This is a super easy recipe that everyone seems to love. You can make everything from scratch or use shortcuts so it can be assembled in minutes. Baking this sauce gives it a depth of flavor that makes it taste too good to be this easy. But it is!

Here are shortcuts that make it possible to assemble this tasty sauce in a matter of minues.

• Use rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken or turkey (a great way to use Thanksgiving leftover turkey!)
• Use a good prepared marinara sauce. My favorite is Rao's. (Or, you can make your own using my recipe.)
• Use pre-shredded cheeses. I normally grate my own mozzarella, because it melts better than the pre-shredded kind. But, if you're in a hurry, pre-shredded cheeses are the way to go.

Step-by-step photos for preparing
Baked Chicken Parmesan Pasta Sauce:

Step 1. Assemble the ingredients.

• Marinara sauce (or any red Italian pasta sauce)
• olive oil
• cooked chopped or shredded chicken or turkey
• mushrooms
• mozzarella and Parmesan cheese

Step. 2. Grate the 2 cheeses (if you didn't buy it pre-shredded). Use the fine shred side of a grater for the Parmesan cheese, and the large shred side for the Mozzarella cheese.

view on Amazon:  oxo cheese grater

Step 3. Saute the mushrooms in a little olive oil.

Step 4--Assemble. Coat a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and layer in this order: marinara sauce, chicken , and mushrooms; stir to coat the mushrooms and chicken with sauce. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly over the top, followed by a final layer of mozzarella cheese.

view on Amazon:  white 9x13 baking dish (This attractive, versatile baker looks lovely on the table.)

Step 5. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until it's all bubbly and the cheese is slightly browned. 

Done! Now dig in to this gooey, cheesy, delicious sauce. A thick layer of melted cheese on top of the flavorful sauce is totally yummy! You can serve it over any pasta of your choice. Sprinkle on some fresh basil, if you like. I recommend pairing this with my Garlic Bread and Everyday Italian Salad. Now, that's a meal!

For a lower carb/calorie option, serve the sauce over a bed of steamed veggies. I paired it with asparagus here. Yummy!

Variations to try:

• Before baking, add 1-2 cups partially cooked broccoli with the chicken, mushrooms, and sauce.
• Substitute turkey, mini meatballs, or sliced Italian sausage for the chicken.
• For vegetarian version, add all vegetables in place of chicken. Try eggplant, spinach, mushrooms, kale, or broccoli.

NOTE: More sauce may needed to be added as more ingredients are added.

That is one tasty bite! This amazingly easy recipe is a winner.

Make it a Yummy day!

Monica

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Baked Chicken Parmesan Pasta Sauce

By Monica              Servings: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cups (6 oz) sliced fresh mushrooms
• 4 cups red pasta sauce (marinara or similar)
• 2 cups cooked chopped/shredded chicken (or turkey)
• 1 cup (4 oz) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 lb pasta, cooked
• optional garnish: fresh basil or Italian parsley

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Coat a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Heat olive oil in skillet and saute mushrooms until just cooked. Pour sauce into baking dish. Scatter chicken pieces and mushrooms on top of sauce. Stir to coat chicken and mushrooms and distribute evenly. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over all. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake until bubbly throughout and cheese is slightly browned, 20-30 minutes.

Serve over pasta along with garlic toast and salad.

VARIATIONS:
--In place of pasta, serve baked sauce over a bed of steamed veggies like broccoli or asparagus.
--Before baking, add 1-2 cups partially cooked broccoli with the chicken, mushrooms, and sauce.
--Substitute mini meatballs or sliced Italian sausage for the chicken.
--For vegetarian version, add all vegetables in place of chicken. Try eggplant, spinach, mushrooms, kale, or broccoli.
Note: More sauce may need to be added as more other ingredients are added.

Print recipe Pin recipe on Pinterest

This updated post was originally published January 19, 2011.