chicago. It’s hard to get all 22 on the same page when it comes to food but this one was a hit!