Description
A kid-friendly Italian-style baked pasta dish featuring small pastina pasta, tender chicken breast, and a golden-brown Parmesan crust.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta, such as Gnocchetti Napolentani)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
- 1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 14.5-ounce can tomatoes with juice, diced
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 tablespoon butter (plus more for buttering the baking dish)
Instructions
- Preheat: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cook Pasta: Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.
- Sauté Chicken: Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
- Combine: Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Assemble: Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter.
- Bake: Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Notes
Nut free. To ensure a perfectly crispy golden brown crust, ensure you dot the top of the breadcrumbs with small bits of soft butter before baking.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 355 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 650 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 32 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 22 g
- Cholesterol: 60 mg
Keywords: pastina, baked chicken, Italian pasta, kid-friendly, cheesy pasta, dinner