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This Chicken Alfredo Baked Ziti recipe is made with a lightened-up alfredo sauce, it’s easy to customize with extra veggies and seasonings, and it is always so comforting and delicious.
This time of year, when everyone seems to be craving warm pasta dinners around the table on chilly winter nights, this chicken alfredo baked ziti recipe always goes viral here on the blog. And this time of year, when I make a batch for myself, I’m always reminded how unbeatable this Italian casserole will always be. I mean, creamy alfredo sauce, savory chicken, hearty pasta, two delicious kinds of melty cheese — what’s not to love?! There’s a reason why this one will always be a classic.
That said, while this recipe already features my lightened-up alfredo sauce recipe, there are all sorts of other ways you can make this comfort food a bit healthier if you’d like. From subbing in whole wheat pasta (this one is my go-to), to adding in your choice of veggies (we’re quite partial to broccoli in our house), to making it all gluten-free if you’d like (easy to do with a few simple tweaks), options to customize this casserole abound. And bonus, it can be ready to serve a big crowd in less than 45 minutes.
Who’s ready for a helping?
My original photo for this recipe from 2014.
Chicken Alfredo Baked Ziti Ingredients:
To make this Chicken Alfredo Baked Ziti recipe, you will need:
Pasta: Feel free to use any shape (ziti, penne, fettuccine, etc.) and variety (classic, whole-wheat, gluten-free, etc.) of pasta that you prefer.
Shredded, cooked chicken: I either shred a rotisserie chicken, or use leftovers from this baked chicken breasts recipe.
Shredded mozzarella cheese: Feel free to use part-skim or full-fat.
Alfredo sauce: We will use my lightened-up alfredo sauce recipe, made simply with olive oil (or butter), garlic, flour, chicken stock, low-fat milk, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Also, this recipe is not naturally very saucy. So if you would like, many of our readers recommend doubling the sauce.
Toppings: Freshly-grated Parmesan is a must, in my book. And feel free to sprinkle on some chopped parsley for extra freshness and flavor.
Also, see below for suggestions on other delicious ingredients you can add in to this easy baked ziti. (Here’s lookin’ at you, broccoli and Cajun seasoning. ♡)
How To Make Chicken Alfredo Baked Ziti:
Alright, let’s talk about how to make baked ziti! Simply…
Prepare the alfredo sauce. To make the alfredo recipe, just sauté some garlic in olive oil (or butter). Stir in some flour to thicken, add stock and milk and bring to a simmer. Then stir in the Parmesan, season with salt and pepper, and you’re ready to go!
Cook the pasta (and chicken). Meanwhile, do some multi-tasking and cook your pasta according to package instructions in a large pot of generously-salted water. Also, if you are cooking your chicken from scratch (vs. using leftovers or shredding a rotisserie), go ahead and cook it while the pasta and sauce are being prepared.
Layer everything together. Once your pasta, sauce, and chicken are all ready to go, it’s time to combine everything! In your pasta pot, stir together the pasta, alfredo sauce and chicken until combined. Then spread half of the pasta mixture out evenly in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle on half of the mozzarella. And repeat with the remaining pasta mixture, and remaining half of the mozzarella.
Bake. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake (uncovered) for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted and has started to brown a bit on top.
Add toppings. Remove and sprinkle with lots of freshly-grated Parmesan and finely-chopped fresh parsley, if desired.
Serve. Then dish it up while it’s still nice and warm, and enjoy!
Possible Variations:
There are so many ways to customize this chicken alfredo bake! For example, feel free to…
Add in veggies. Broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, cauliflower, and any number of other veggies would be delicious added to this chicken alfredo recipe. Just note that they won’t get cooked much during the 20 minutes of baking time. So if whatever veggies you add require a longer cooking time, feel free to toss them into the boiling water with the pasta for a few minutes or sauté (or roast) them for a few minutes before adding them to the casserole.
Add in extra Italian herbs. If you would like an herbier chicken alfredo pasta, feel free to add some dried Italian seasoning or chopped fresh Italian herbs into the alfredo sauce. (Or, you can also sprinkle some chopped fresh basil on top of the pasta after baking.)
Nix the protein. Not into chicken? Feel free to use shrimp in this recipe instead. (Or make it vegetarian and add in some extra veggies instead.)
Make it spicy. I really love sprinkling lots of crushed red pepper into (and on top of) this casserole to give it a bit of a kick.
Make it cajun. To give this recipe a Cajun twist, feel free to stir 1-2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning (to taste) into the alfredo sauce.
This Chicken Alfredo Baked Ziti recipe is made with a lightened-up alfredo sauce, and is always so comforting and delicious. See notes above for possible ingredient variations.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken Baked Ziti Ingredients:
12 ounces uncooked ziti (or any pasta shape)
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken (about 2 small chicken breasts)
1 batch alfredo sauce (see below)
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
toppings: lots of freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, finely-chopped fresh basil or parsley
Cook the pasta al dente in a large stockpot of well-salted boiling according to package instructions. Drain. Return pasta to the stockpot and add chicken and alfredo sauce. Gently toss to combine until the pasta is evenly coated.
Pour half of the pasta into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup of mozzarella. Layer the remaining half of the pasta evenly on top. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is melted and just barely starts to turn golden. Remove and serve immediately, sprinkled with additional toppings if desired.
To Make The Alfredo Sauce:
Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute one minute, stirring occasionally, until fragrant. Sprinkle with flour, and stir to combine. Saute for an additional minute to cook the flour, stirring occasionally.
Slowly add chicken broth, whisking to combine until smooth. Whisk in milk, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Let cook for an additional minute until thickened, then stir in Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper until the cheese melted. Remove from heat and set aside.
This is absolutely delicious! I’ve made it twice for new moms following the birth of their baby and it’s been a hit! I added cajun seasoning to mine and my fiancé’s as well as sautéed mushrooms. Will continue to make as a show stopper for friends (and us)!
This was really good and my family loved it. I did 1 1/2 times the sauce, and I was really glad I did, because it still wasn’t very saucy. I think in the future I’ll double the sauce. I also added the Italian seasoning and highly recommend that.
This was really good! Definitely a crowd pleaser. I did double the sauce like some of the previous reviews said and it was perfect. I also added broccoli, because I’m healthy. Haha.
I loved this casserole. I made it using canned chicken and canned Alfredo sauce( to save time). Will definitely make it again..next time I’m going to add some broccoli or mushrooms to it, but it’s delicious as is!
This was a tasty recipe that my family enjoyed. I loved how moist and delicious the chicken was. I will definitely be cooking some chicken the same way again. Thanks!
I have made and loved MANY of Ali’s recipes! But this was my first that was disappointing. It was very dry, tasteless, and too cheesy (is there such a thing?) for me. I see many doubled the sauce. If you want to try this, I would definitely do that. I made a second batch of sauce for the leftovers, but is still didn’t do it for me. Oh well. Still LOVE this site. Thanks Ali.
So delicious, and just wanted to say that this recipe freezes beautifully! I froze half of the original recipe in an 8×8 and just had it for dinner (baked from frozen for 1h covered, 15m uncovered) and it was perfect. Definitely going to keep these casseroles stashed in the freezer from now on!
Love this recipe. Doubled the amount of sauce. Divided recipe into two pans—one without chicken for my vegetarian household member, and the other with chicken.
I haven’t made this in awhile. Omg. Still so delicious. I did add Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes this time. When browning the garlic I used a bit of olive oil and butter. The food was devoured so fast there was no time for a picture. It’s so yummy
Delicious! It seemed like a lot of garlic, but it was perfect. I did make more alfredo sauce (multiplied ingredients by 1.5) and used less chicken since I was just using up leftover chicken and added some chopped spinach (frozen). I used cassarece (short twist) noodles. So tasty!
This was delicious! A bit on the dry side but made it again and made more sauce, perfect! Used gluten-free pasta as my daughter has Celiacs….she loved it!
This was so good. I would have gave 5 stars, however I needed to make a bigger batch of sauce. Otherwise this is quick, easy, so many flavor options. 😋
So yummy. Sometimes I blanche brocolli and add it in. I haven’t found a recipe of Ali’s that I don’t love.
This is absolutely delicious! I’ve made it twice for new moms following the birth of their baby and it’s been a hit! I added cajun seasoning to mine and my fiancé’s as well as sautéed mushrooms. Will continue to make as a show stopper for friends (and us)!
This was really good and my family loved it. I did 1 1/2 times the sauce, and I was really glad I did, because it still wasn’t very saucy. I think in the future I’ll double the sauce. I also added the Italian seasoning and highly recommend that.
It would be really nice if you’d include nutritional stats with the recipe.
Very yummy and filli. Simply i added yellow green red bell pepper mushrooms and broccoli warm garlic knots. No leftovers
This was really good! Definitely a crowd pleaser. I did double the sauce like some of the previous reviews said and it was perfect. I also added broccoli, because I’m healthy. Haha.
love it.so easy to make.thank you.
I loved this casserole. I made it using canned chicken and canned Alfredo sauce( to save time). Will definitely make it again..next time I’m going to add some broccoli or mushrooms to it, but it’s delicious as is!
This was a tasty recipe that my family enjoyed. I loved how moist and delicious the chicken was. I will definitely be cooking some chicken the same way again. Thanks!
I have made and loved MANY of Ali’s recipes! But this was my first that was disappointing. It was very dry, tasteless, and too cheesy (is there such a thing?) for me. I see many doubled the sauce. If you want to try this, I would definitely do that. I made a second batch of sauce for the leftovers, but is still didn’t do it for me. Oh well. Still LOVE this site. Thanks Ali.
So delicious, and just wanted to say that this recipe freezes beautifully! I froze half of the original recipe in an 8×8 and just had it for dinner (baked from frozen for 1h covered, 15m uncovered) and it was perfect. Definitely going to keep these casseroles stashed in the freezer from now on!
This was delicious with Hatch green chili in it!!
Love this recipe. Doubled the amount of sauce. Divided recipe into two pans—one without chicken for my vegetarian household member, and the other with chicken.
I haven’t made this in awhile. Omg. Still so delicious. I did add Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes this time. When browning the garlic I used a bit of olive oil and butter. The food was devoured so fast there was no time for a picture. It’s so yummy
Delicious! It seemed like a lot of garlic, but it was perfect. I did make more alfredo sauce (multiplied ingredients by 1.5) and used less chicken since I was just using up leftover chicken and added some chopped spinach (frozen). I used cassarece (short twist) noodles. So tasty!
Made this tonight and OMG! Sooo good! We all went back for seconds. 5 stars!
This was delicious! A bit on the dry side but made it again and made more sauce, perfect! Used gluten-free pasta as my daughter has Celiacs….she loved it!
Has anyone ever made this and froze it for a later time?
Followed recipe as written, it was very good. I’ll make again for sure.👍
This was so good. I would have gave 5 stars, however I needed to make a bigger batch of sauce. Otherwise this is quick, easy, so many flavor options. 😋