This Baked Chicken Alfredo is a creamy, high-protein casserole with Greek yogurt alfredo sauce and broccoli. A flavorful, healthy dinner for busy weeknights!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
I am sharing my healthier baked chicken alfredo today. A few readers have asked if my healthy alfredo sauce could be baked, and because it contains Greek yogurt I wasn’t sure at first. But after testing, I found a simple trick and it worked!
It’s so good! Everyone loves anything alfredo! With 40 grams of protein, plus carbs, veggies, and chicken all in one dish, chicken alfredo bake is a complete meal that’s also super easy if you use rotisserie chicken.
It’s also such a refreshing change from marinara based casseroles like baked ziti or my no boil pasta bake! In no way heavy, this is the healthiest chicken alfredo pasta bake on the web made without cream or jarred pasta sauce, yet still full of flavor. Trust me!
And if you’d rather keep things on the stovetop, try my healthy chicken alfredo. Enjoy!
Ingredients for Baked Chicken Alfredo
- Cooked chicken: You’ll need 4 cups cooked chicken. I used rotisserie chicken for convenience, but you can also cook and cube boneless skinless breasts or thighs, or even use up leftover chicken.
- Broccoli: Use fresh broccoli cut into florets, or frozen broccoli that’s been thawed and drained.
- Pasta: I love using fusilli or penne in this pasta recipe, but any short pasta works well. Rigatoni, ziti, shells, or farfalle are all great options.
- Greek yogurt: Adds a thick, creamy texture without butter or heavy cream, plus a boost of protein. Plain yogurt works too if that’s what you have.
- Mozzarella cheese: Freshly shredded cheese melts best, but pre-shredded will work.
- Garlic cloves: Always best fresh for that bold flavor.
- Butter: Just a little for frying the garlic.
- Chicken broth: I always grab low sodium broth, you can use chicken broth or vegetable broth.
- Milk: 3.25% milk will give you an extra creamy sauce, but any milk will do.
- Cornstarch: Helps thicken the sauce. Arrowroot flour or tapioca flour is a great 1:1 substitute for cornstarch.
- Seasonings: Smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper are musts. Feel free to add Italian seasoning, onion powder, or red pepper flakes for a kick.
- Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated cheese makes all the difference in flavor and creaminess.
- Parsley: Fresh parsley adds the brightest flavor, but dried works in a pinch. Or swap in fresh basil or chives.
How to Make Baked Chicken Alfredo
Here’s how to make this casserole in 45 minutes. There is a full recipe card below.
- Prep: Preheat oven to 375 F. Toss the chicken and broccoli into a 9×13 baking dish and set aside.
- Cook the pasta: Boil water with a pinch of salt, cook pasta until al dente, drain, and add to the dish.
- Make the sauce: Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, then saute garlic until fragrant. Add chicken broth, milk, cornstarch, and seasonings. Stir, bring to a boil, then simmer 1-2 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Finish the sauce: Remove from heat, whisk in Parmesan, then pour into the baking dish.
- Add Greek yogurt and cheese: Add dollops of Greek yogurt and stir well until smooth, then sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.
- Bake: Bake uncovered 20-25 minutes, then garnish with parsley and serve.
Tips for Best Results
My key tips that make this baked chicken alfredo recipe a winner!
- Cook pasta al dente: So it stays firm without getting mushy in the oven and soaks up the sauce.
- Use freshly grated cheeses: They melt way better than the pre-shredded stuff. Your alfredo will be extra creamy.
- Mix yogurt well: It’s not instead of dollops of ricotta like in lasagna, it’s part of the sauce. If you don’t mix it well, it will bake into clumps.
- Don’t over bake: So Greek yogurt doesn’t curdle and separate, broccoli doesn’t overcook, and dish stays saucy.
- Frozen broccoli: Yes, it works! Just be sure to thaw and drain before adding to the casserole dish.
How to Make Ahead
There are a few ways to make this pasta bake ahead. It’s appealing for busy back to school weeknights, nights full of sports, or any evening time is tight.
You can cook and cool the alfredo sauce for up to 5 days in advance. Refrigerate in an airtight container and when ready to bake, just mix it with pasta and broccoli.
You can also cook and cool pasta and refrigerate it covered for up to 2 days. If you’d like, you can also chop the broccoli and rotisserie chicken ahead of time and refrigerate it with the cooked pasta for 2-3 days.
When it’s time to eat, just combine everything and bake.
I don’t recommend mixing everything together ahead of time and refrigerating, because the pasta will soak up the sauce.
Serving Ideas
I always serve a light salad on the side to keep things fresh and simple. Here are a few ideas:
Simple Butter Lettuce Salad
Lemon Kale Salad with Garlic and Parmesan
Strawberry Spinach Salad Recipe
How to Store and Reheat
Store: Place any leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Freeze: I don’t freeze pasta because I’m not a fan of the texture after thawing, but if it doesn’t bother you, go ahead. Store it in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Reheat: Warm it in the microwave or on the stove with a splash of water or broth until hot.
More Alfredo Recipes to Try
More Pasta Recipes
- Instant Pot chicken Parmesan pasta
- Healthy Tuscan chicken pasta
- Lemon chicken pasta
- Spinach chicken pasta
Baked Chicken Alfredo
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Bake:
- 4 cups rotisserie chicken, or cooked chicken breasts or thighs (cubed)
- 4 cups broccoli crowns, cut into small florets
- 12 ounces fusilli or penne pasta
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
For the Alfredo Sauce:
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon butter, for frying
- 1 cup chicken broth, low sodium
- 1 1/2 cups milk, I used 3.25%
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F and get 9×13 baking dish ready. Add chicken and broccoli to it. Set aside.
- In a large pot, add water and bring to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and pasta, cook until al dente. Drain and add to the dish with chicken and broccoli.
- Preheat large skillet on medium heat and add butter to melt. Add garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant, stirring frequently.
- Add chicken broth, milk, cornstarch, smoked paprika, salt, pepper and whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for a 1-2 minutes until sauce has thickened a bit.
- Remove skillet from heat, add Parmesan cheese and whisk until smooth. Pour over pasta, chicken, broccoli and stir.
- Add dollops of Greek yogurt and stir well to combine until yogurt is incorporated into the sauce. Then sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.
- Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven, garnish with parsley and serve.
Notes
- Store: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Reheat: Reheat in a microwave or on the stove with a bit of water or broth until heated through.
- Freeze: I do not love to freeze pasta because it changes texture but you can, if you wish. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this for weeknight meals for my family. It was delicious. The rotisserie chicken definitely saves you the extra cook time or make your own chicken ahead of time.
So happy to hear!