I often make this for company. It’s easy to scale up and serve a large group, even friends who are picky eaters have asked me for the recipe. This dish is so easy to whip up, especially if you already have shredded chicken on hand. If not, I just bake my chicken breasts in the same pan I plan on using for the pasta.
Start by boiling your pasta. While that is cooking, chop the fresh spinach and add it to the boiling pot during the last 5 minutes (frozen is also fine). When the pasta is al dente, drain and return to the pan.
Add in the shredded chicken, basil, cream cheese, grated Parmesan and shredded Colby jack cheese, leaving 1/4 cup of cheese out for topping the dish. Mix together until the cream cheese is incorporated into the sauce.
Pour everything into a 9×13 baking dish and bake for 10 minutes. Add the remaining shredded cheese to the top and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
- 12 oz farfalle pasta
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 tsp dried basil or 8 fresh leaves chopped
- 1 lb cooked shredded chicken breast
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 2 C shredded colby jack cheese
- 1/4 C grated parmesan
- 1 C chopped fresh spinach
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-
Boil pasta according to package directions and add spinach during the last 5 minutes.
-
Drain pasta and spinach and return to pot. Add all other ingredients and mix together until cream cheese is incorporated (reserve 1/4C shredded cheese).
-
Bake uncovered 20 minutes. Top with remaining cheese during last 10 minutes.
-
Serve and enjoy!
