Description
This Chicken Parmesan Baked Ziti recipe is incredibly quick and easy to make with just 6 basic ingredients, and always tastes so comforting and delicious!
Ingredients
Scale
- 12 ounces ziti
- 1 pound shredded cooked chicken (about 2 to 3 cups)
- 1 (25 ounce) jar marinara sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3/4 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- optional garnishes: extra Parmesan, fresh basil, crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Prep oven and baking dish. Heat oven to 375°F. Mist a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Cook the pasta. Cook the pasta in a large stockpot of generously-salted boiling water until it is just shy of al dente.
- Mix everything together. Drain and return pasta to the stockpot. Add chicken and marinara sauce and gently toss until combined.
- Layer. Pour half of the pasta into the baking dish and spread in an even layer. Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup mozzarella, ½ cup Parmesan, and all of the basil. Layer on the remaining pasta, followed by 1 cup mozzarella and ¼ cup Parmesan.
- Bake. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is melted and lightly golden. Transfer the pan to a wire baking rack and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Serve. Serve warm, sprinkled with any extra garnishes that you would like. Enjoy!
if i use your marina recipe for this, will that be the amount of sauce needed for this recipe?
Perfect for the whole family! No separate meal necessary for our grandkids ?
Thanks Carla — we’re so glad you and your grandkids enjoyed this! :)
Can you freeze this and then take it out to bake when ready?
Hi Phuong — do you mean can you make this in advance (all the way up to baking) and then freeze? If so, yes! :) Just leave off the cheese on top and add it right before you pop it in the oven. You’ll want to cover the dish with foil and bake for about 30 minutes with the foil on. Then remove the foil and bake another 15-20 minutes or so, until it’s bubbling and the top is golden brown.
We love this recipe. I’m making it for a family with a medical emergency. Should I deliver it uncooked or cooked to be re-heated? I prefer to cook food just before I serve it but I’m wondering if delivering this already cooked gives the family more options for reheating this later?
We’re so glad to hear that Theresa! :) We would deliver it cooked, to be re-heated (you can leave a note that has instructions for re-heating — we’d say heat at 325 (covered with foil), for about 20 minutes). We hope this helps!
Made this for dinner last night and it was hubby approved. I will add this to my recipe box.
We’re glad to hear that Linda — thanks for sharing! :)
I had a little less than a whole jar of pasta sauce and made too much pasta by accident because I mixed what was left of two boxes….BUT I added some stewed tomatoes to make up for the missing sauce and it came out awesome!!! This recipe is awesome!
Thanks for sharing Ashley — we’re so glad you enjoyed it! :)
I would love to see a nutritional value chart. Is there one available and I am just not seeing it?
Hi Bessie! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
This was delicious, I added extra fresh garlic and I used half n half, pure gooooooooodness!!!!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Phil!
Made this last night. My hubby and 1 yr old daughter lovveedd ittt!!!
We’re so glad to hear that, Jamina! :)
Made it last night. My family loved the dish.
And I enjoyed it the most, because it was so easy to make. Thank you for this recipe!
We’re so glad you and your family enjoyed this, Louie! :)
I prepared this and im a fan…easy…tasty..and my husband..loved this dish….awesome!!!!!
Thanks for sharing, Cyndy — we’re glad you and your husband enjoy it!
Very easy to prepare. Every one of my family enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for sharing…
We’re happy to hear that, Heather!
Made it with bow tie pasta and four cheeses on the top coat. Came out great!
Awesome, we’re so glad you enjoyed it!
I make baked ziti every year for our Christmas meal. I decided to try this one out since my youngest prefers chicken and it was amazing! I will definitely make this again.
Your recipes are the best on the internet. Every time I see a recipe on Pinterest that looks awesome, it turns out, they are yours! My husband is super picky and you are a hit every time with him. Of course, I take the credit though! Haha!
This recipe is so easy and delicious. The family loves it.
Thank-you!
Hey Team Thanxx For Sharing Awesome Recipe I actually Found Your Recipe on yup just by scrolling in trending but when i started reading i couldn’t myself from reading full recipe thanxx again for sharing
loved it
I just made it! It’s delicious! OMG!
I was looking for something easy and delicious and this recipe DELIVERED! And an added bonus was the plenty of leftovers for another night! I followed the recipe as stated with the exception of adding 2 cans of seasoned tomatoes! Tastes great!!!
I wanted to add a photo but can’t seem to find the option to. It was delicious!
I made this last night. I couldn’t imagine anything italian without a lot of garlic so I added about 5 cloves. Then I figured, hey, I might as well cut up an onion. The whole thing was delicious and I had it tonight and froze two other portions for other nights.
I’ve made this 2 times and gotten rave reviews. Because I like to experiment with recipes, I am thinking of adding sun-dried tomatoes and marinated artichoke hearts. Have you ever tried adding either of those. I would of course drain the artichoke hearts, but because they are packed in an oil based brine I think I would reduce the amount of sauce used. Do you have any thoughts on that ?
We love this dish, but have never frozen it before! If we freeze it, what would be the reheat directions???
I just discovered your website. You inspire new and seasoned cooks to enjoy the art of cooking with
tried and true recipes to please most palettes. Thank you for sharing .
Jill King
The flavor was great but the chicken could have been doubled. Also, I willl cover the dish befor I bake it since the noodles on top dried out a little.
This was so good. Used an extra breast and added garlic and dries basil. Thanks.
I followed the recipe to a tee (possibly a little extra cheese) and it was the best I have ever made. Restaurant quality. I think it is important to use the DeLallo Pomodoro Fresco Sauce because that is some great sauce. Quality in equals quality out. Could not tell you how happy my wife was, she could not stop praising it. I froze the second half and am looking forward to when I get to heat that up. Thanks for a great recipe.
This was delicious. I roasted some red peppers and onions while the chicken cooked. I added them to the final mixture. Yummy. I think it would also be great fully vegetarian…with other vegies insted of chicken. Thanks for sharing!
I will definitely make this recipe again. Used 3 cups of rotisserie chicken and added sauteed diced onions and garlic. Few ingredients in the recipe which I love. Other ziti recipes have such a long list of ingredients and so much more time spent preparing. This was simple and is a keeper.
Loved this dish!!!
Good keep it up
Hi just found this recipe and would love to try it, I’m not a seasoned cook do you have any tips on cooking the chicken so I can shred it. I would really appreciate any help.
This recipe is really good. Highly recommend.
This was a very good recipe that was quick and easy since I had leftover rotisserie chicken on hand. Generous portions and a very good flavor. I couldn’t find the pasta sauce you mentioned but I believe the Bertolli Tomato and Basil sauce I did get was a decent substitute.
Delicious so quick and easy it was a hit in my home!
Will make again.
Do you have the nutrition info for this recipe? We love it, have been making it forever. It’s delicious. Just having to calorie count and can’t find it.
Thank you!
How are we cooking the chicken before we throw it in with the noodles?
I added petite diced tomatoes & mushrooms…family favorite 😍🙌🙌🙌🙌
You’re really going to make me figure out the nutrition facts at this point? My daughter is diabetic so I shy away from recipes without carbs that are already counted.
Its pasta, it will be carb heavy, tey looking up keto versions with zucchini noodles
The chicken is pree cooked and shredded right? That part wasnt clear
I never leave comments, but just wanted to say we made this with leftover smoked Thanksgiving turkey last year and it came out delicious! If you’re looking for a way to use your leftovers, this is it! It’s just 2 of us, so I like to prep 2 in 8×8 pans and freeze one for later.
Everyone loves this dish, and that is hard to find with a picky husband, a toddler and a preschooler! I added a step to get some extra veggies in: Sautéed some diced bell pepper, onion and garlic, and added that to the sauce and chicken. I’ll be making an extra batch to freeze next time! Thank you. :)