Marry Me Chicken Pasta Bake
Developed and tested by Robyn Conley Downs
on Oct 26, 2026 
This marry me chicken pasta bake takes about 15-minutes of hands-on work, with chicken, pasta, and an easy sun-dried tomato Tuscan cream sauce. Simple enough to make for company or a weeknight dinner!
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Baked Pasta
My marry me chicken soup has been one of the most popular recipes on my site for years, so I wanted to create a version that could be made ahead and kept simple enough for a weeknight, while still being special enough for company.
For this chicken pasta bake version I’m using the same sun-dried tomato and cream sauce everyone loves, but tossed together with penne pasta and then baked.
To keep things super simple I’m still cooking the chicken right in the baking dish, so there’s no skillet to sear in and no sauce to make separately.
In testing, I cooked the pasta all the way to al dente during the first few rounds and it ended up soaking up too much sauce during baking and then coming out soggy, which is why I say to pull the pasta about 2-minutes short of the package instruction.
Okay, now if you want to make this one ahead you can assemble it up to a day early!
Just keep it covered in the fridge, then add about 10 extra minutes to the bake and stir in a splash of cream or pasta water before it goes in, since the pasta keeps drinking as it sits.
And for a stovetop version, my marry me chicken pasta is for you, and my marry me chicken orzo is a dump-and-bake where the pasta cooks right in the dish!
Make This Marry Me Chicken Pasta Bake When:
- You’ve got people coming over and want something that looks like you fussed when you really didn’t.
- It’s Sunday dinner and you want the house to smell incredible while it bakes.
- You need to feed a crowd, because this one goes straight from the oven to the table.
- You’re bringing dinner to someone, since it travels well and reheats beautifully.
- You want a company-worthy casserole you can prep ahead, because you can assemble the whole thing earlier in the day and bake it when everyone shows up.
- You need it to be gluten-free, which is easy here since the pasta cooks separately and any gluten-free pasta works.
Welcome to My Kitchen, Let’s Make a Simple Chicken Pasta Bake!
Robyn’s Testing Tips for Creamy Baked Chicken Pasta
- Salt the pasta water heavily, since you’re using a half cup of it in the sauce. I’ve made this with under-salted water and the sauce came out noticeably flat even though everything else was seasoned right.
- Be sure to cut the chicken into even 1-inch pieces. I got lazy with this once (yes, it happens to the best of us!), and the smaller bits were overdone while the bigger ones weren’t ready, which matters more here since they keep cooking in the bake.
- Let it rest 5 minutes before you serve it if you can. I’ve spooned it out straight from the oven and the sauce was still loose, but those few minutes let it thicken up and cling to the pasta properly.
Marry Me Chicken Pasta Bake
Equipment
- Large Pot
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thighs), cut into 1-inch pieces
- ⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and roughly chopped (plus 1 tablespoon of the oil)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 12 ounces penne pasta (about 4 cups dry), cooked 2 minutes short of al dente, with ½ cup pasta water reserved before draining
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
Instructions
- Preheat and Prep: Preheat the oven to 400°F and lightly grease or spray with cooking spray a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Boil the Water: Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil.
- Cook the Chicken: In the baking dish, add the chicken pieces, sun-dried tomato oil, tomato paste, granulated garlic, thyme, smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon of the salt, and pepper.
- Toss to coat the chicken evenly. Spread in a single layer. Bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes until the chicken is just cooked-through.
- Cook the Pasta: While the chicken bakes, cook the penne in heavily-salted boiling water 2 minutes short of al dente.
- Reserve ½ cup pasta water before draining. Drain (do not rinse) and set aside.
- Make the Sauce: Remove the baking dish from the oven. Add the heavy cream, ¼ cup of the Parmesan, ½ cup of the mozzarella, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water to the baking dish. Stir well to combine with the chicken and pan juices.
- Add the cooked pasta and sun-dried tomatoes and toss to coat evenly. If the sauce seems thick, add a splash of more reserved pasta water to loosen. You want the sauce to seem loose, as the pasta will soak it up while baking.
- Add Cheese and Bake: Sprinkle ½ of mozzarella and ¼ cup of Parmesan evenly over the top.
- Bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted, golden, and bubbling at the edges. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
