Chicken Parmesan Casserole

We took the best parts of the classic Italian dish, chicken Parmesan—the ooey-gooey cheese, crispy breadcrumbs and plenty of tomato sauce—and spun them into this easy, family-friendly Chicken Parmesan Casserole. It’s a dish you can feel good about since it’s packed with lean protein, fiber-rich whole-grain pasta and antioxidant-rich tomatoes. It takes less than 30 minutes to prep and after a short bake time (only 25 minutes!), dinner is served! Find the recipe, as well as helpful tips and ideas to make it your own, below.

How to Make Chicken Parmesan Casserole

1. Cook the Pasta Just until Al Dente

It’s important not to overcook the pasta, since it will continue to cook once it’s in the oven. For best results, cook it until it’s al dente, meaning it still has some “bite” to it. This doneness level prevents it from getting overly soft as it bakes in the casserole.

2. Make the Sauce

Instead of using tomato sauce from a jar, we make our own using a can of crushed tomatoes flavored with onion and spices. Before adding the tomatoes, cook the onion until softened. This cooking technique is often referred to as “sweating” as it releases some of the liquid in order to soften and sweeten the onion. Once you add the tomatoes, cook everything together for 5 minutes. This will allow the sauce to thicken up and the flavors to meld together.

3. Keep Tabs on Baking Time

We add oil to the breadcrumb topping to help brown and crisp it up while it bakes. Oven temperatures vary, so keep an eye on your casserole during the last 10 minutes of baking. If you notice the topping is browning too quickly, cover it with a piece of foil to prevent it from burning.

Ingredient Swaps to Try

• Use a different pasta shape. We use whole-wheat rotini for this recipe, but feel free to use whole-wheat fusilli, penne or any other short pasta. Be sure to cook the pasta according to the package directions.
• Use Italian seasoning. You can substitute 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning for the dried basil and oregano in this dish. Or swap in your favorite dried herbs, using up to 1 teaspoon total. 
• Try a new cheese. Mozzarella is known for its melting qualities, but consider another cheese or a blend of cheeses for added flavor. Swiss, Gouda, Cheddar, Monterey Jack or an Italian cheese blend would all be delicious.

Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen

These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you too!

• Shred your own cheese if you can. Pre-shredded cheese is convenient, but often has ingredients added to it to prevent clumping. These can affect the cheese’s ability to melt properly, which means you may not get that delightful “stretch” that typically comes with melted cheese. Shredding your own cheese from a block will give you the best texture and is also often less expensive (albeit a bit more work) than pre-shredded versions.
• Add some fresh herbs if you have them. The dish already has dried versions of basil and oregano, but if you have fresh herbs lying around, feel free to add some for more flavor. Add up to 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil or 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, and stir in just before pouring into the casserole dish. 
• Add a bit of tomato paste to the sauce. To deepen the tomato flavor of the dish, consider adding a tablespoon of no-salt-added tomato paste right before adding the crushed tomatoes. Mix in with the onions and cook until golden-red, 2 to 3 minutes, then proceed with the recipe. Freeze extra tomato paste for another use.

Nutrition Notes

• Whole-wheat pasta is considered a whole grain—and whole grains have numerous health benefits. From reducing the risk of heart disease to lowering inflammation in the body, the fiber and antioxidants in whole grains go to work for you.
• Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses add flavor to the dish, but they’re also a delicious way to get more calcium into your diet. Calcium helps with everything from building and maintaining bones to supporting muscle and nerve function, making it a necessary nutrient for optimal health.
• Tomatoes are a great food source of beta carotene, a precursor for vitamin A. Vitamin A plays a pivotal part in immune function as well vision, bone and reproductive health. Cooked tomatoes are rich in the antioxidant lycopene. Consuming tomatoes rich in lycopene can help reduce inflammation that contributes to plaque buildup in the arteries, offering protection against heart disease. We call for no-salt-added crushed tomatoes, which also helps cut back on sodium.