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One Dish Easy Chicken Cacciatore Pasta Bake

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Do you love traditional Italian chicken cacciatore, but want things to be quick in the kitchen? This easy chicken cacciatore pasta casserole recipe comes together fast in one dish and is baked for a hands-off dinner idea.

There’s no need to pre-cook the noodles, they go in dry with the sauce and meat and cook entirely in the oven.

This best of all family comfort foods then gets topped with mozzarella for an extra cheesy one pot meal!

One of our favorite pasta bake recipes - no need to pre-cook the pasta! Everything comes together in one dish for this easy chicken cacciatore.

Did you know that cacciatore means hunter? Well, I didn’t.

I didn’t even know chicken cacciatore existed until a few weeks ago.

I was looking for easy dinners and came across this Italian/American dish. We love things drenched in tomato sauce so I thought it couldn’t hurt to try it.

One thing that often stresses me out when I’m preparing our meals is that I have a noisy darling little thing clutching my legs while I’m trying to handle the meat, the side dish and the baby food.

So I thought – why not add the flavors of the easy chicken cacciatore to a pasta bake?

Are you looking for easy family dinner recipes? Try this chicken cacciatore pasta bake - no need to even pre-cook the pasta, everything is made in ONE single baking dish!

Let me just say, it tastes brilliant. Brilliant doesn’t even do it justice.

It’s huntingly good (see what I did there? So clever cheesy whoops, did it again).

The first time round I pre-cooked the pasta but I found it turned out a bit too mushy that way.

So I tried adding it uncooked and it was just perfect.

You get those browned crunchy pieces just under the layer of cheese and the rest of the pasta is cooked exactly right.

And the best thing? You only have one dish to wash! No extra pan to boil the pasta, not even a colander to drain it.

Make a few healthy swaps in this easy chicken cacciatore pasta bake, and you have the perfect ONE DISH family dinner recipe!

I have already added this recipe to our regular dinner routine – and let me just say this: You should do so as well. It’s easy, it’s simple and everyone will love it!

Are you looking for easy family dinner recipes? Try this chicken cacciatore pasta bake - no need to even pre-cook the pasta, everything is made in ONE single baking dish!
5 from 2 votes
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One Dish Easy Chicken Cacciatore Pasta Bake

This is such an easy chicken cacciatore recipe! Everything comes together in one casserole dish, you don't even need to pre-cook the pasta!
Course Main Course
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 655 kcal
Author Nora

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts (ideally 4 pieces)
  • Salt & pepper
  • 2 large peppers chopped
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic chopped
  • 12 ounce box whole wheat penne pasta
  • 1 jar 24oz tomato basil spaghetti sauce 625g, or use 24 ounces crushed tomatoes with your own seasoning
  • 1 1/4 cup water 300ml
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 110g
  • leaves Handful fresh basil optional

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 360°F (180°C). Grease a very deep 7x11 inch casserole dish with the olive oil. (I used an 8x12 inch dish, I found mine at IKEA).
  2. Place the chicken breasts at the bottom of the casserole dish and sprinkle with salt & pepper.
  3. Evenly top with the chopped peppers, onion and garlic. Add the dry pasta in top and push everything slightly down. Carefully pour the spaghetti sauce and water over everything, spreading it out evenly with the back of a spoon.
  4. Cover the baking pan tightly with aluminium foil and bake on the middle rack for 60 to 80 minutes (this time really depends on how hot your oven runs!) or until the pasta is almost done. Remove the foil, sprinkle the cheese on top and finish baking for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.
  5. Spoon the pasta onto four plates and top each serving with a chicken breast and vegetables. Sprinkle with fresh basil leaves if you like and serve immediately.
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Comments

  1. I wasn’t familiar with chicken cacciatore until my mom made it for me right after Kai was born…I seriously devoured it, and I’m pretty sure I’d devour this too! Looks delicious, and love that you don’t need to cook the noodles separately! Love those accidental short-cuts! (And STUNNING photos!)

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  3. This is beautiful! I love how easy this is! I actually just started experimenting with pasta bakes where you don’t precook the pasta -so much easier! And better! I am going to add this to our menu for next week!

    And I am loving the new design!!!

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  6. I’ve never eaten cacciatore before, but I love any baked pasta dish drenched in sauce and cheese! It is almost time for me to go to bed but now you have me craving a big bowl of pasta! The photos e beautiful 🙂

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  11. This is truly a great one pan dish! I know summer is typically not associated with oven recipes, but something about baked pasta is soooo ‘summer cookout’ to me and really feels seasonal 🙂

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    • Hi Libby, since the chicken gets cooked in the process I’m not sure if you could sub in pre-cooked chicken. It might turn out dry. In that case I’d suggest pre-cooking the pasta, assembling as instructed and then baking just until the veggies are cooked (I’d guess 30 minutes).

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  15. The dish was delicious, however it took far longer than suggested time….I had to turn it up to 400 after suggested time And left it in oven for another 1/2 hour. I cant wait to make again, however I’ll bake at 400. Kids also loved this meal!

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    • Hi Elise, I’m glad you liked the recipe! That’s so strange it took so much longer for you to cook – did you use a smaller pan? I’ve made this multiple times, and when I leave it in even a little too long, I tend to think it’s overcooked. Strange! But that’s often the case with baked recipes – ovens behave so differently, it’s hard to give accurate instructions! I’m happy to read you were able to save it though!

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  16. Do you think I could put this in my dutch oven and cook with the cover on? Do you think that would increase the cook time? Thanks, looking forward to making it!

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    • I hope you loved the Chicken Cacciatore, Bambi! It’s so easy to make, right? Thanks for taking time out of your day to not only trust in my recipe, but to also come back and review it – I appreciate it so much!

      Reply

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