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Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake with Spinach

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A creamy tomato chicken pasta bake with broccoli, spinach, garlic, cream cheese, and cheddar.

Start planningStart cookingIngredients
70 min495 kcal4 base servingsBakedFamily FavouriteComforting
ContainsGluten, Milk
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Recipe and nutrition estimates

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Focus ingredients: chicken breast, broccoli

Dietary fit: No diet tags added for this recipe yet

Serving tip: Cool leftovers in shallow portions and refrigerate within 1–2hours at 0–5°C. Use within 48hours or an earlier ingredient use-by limit. Reheat once only until steaming hot throughout.

Chicken Broccoli Pasta Bake plated and ready to serve.

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Ingredients

What you need

  • 220g penne pasta
  • 500ml passata
  • 80g cream cheese
  • 300g chicken breast
  • 400g broccoli
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 80g cheddar
  • 80g spinach
  • 15ml olive oil
  • 2000ml water

You'll also need

35 × 25cm 4l ovenproof dish, 30cm 4l saute pan, 4l boiling saucepan and colander, scales, measuring jug and clean probe thermometer, knife, board and grater

Method

Step by step

Up to 8 clear steps
  1. Chicken Broccoli Pasta Bake cooking step 1: Get prepped.
    Step 1

    Prepare ingredients

    For more than four servings, repeat batches of no more than four. Divide displayed ingredients and measured method totals between batches; keep cut sizes, pan sizes and per-batch times fixed, and allow extra elapsed time. Heat oven to 200°C conventional/180°C fan. Set out a 35 × 25cm 4l ovenproof dish. Cut broccoli into 3cm florets and peeled stalk into 3mm slices. Crush garlic, chop spinach and grate cheddar. Cut chicken into strips no thicker than 1cm; wash hands and utensils after handling raw chicken.

  2. Chicken Broccoli Pasta Bake cooking step 2: Start cooking.
    Step 2

    Boil penne and broccoli

    Bring 2000ml water to a boil in a 4l saucepan. Add all dry penne and boil 10–12 minutes or to the packet until just tender. Add all broccoli for the final 5 minutes, checking stalks are tender. Drain well and discard cooking water. Start the sauce while the pasta cooks.

    12 min
  3. Chicken Broccoli Pasta Bake cooking step 3: Build the flavour.
    Step 3

    Cook chicken and sauce

    Heat all olive oil in a 30cm 4l pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken in one layer, no more than 300g per batch, and cook 8–10 minutes, turning. Check thickest pieces 75°C for 30 seconds using a clean probe; continue cooking and recheck if needed. Transfer to a clean plate. Reduce heat to medium, stir all garlic in the pan juices for 1 minute, then add all passata. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring until the sauce coats a spoon.

    21 min
  4. Chicken Broccoli Pasta Bake cooking step 4: Bring it together.
    Step 4

    Assemble bake

    Stir all cream cheese into the sauce until smooth. Add all spinach and stir over medium heat 3 minutes until wilted. Return cooked chicken and juices, and fold in drained penne and broccoli. Transfer all mixture to the dish, spreading no deeper than 3cm; use a second dish if needed.

    3 min
  5. Chicken Broccoli Pasta Bake cooking step 5: Finish the dish.
    Step 5

    Bake until bubbling

    Scatter all cheddar over the top. Bake 15–20 minutes until bubbling throughout and lightly golden. All chicken is already cooked; check the centre is steaming hot before serving.

    20 min
  6. Chicken Broccoli Pasta Bake cooking step 6: Serve.
    Step 6

    Rest and serve

    Rest 3 minutes, then divide the whole bake equally between the intended servings.

    3 min