Name: Alfredo Pasta and Chicken Casserole Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 17 min
Ingredients: 12 oz penne pasta; 8 pieces breast tenders (or 3 large chicken breasts); 3 tbsp butter; 1 tsp minced garlic; 2 cups milk; 1 cup heavy cream; ¾ cup shredded parmesan cheese; 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese; salt; pepper; 1 tsp dried parsley; 2 tbsp bacon bits (or 2 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional))

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What could be better than creamy pasta, topped with cheese and combined with chicken? Our recipe for Alfredo Pasta and Chicken Casserole is great for feeding a crowd. It is filling and delicious and avoids many strong flavors, so most people will enjoy this wonderful, cheesy casserole.

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Alfredo Pasta and Chicken Casserole Recipe

This pasta recipe takes its inspiration from the classic Italian dish, Fettuccine Alfredo. Fettuccine Alfredo was the creation of a man named Alfredo Di Lelio who owned a restaurant in Rome, Italy. This was in 1914, and Di Lelio’s wife had just had a baby.

Unfortunately, while the baby boy was healthy, the wife was still a bit under the weather. She had no appetite, despite all of the recipes that Di Lelio created to try to tempt her.

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 17 mins

Cuisine Italian

Servings

Equipment

Oven
Saucepan
Pan
Bowl
Knife
Casserole
stirrer

Ingredients

12 oz penne pasta
8 pieces breast tenders or 3 large chicken breasts
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp minced garlic
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
¾ cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
salt
pepper
1 tsp dried parsley
2 tbsp bacon bits or 2 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)

Instructions

Turn your oven on to 375 degrees to preheat.
In a medium sized saucepan, cover the chicken with water. Put the saucepan on the stove and bring it to a full rolling boil. Turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid. Set a timer for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in another medium saucepan, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook it according to package instructions.
Drain the pasta and set it aside in a bowl.
In the saucepan that you used for cooking the pasta, melt the butter over medium heat. When it is slightly bubbly, add the garlic and saute it for about a minute until it is a light golden brown.
Add the flour and whisk it all together, cooking it for about a minute.
Pour in the milk and the cream, whisking the mixture together. Cook this sauce over medium heat just until it begins to thicken. This should take about 10 minutes.
Add the Parmesan cheese and a half cup of the mozzarella cheese to the milk and cream mixture, whisking just until the cheese melts. Add salt and pepper to taste.
By now, the chicken should be cooked. Remove it from the pan and shred it with a knife.
Spray a 3 quart casserole dish with cooking spray or lightly grease it with olive oil. Add the shredded chicken and the pasta to the pan, stirring them together.
Pour the cheese sauce over these and stir the pasta and the chicken to coat them in the sauce.
Top the cheesy pasta and chicken mixture with the remainder of the mozzarella cheese.
Bake the pasta dish for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the pasta is bubbly and the cheese starts to brown a bit. Sprinkle the parsley and the bacon over the top of the pasta and let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving.
Scoop servings onto a plate and serve with a side salad and fresh rolls.

Notes

Finally, in desperation, Alfredo made a portion of fresh Fettuccine and stirred it together in a pan with melted butter and Parmigiano cheese. After one mouthful, Mrs. Di Lelio’s appetite magically returned. Alfredo decided that this was a dish that he had to include on the menu of his restaurant.

While it was good, it wasn’t necessarily a big hit right away. Part of the reason was that with World War 1 occurring, tourism was down in Europe. However, Di Lelio kept it on the menu.

In the 1920s, things began to change. Prohibition was in full swing in the United States and World War 1 was over. For this reason, people began touring Europe again where they could make memories, eat delicious food, and enjoy a bottle of wine alongside dinner.

Wealthy tourists discovered Di Lelio’s restaurant and, along with it, the dish, Fettuccine Alfredo. This dish was different from many Italian dishes. Typically, pasta in Italy is made a bit lighter.

However, the pasta in Fettuccine Alfredo is rich, made with many eggs, and swirled with butter and the richest kind of Parmigiano cheese. This richness and all of the fat in the recipes makes this recipe satisfying and creamy. Once the wealthy Hollywood set found this recipe, they took it back home and asked their cooks and restaurant owners to create it.

Unfortunately, in the United States, sourcing the needed ingredients was a bit more difficult. The same Italian cheeses and rich butter are difficult to find in the States, so enterprising cooks improvised. These cooks began with a flour roux which helped thicken the sauce and provide a bit of richness to the sauce and included heavy cream and, of course, lots of butter.

A sprinkling of parsley adds a bit of color to the recipe. While the American version of Fettuccine Alfredo is tasty, it’s not exactly the same as the original Italian recipe, so if you travel, don’t be surprised if your plate of Fettuccine Alfredo is different from what you expect. With our recipe for Alfredo Pasta and Chicken Casserole, we made the sauce in the American style.

While it’s not strictly authentic, it’s still absolutely delicious.

Keyword chicken pasta