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Make this easy Chicken Parmesan Casserole with homemade breaded chicken, chicken tenders, or with leftover rotisserie chicken! Add in some pasta and lots of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese!
Best of all, you can make this casserole 2 days ahead of time!
Be sure to serve this with a side of Garlic Bread with Cheese.
Chicken Parmesan Casserole
When you combine super crispy breaded chicken with rigatoni, warm marinara sauce, and loads of hot melted mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, good things happen.
Want to hear my 3 favorite things about this casserole recipe?
- You can make it up to 2 days ahead of time. Score!
- It’s a great way to use up leftover breaded chicken.
- You can use frozen chicken tenders for an amazing shortcut.
Personally, I like to use fresh chicken and bread it myself.
I know that can be a process, so I tend to bread a ton of chicken all at once and freeze it for future meals. Breaded chicken (before or after baking/frying), freezes super well.
Ingredients
See recipe card at the bottom of post for full ingredient amounts and instructions
- Rigatoni Pasta- You can also use penne pasta.
- Marinara Sauce- Try my homemade marinara recipe!
- Mozzarella Cheese– For best results, shred a block of low moisture mozzarella. It melts the best and tastes the freshest.
- Parmesan Cheese– Finely grated into a powder from a block. (For best results.)
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Flour
- Seasoned Salt
- Eggs
- Italian Breadcrumbs– Preferably homemade
- Vegetable Oil
- Butter– Gives the chicken a golden color
- Fresh Parsley– To garnish.
How to Make it
Boil the Rigatoni.
Cook the rigatoni for 1 minute less than the al dente point. Drain.
Prepare the Chicken.
Slice the chicken breast into thinner strips. Season it and coat it in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs. Fry it until golden brown. Slice into bite-sized pieces.
Assemble the Casserole.
Combine the rigatoni and marinara sauce. Pour half into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Top with half of the chicken and cheese.
Add the rest of the rigatoni. Top with remaining chicken and cheese.
Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. If you prefer a browner, crisper top, increase heat to 425 and bake for about 5 more minutes.
Shortcuts:
Use Frozen Chicken Tenders
- Frozen chicken tenders are a great way to make this recipe in a short amount of time.
- Let them sit out at room temperature for about 5 minutes and carefully slice them into smaller strips prior to adding to the casserole.
- No modifications to the baking temperature or cooking time should be required.
Use Leftover Rotisserie Chicken
- This recipe is a perfect way to use up leftover rotisserie chicken and cut out the time it takes to bread the chicken cutlets.
- To add some crunch, combine 1 cup of breadcrumbs with 1/3 cup melted butter. Sprinkle it over the top of the casserole and bake at 375° F for the last 10 minutes of baking.
PRO Tips For Chicken Parmesan Casserole
- I like to use my own homemade breadcrumbs when I bread chicken.
- I also prefer to bread large quantities of chicken at once and freeze it for easy weekday chicken Parmesan.
- Rao’s marinara sauce is superb with this casserole and is worth the cost.
Make-Ahead Method
- This casserole can be assembled up to 2 days ahead of time.
- Before baking, let it sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Cover and bake at 375°F for 15 minutes. Remove cover and bake for 25 more minutes.
Storage
Refrigerating:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Freezing:
- This pasta freezes well and reheats best if defrosted in the fridge overnight prior to microwaving or baking.
- You may want to spoon additional sauce on it before reheating to prevent the pasta from becoming dry.
Try These Next
-
- Pizza Pasta
-
- Chicken Parmesan
-
- Baked Ravioli
-
- Chili Con Carne
-
- Chicken and Gravy
-
- Lasagna Roll Ups
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Chicken Parmesan Casserole
Make this easy Chicken Parmesan Casserole with homemade crispy chicken, frozen chicken tenders, or with leftover rotisserie chicken! Add in some pasta and lots of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese!
Ingredients
- ¾ pound rigatoni pasta
- 32 oz. marinara sauce, or up to 48 oz. for saucier pasta
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 2 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ¾ cup flour
- 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ cups Italian breadcrumbs
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- Fresh Parsley, to garnish
Instructions
- Tip: Bread the chicken while you wait for your pasta water to boil and for the pasta to cook.
Prepare the Pasta
- Boil water and cook the rigatoni for 1 minute less than al dente- (Refer to package for cooking time).
- When the pasta is ready, drain it add it back to the pot. Toss with 32 oz. of sauce, 2 tbsp. of Parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of the mozzarella. Set aside.
Prepare the chicken
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and cut into strips about ½ inch thick.
- Create an assembly line for breading the chicken:
- Bowl #1: 3/4 cup flour + 2 tsp seasoned salt + 1/4 tsp pepper.
- Bowl #2: 2 whisked eggs.
- Bowl #3: 1.5 cups breadcrumbs
- Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, then briefly in the whisked eggs, then smother them in the breadcrumb mixture until completely covered. Use your palms to gently flatten the chicken a little bit more once it’s coated in the breadcrumbs.
- Add ¼ inch of oil to a pan along with the butter, which helps give the chicken a golden color. Turn to medium-high heat.
- Once the pan is heated, use kitchen tongs to carefully lower the chicken into the oil, you’ll need to cook the strips in batches. Cook for about 4 minutes per side, until golden brown. You may need to add more oil as the chicken cooks.
- Place the cooked strips on a paper towel lined plate. The paper towels absorb the excess oil, leaving you with crispier chicken.
- Slice the strips into smaller bite-sized pieces.
Assemble the Casserole and Bake
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Add half of the rigatoni/sauce mixture. Top with half of the chicken strips, 2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Add the remaining rigatoni. Add the chicken strips and the remaining Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. If you prefer a browner, crisper top, increase heat to 425 and bake for about 5 more minutes.
- Garnish with fresh parsley. Serve with Garlic Bread with Cheese!
Notes
- Whole Milk, Low Moisture mozzarella cheese is best for this recipe. Shred it fresh from a block for best results.
Storage
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- This pasta also freezes well and reheats best if defrosted in the fridge overnight prior to microwaving or baking.
- You may want to spoon additional sauce on it before reheating to prevent the pasta from becoming dry.
Make-Ahead Method
- This casserole can be assembled up to 2 days ahead of time.
- Before baking, let it sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Cover and bake at 375°F for 15 minutes. Remove cover and bake for 25 more minutes.
Shortcuts:
Using Frozen Chicken Tenders- Frozen chicken tenders are a great way to make this recipe in a short amount of time.
- Let them sit out at room temperature for about 5 minutes and carefully slice them into smaller strips prior to adding to the casserole.
- No modifications to the baking temperature or cooking time should be required.
- This recipe is a perfect way to use up leftover rotisserie chicken and cut out the time it takes to bread the chicken cutlets.
- To add some crunch, combine 1 cup of breadcrumbs with 1/3 cup melted butter. Sprinkle it over the top of the casserole and bake at 375° F for the last 10 minutes of baking.
- Low-moisture, whole milk mozzarella shredded from a block will melt the best in this recipe!
Nutritional information shared is an estimate and is based on the ingredients in the recipe card. The information provided is per serving, there are 5 servings in this recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 740kcal, Carbohydrates: 80g, Protein: 42g, Fat: 28g, Saturated Fat: 16g, Cholesterol: 122mg, Sodium: 2645mg, Potassium: 1025mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 12g, Vitamin A: 1388IU, Vitamin C: 13mg, Calcium: 502mg, Iron: 5mg
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You only used 2 chicken pieces for this whole recipe?
Yes, once they’re cut into strips and breaded, it makes enough for the casserole. You can make more if preferred!
Can this be done using whole cutlets?
Sure! 🙂
can I assemble and freeze without baking it first? Then thaw and bake in the oven?
Yes you can! 🙂
Thanks. I’ll get there …someday!
You’re very welcome!
Good cooking! Let’s have more of these! Mike Stice.
So glad that you enjoyed it Mike!
Ty so much for this recipe.
I’m adapting to a keto diet ,so I’ll use ground pork rinds/ half panko for topping and perhaps forgo the pan frying.
But dang, my mouth is watering for your recioe..so maybe I’ll just have half a serving..
I can’t wait for you to try this Katherine, no matter what decision you make in terms of tweaking it. Thanks so much for the great comments, and enjoy!😃
This was really easy but I admit that I used precooked chicken strips. I used great value package of 10 strips, cooked in the oven on the air fryer setting for about 16 minutes. My store didn’t have the right size of marinara, so I used 2 jars of 32oz each, with 1lb of rogatoni. This caused me to increase the mozzarella cheese by maybe a cup and I doubled the Parmesan. It barely fit in a 9×13 with my increases but it did fit without spilling. my kids actually liked it and they don’t like much. My husband also wanted to take extra for lunch. I am thinking about substituting ricotta for the middle mozzarella maybe next time. Overall, I’ll definitely make it again.
Happy to hear you enjoyed it! No shame in using pre cooked chicken, it’s a great time saver. Thanks so much for sharing your tweaks and for taking the time to leave a review!💖
Typo – I used 2 jars of 23oz each.
I am very excited to try this recipe tonight! I have a lot of mozzarella pearls I need to use up, do you think that would work out ok instead of shredded?
Hi Veronica! You can use mozzarella pearls if needed, but they may not cover the surface as evenly as shredded or sliced mozzarella. To enhance their melting, you can cut them into smaller pieces or combine them with other types of cheese that melt more smoothly.
This is my second time making this chicken parm casserole. I cheated. I used Aldi’s red bag chicken. So basically, it was cook the rigatoni, mix in the marinara, and start layering the casserole twice. Stephanie made me a believer in grating your own cheese. I doubted it would make a difference, but she proved me wrong. Big cheese pull noted when serving it up. The casserole was sooo good. I don’t know if I’ll ever bother to make the chicken myself. But I’ll always have a bag of Aldi’s chicken in the freezer to put this together in a snap.
No shame in using store bought chicken Renee, it’s a huge timesaver, nice work! I love that you’ve converted to a fresh cheese grater, It makes such a difference. Thanks so much for the great comments and review!💖
Would you need to double the time if the recipe is doubled?
Hi Jason, you wouldn’t need to double the time, you’d keep it the same. Though I would suggest using two (9 x 13 inch) casserole dishes if you can to ensure even baking.