Rosa Chicken Pasta Bake has a creamy rosa sauce made with marinara and alfredo, mixed with chicken, and topped with melted mozzarella cheese. This easy recipe is comforting and delicious!
Chicken Rosa Pasta
Serve this Rosa Chicken Pasta Bake with a side of oven roasted garlic green beans or roasted zucchini and finish the meal with coconut oil brownies. You’ll feel like you’re at a restaurant!
A couple months ago we started using a non-family babysitter and let me tell you, it has been amazing. We’ve had three dates, the girls love her, and I have gotten a glimpse of Melissa instead of Mama (I love Mama, don’t get me wrong, but I miss Melissa sometimes!).
As great as having a babysitter has been, it still takes quite a bit of planning and our in-home dates have not stopped.
Valentine’s Day falls on a Friday this year and I have no desire to fight crowds to get a dinner reservation.
Especially when I can make a fancy pasta at home in under an hour!
This easy pasta dish is creamy and comforting and makes a lot, so not only can you have date night, you can have leftovers or freeze some for another night.
Ingredients
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe, why you need them, and possible substitutions. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card with measurements.
Jump
- Chicken – Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders.
- Onion – I opt for a white or yellow onion.
- Chicken Stock – To deglaze the pan.
- Mozzarella Cheese – A fresh ball of mozzarella cheese.
- Garlic – Two fresh cloves of garlic.
- Pasta – Your favorite pasta – I used rigatoni.
- Thyme – Fresh thyme or dried will work.
- Marinara Sauce
- Alfredo Sauce – either jarred or homemade alfredo
Have you made a rosa sauce before? It’s easy to do when you mix jarred marinara and alfredo sauces together.
How to make Rosa Chicken Pasta
This section shows you how to make this recipe, with process photos showing the steps to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
Jump- STEP ONE: Heat a large pan over medium heat and add olive oil and chicken. Season with salt & pepper and cook until no longer pink.
- STEP TWO: Remove the chicken from the pan and put it on a plate. To the same pan, add the chopped onion, garlic, and thyme. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent.
- STEP THREE: Add chicken stock and stir to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Then make the rosa sauce by pouring in the marinara and alfredo. Stir to combine.
- STEP FOUR: Add the chicken back into the pot with the rosa sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer.
- STEP FIVE: Add the cooked pasta noodles to the pot and stir to make sure every noodle is covered in sauce. Then, pour the pasta into a baking dish and top with sliced mozzarella.
- STEP SIX: Put the pasta under the broiler for a few minutes until melty and starting to brown – I put mine on low for about 5 minutes.
Need more date night dinner ideas? Try these:
- Baked Mostaccioli
- Chicken Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Skillet
- Spinach Ravioli Lasagna
- Zucchini Taco Boats
- Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Pasta
Helpful Tools
- Vegetable Chopper – I hate struggling through chopping onions. This tool makes it much easier.
- Colander – I didn’t think I needed a colander with a handle, but I actually really love it.
- Bakeware – You need oven safe baking dishes to melt the cheese in the oven.
Did You Make This?
If you made this recipe, I’d love to know how it went in the comments section below.
You can also tag me on Instagram – @melissa_ppplates or share a pic in the Persnickety Plates Community Facebook group. I love seeing what you’ve tried!
Rosa Chicken Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 1 pound rigatoni pasta cooked (or your favorite shape)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1.5 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts chopped to 1" cubes
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves fresh garlic minced
- 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 24 ounces marinara sauce
- 15 ounces alfredo sauce
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese sliced
Instructions
- Cook your pasta in salted water while you work on the other steps.1 pound rigatoni pasta
- To a large pot, over medium heat, add olive oil & the chopped chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until no longer pink then remove to a plate.1 Tablespoon olive oil, 1.5 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, salt & pepper
- To the same pot, add the chopped onion, garlic, and thyme and cook until the onion is soft and translucent. Add in the chicken stock and stir to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.1 small yellow onion, 2 cloves fresh garlic, 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme, 1/4 cup chicken stock
- Pour in the marinara sauce and alfredo sauce and stir to full combine.24 ounces marinara sauce, 15 ounces alfredo sauce
- Add back in the chicken, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Pour the cooked and drained pasta into the sauce and stir to fully coat all the noodles.
- Pour the pasta into a baking dish and top with sliced mozzarella.8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
- Put under the broiler on low for about 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and starts to brown.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Broiler intensities vary so watch carefully to not burn your cheese.
- Pasta will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days, covered.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag me on Instagram @melissa_pplates so I can see!This post was originally sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com on behalf of Bertolli®
I can’t get bottled Alfredo sauce where I live. I have to make my own. Could you please give me a recipe for the Alfredo sauce, which I love. Thank you. 😊
Absolutely! Here you go 🙂 homemade alfredo sauce