Family-Style Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake
2x the delicious servings!
- Milk
- Wheat
Imagine this: tender pasta with garlicky bites of juicy chicken and earthy spinach folded into a velvety lemon-Parmesan cream sauce and baked to crispy and luscious perfection. Now imagine it’s on the table, family style, ready to feed the hungriest of eaters in no time at all. The time you’ll save making this big batch meal means that much more time to hang with the fam. It’s a homey, wholesome dinner idea that’s perfect for company or just the regulars (+ leftovers—hello lunch, tomorrow!). This recipe is double the typical servings, providing 4 servings and 8 servings for a 2 person and 4 person box respectively.
Ingredients
3 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
20 ounce
Chopped Chicken Breast
1 unit
Onion
5 ounce
Spinach
2 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
8 ounce
Cream Sauce Base
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Lemon
12 ounce
Penne Pasta
(Contains: Wheat)
1 tablespoon
Italian Seasoning
9 tablespoon
Parmesan Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
Not included in your delivery
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to middle position (top and middle positions for 8 servings) and preheat oven to 425 degrees. • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. (For 8, use two large pots or cook pasta in batches.) • Generously coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish (two baking dishes for 8) with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. • Wash and dry produce. • Halve, peel, and finely dice onion. Zest and halve lemon.
• Once water is boiling, add penne to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-11 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup pasta cooking water (½ cup for 8 servings), then drain.
• Meanwhile, open package of chicken* and drain off any excess liquid. Cut into bite-size pieces if necessary. • Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over high heat. Add chicken and onion in a single layer; season with garlic powder, 2 tsp Italian Seasoning (4 tsp for 8 servings), salt, and pepper. (Be sure to measure the Italian Seasoning—we sent more!) Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 4-6 minutes. TIP: Depending on the size of the pan, you may need to work in batches, adding more oil between batches.
• In a large bowl, whisk together cream sauce base, Parmesan, sour cream, stock concentrates, juice from the lemon, and a big pinch of lemon zest.
• Return drained penne to empty pot; add Parmesan cream sauce, chicken, spinach, and reserved pasta cooking water. • Toss to thoroughly combine (spinach will begin to wilt).
• Transfer pasta mixture to prepared baking dish (divide between two prepared baking dishes for 8 servings). Cover pasta bake tightly with foil; set on top of a baking sheet. • Bake on middle rack until warmed through and bubbly, 20-30 minutes. (For 8, bake on top and middle racks, swapping rack positions halfway through.) TIP: Be careful when lifting the foil to check on the pasta bake—steam may escape! • Let pasta bake rest at least 5 minutes.
• When ready to serve, stir pasta bake to evenly combine. • Divide between plates or serve family style directly from baking dish.
Chicken is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 165°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Some found it delicious, while others thought it lacked flavor. Consider adding extra herbs or spices for more depth 🍲.
- Ease of prep: Generally easy to make, though a few mentioned it took longer than expected to prepare.
- Suggestions: Add more sauce to prevent dryness. Try incorporating cherry tomatoes or bacon for extra flavor.
- Leftovers: Many enjoyed the large portions, with some reporting it tasted even better the next day.
- Texture: A few found the chicken dry; consider using ground chicken or sausage for juicier results.
Reviews from our home cooks
I was "OK" but kind of dry and not a lot of flavor. The portions are huge and certainly cost effective. On the leftovers I added some bacon, chopped garlic and sauteed onions with a splash of white wine. I also added some bread crumb and parmesan cheese to the top before baking it a little more
Love this very tasty... It did take a long time to prepare but was worth it. I love the opportunity for leftovers but, I struggled with knowing how much was one serving.
Very good, but a little more flavor is needed. Because I didn't receive all of the chicken stock packets needed, I added some chipotle flavored better than bullion and it added some extra flavor, but even then it could have used a little something else.
Delicious, but I needed to add a jar of Alfredo sauce or it would have been too dry.
Decent dish, loved the extra servings. It would be nice to be able to upgrade to extra servings of other dishes or choose whole wheat pasta.
We liked it the spinach didn't enhance it towards the good side broccoli would be a better choice
This was so good!!!! Awesome healthy meal the whole family loved!! We ate a few times on this one!
This was one of the best, freshest, and most delicious meals we've had. Please bring this one back often.
My husband loved this one!!! I loved the double portion. We fed guests and had leftovers.
Enjoyed it, had leftovers the next day and it was just as good.
