• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Wheat by the Wayside
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Resources
  • About
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • GF Resources
  • About
  • Subscribe
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • GF Resources
    • About
    • Subscribe
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Pastas

    Baked Chicken Pesto Pasta {Gluten-free}

    Published: Apr 13, 2020 · Updated: Dec 17, 2020 by Katie | Wheat by the Wayside · This post may contain affiliate links, through which I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

    Save or Share this Post!

    92 shares
    • Share31
    • Reddit
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Penne pasta with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella in a baking dish.
    Baked chicken pesto pasta in casserole dish with basil sprinkled on top.

    Take it easy on yourself for dinner with Baked Chicken Pesto Pasta! With simple ingredients you can easily find at the grocery store, this flavorful baked pasta dish has become one of our family's favorite meals.

    Gluten-free Chicken Pesto Pasta Bake with gluten-free noodles, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella.

    We are in full-on hibernation mode here and as such, easy pasta meals are my jam these days! It's like a big bowl of comfort! Plus a meal like this can be eaten on the couch while watching Lego Masters, which is just pure family fun.

    If you have never put basil pesto on pasta, you need to try this! Just a small container of pesto packs a bright flavor punch! When I say it's delicious, I'm not kidding. The last time I made this my daughter scarfed down four bowls!

    I can hardly blame her. I mean... hello, three kinds of cheese! Hey, bright pops of tomato! Looking at you, flavorful pesto! There's so much to love!

    Did I mention three cheeses? Oh, right.

    Ingredients

    Ingredients for the chicken pesto pasta measured out in bowls including barilla gluten-free pasta.

    Are you cooking from your pantry a lot lately? While you may not think of this as a typical pantry meal, for me it certainly is! I often have a container of pesto hanging in the fridge for easy pasta dishes like this, adding flavor to a grilled cheese or sandwich, or even for making pesto pizza!

    Even with all the grocery shortages lately, I've had no issues finding these ingredients where I live. When people stock up, apparently ricotta, pesto, and fresh mozzarella are not on the list and I'm ok with that! Let's keep it our little secret!

    Here's everything you need for this dish:

    • Gluten-free Pasta (or regular, if not GF): I used Barilla gluten-free penne. Penne, rotini, or farfalle are probably the best pasta shapes for this dish. Just use your favorite brand/type of pasta.
    • Store-bought refrigerated pesto: I regularly use the Giovanni Rana brand. It is in the refrigerated section of the store by the refrigerated pasta, for me, that is by the cheeses. It doesn't specifically state gluten-free on the label though there are no gluten ingredients. Please check the label at the time of purchase. If by some miracle you have homemade pesto, then use that!
    • Chicken breast: Chicken is a great protein to use in this dish because the flavor is not overpowering.
    • Cherry tomatoes: They add bright, juicy pops of flavor! I love getting a tomato in every bite!
    • Ricotta: This should be pretty easy to find. Look in the dairy section near the cottage cheese.
    • Fresh Mozzarella Pearls: I like the pearls because you don't have to dice them up, they're already small! The fresh mozzarella is usually in the specialty cheese case. If you can't find the pearl size, any ball of fresh mozzarella cheese is fine, just dice it into 1-inch cubes. You can also use pre-shredded mozzarella if you prefer.
    • Parmesan: I like to use freshly grated parmesan, not the stuff in the green can.

    Making the Pasta

    Steps to making the pasta dish: sautéed chicken in a pan, whisking together ricotta and pesto, stirring all the ingredients together with a splash of cooking water.
    • Step 1: Cook the noodles a little less than the package directions state, save a splash of the water.
    • Step 2: Sauté the diced chicken. When you put it in the pan, leave it alone for a couple of minutes! Let it get brown! Once it's cooked, set that aside.
    • Step 3: Stir together the pesto and ricotta cheese. (This mixture right here is delicious!)
    • Step 4: Toss the ricotta pesto with the pasta, mozzarella, tomatoes, and chicken. (Arguably, you should use a bigger bowl than I did... ?)
    • Step 5: Add a splash of the reserved pasta water as needed to get the mixture to a saucy consistency. Don't use too much water though. A splash or two should be plenty!
    • Step 6: Pour the mixture into a casserole dish and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
    • Step 7: Bake!
    The pre-baked casserole in a dish with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

    Helpful Tips

    • Don't over-brown the casserole. I've found gluten-free noodles get way to crunchy and become hard to eat if you do! Cover with foil if it's getting too brown on top before it's hot in the center.
    • If you want to make this ahead, keep it refrigerated. You can make it up to one day in advance. When you're ready to bake, remove the dish from the refrigerator while you heat up the oven. It will need more time to cook if the casserole is still cold when it goes into the oven, so plan for that.
    • While it's best fresh, the leftovers do heat up ok.

    This baked pesto pasta has made its way into our regular dinner recipe rotation and rightfully so! It's quick and easy to put together, full of flavor, and I like the change-up from our normal routine of spaghetti with baked chicken meatballs.

    Baked Chicken Pesto Pasta in casserole dish with a sprinkle of fresh basil on top.
    Baked chicken pesto pasta with fresh basil sprinkled on top.

    Baked Chicken Pesto Pasta

    Katie | Wheat by the Wayside
    This flavorful baked pasta dish has become one of our family's favorite meals! We love the flavorful pesto and bright pops of tomato!
    5 from 1 vote
    Pin Recipe Print Recipe Save Saved!
    Prep Time 30 mins
    Cook Time 30 mins
    Total Time 1 hr
    Course Main Course
    Diet Gluten Free
    Servings 10 servings
    Calories 375 kcal
    Prevent your screen from going dark.

    Ingredients
      

    • 12 oz Gluten-free pasta, or regular, if not GF
    • 1 lb Chicken breast,, diced
    • 7 oz Store-bought refrigerated pesto
    • 1 cup Ricotta cheese
    • 1 pint Cherry tomatoes,, halved
    • 8 oz Fresh mozzarella pearls
    • ¼ cup Parmesan cheese

    Instructions
     

    • Boil water and cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than package instructions. Save ½ cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta and set aside. Do the remaining steps while the pasta is cooking.
    • Heat a large pan over med-high heat and drizzle in 1-2 T olive oil. When the pan is hot, add the diced chicken and season with some salt and pepper. Sauté the chicken until browned and cooked through. Set aside.
    • In a large bowl, stir together the pesto and ricotta cheese. (You can also do this in the large pot you cooked the pasta in to save a dish.)
    • Add the cooked pasta, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and chicken in with the pesto mixture and toss to coat everything evenly.
    • If the pasta looks dry, add a splash (not all) of the reserved pasta water as needed to get the mixture to a more saucy consistency. (It should not be swimming in the sauce! A splash or two of water is plenty!)
    • Pour the mixture into a greased casserole dish and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
    • Bake at 350°F 30-35 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Don't over-brown.

    Notes

    • Don't over-brown. Gluten-free noodles get way to crunchy and become hard to eat if you do! Cover with foil if the top is getting too brown before it's hot in the center.
    • If you want to make this ahead, keep it refrigerated. Make it up to one day in advance.
    • When you're ready to bake, remove the dish from the refrigerator while you heat up the oven. It will need more time to cook if the casserole is still cold when it goes into the oven.
    • While it's best fresh, the leftovers do heat up ok.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 375kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 23gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 63mgSodium: 465mgPotassium: 316mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 927IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 234mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and star rating below!

    More Gluten-free Pasta Recipes

    • 14 Amazing Recipes With Caputo Fioreglut Gluten-Free Flour
    • Homemade Gluten-Free Lasagna Noodles Recipe
    • Gluten-Free Fettuccine Alfredo
    • Gluten-free Ravioli

    Save or Share this Post!

    92 shares
    • Share31
    • Reddit

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Comment Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Kathy

      April 14, 2020 at 2:36 pm

      5 stars
      Looks delicious! ?

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Katie Olesen headshot.

    Hi, I'm Katie! I'm the blogger behind Wheat by the Wayside. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2018 and have been following a strict gluten-free diet ever since. The goal of WBTW is to share tried and tested, easy, and delicious gluten-free recipes to give you confidence in the kitchen! 

    More about me →

    Gluten-free Valentine's Treats

    • Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Peanut Butter Cups and M&M's
    • Gluten-free Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Gluten-Free Crumbl Sugar Cookies Copycat
    • Gluten-free Oreo Cheesecake

    Cozy Gluten-free Recipes

    • Gluten-Free Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
    • Gluten-free Potato Soup
    • Gluten-Free Broccoli Cheddar Soup
    • Gluten-Free Chili with Beef and Beans
    • The Best Gluten-Free Vegetarian Lasagna
    • Gluten-Free Fettuccine Alfredo

    Footer

    Back to Top

    Quick Links

    • Recipe Index
    • Blogging Resources
    • Web Stories

    About

    • About/Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Accessibility Statement

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    This site contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

    Copyright © 2023 Katie Olesen | Wheat by the Wayside. Created with the Feast Plugin.