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Dinner recipe

Fragrant Chicken Curry Pasta Bake with Spinach

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A mild curry-spiced chicken pasta bake with tomato sauce, spinach, and a golden cheddar top.

Start planningStart cookingIngredients
75 min430 kcal4 base servingsBakedFamily FavouriteComforting
ContainsGluten, Milk, Peanuts
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Recipe and nutrition estimates

Recipe times, servings, calories and nutrition notes are estimates for planning. They are not medical or dietary advice. Check food is cooked safely and adjust recipes for your household's needs.

Focus ingredients: chicken breast, curry paste

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 Curry Pasta Bake plated and ready to serve.

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Ingredients

What you need

  • 220g penne pasta
  • 500ml passata
  • 300g chicken breast
  • 30ml curry paste
  • 80g cheddar
  • 80g spinach
  • 15ml olive oil
  • 2000ml water

You'll also need

35 × 25cm 4l ovenproof dish, 30cm 4l saute pan, 4l pasta 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 Curry 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. Chop spinach and grate cheddar. Cut chicken into strips no thicker than 1cm; wash hands and utensils after handling raw chicken.

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

    Boil penne

    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. Drain well and discard water. Start the sauce while the pasta cooks.

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

    Cook chicken and sauce

    Heat 10ml olive oil in a 30cm 4l pan over medium-high heat. Cook all chicken in one layer, no more than 300g per batch, for 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, add remaining 5ml oil and all curry paste, and stir 2 minutes until fragrant. Add all passata and simmer 12–15 minutes, stirring, until the sauce coats a spoon.

    27 min
  4. Chicken Curry Pasta Bake cooking step 4: Bring it together.
    Step 4

    Assemble bake

    Add all spinach and heat 3 minutes until wilted. Return all cooked chicken and juices and fold in the drained penne. Transfer all mixture to the 35 × 25cm 4l dish, spreading no deeper than 3cm; use a second dish if needed.

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

    Bake

    Scatter all cheddar over the top. Bake 15–20 minutes until lightly golden, bubbling and steaming hot in the centre.

    20 min
  6. Chicken Curry 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