Chicken spinach artichoke pasta bake
Spinach artichoke dip turned into dinner, with rigatoni, chicken and a golden, bubbling top.
- 50 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 6
- About $2.47 a serving
- 580 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 12 oz rigatoni
- 1 package frozen chopped spinach, 10 oz, thawed
- 4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 cup milk
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- 1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella, divided
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 580 calories, 34 g protein, 56 g carbs and 25 g fat, and costs about $2.47 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No rigatoni? Penne works.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
- No shredded mozzarella? Provolone slices work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 375°F. Fill a large pot with water, add the salt, and over high heat.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cook the rigatoni 2 minutes less than the package says, then it.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
High heatTimer: 11 min
While it cooks, squeeze the thawed spinach in a clean kitchen towel over the sink until no more water drips out.
Dolly’s tip: Squeeze harder than you think. Watery spinach makes a watery bake.the cream cheese, sour cream, milk, garlic, parmesan and pepper in a large bowl until smooth.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Dolly’s tip: If the cream cheese is still cold and lumpy, microwave it 15 seconds first.Add the spinach, artichokes, chicken, 1 cup of the mozzarella and the pasta, and until everything is coated.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Spread it in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and scatter the remaining mozzarella on top.
20 to 25 minutes, until bubbling and in spots.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 22 min
Food safety: Rotisserie chicken, deli meat, canned tuna and cooked shrimp are already cooked. Keep them cold until you use them, and heat them until steaming hot if the recipe warms them.
Let it sit 5 minutes, then serve.
Timer: 5 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Chicken parmesan casserole
50 min
Rotisserie chicken alfredo bake
50 min
Chicken cordon bleu casserole
60 min
Chicken tetrazzini
70 min
High-protein dinners ›Cozy comfort food ›What to make with pasta and parmesan ›What to make with parmesan and shredded mozzarella ›What to make with spinach and parmesan ›