3 Cheese Chicken Spinach Pasta Bake

Name: 3 Cheese Chicken Spinach Pasta Bake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6-8 serving(s)
Ingredients: 8 ounces penne pasta; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced; 1 cup onion, finely chopped; 1 cup bell pepper, finely chopped; 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 16 ounces cottage cheese; 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded; 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated; 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated; 1/2 cup milk; 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup; salt and pepper

Submitted by Sherrybeth

"Another recipe from a local cooking show. I made this and it went together very quickly and has a wonderful combination of flavors. Even the picky kid who doesn't like spinach ate 2 helpings."

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photo by rpgaymer

Ready In:: 1hr
Ingredients:: 15
Serves:: 6-8

ingredients

8 ounces penne pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 cup bell pepper, finely chopped
10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper
16 ounces cottage cheese
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
¹⁄₂ cup parmesan cheese, grated
¹⁄₂ cup milk
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
salt and pepper

directions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat.
Cook mushrooms, onion and bell pepper until tender.
Add spinach, oregano, and pepper.
Mix well.
Remove from heat.
In a large bowl combine pasta, chicken, spinach mushroom mixture, soup, milk, 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.
Coat a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Pour chicken pasta mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned.

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Reviews

This was pretty good, although I would've liked to have put a bit more pasta in this. It seemed like the dish mostly consisted of vegetables and cheese with a few stray pasta pieces floating around within the mixture. Also, as I was eating it I felt like topping the dish with warm marinara sauce would've brought the flavors to a whole new level. Thanks for posting this!

rpgaymer
Delicious! Really enjoyed this one dish meal. I think red pepper would be great in this, too! Made for Football Pool 2011. Pamela

pamela t.
This was very tasty, once I added enough salt to it (and I am definitely not a salt person)! I think the combo of pasta and spinach just soaked up the salt. Be sure to taste test before baking. I also used ricotta cheese instead of cottage, and I added garlic powder seasoning as well. I used half the amount of mushrooms, and it still turned out great. I used 1.5 lbs of chicken, cooked in my crockpot for 3 hrs on high (shred directly in crock pot - super easy). Will definitely make again!

Laura Ham
This is a great mix of stuff! I say that because what I do is have this great, ingenious idea for dinner one night, so I take some frozen spinach and grated cheese out to thaw - then plans change, and we end up going out. The next night, I forgot all about the spinach/cheese idea, and I take chicken breasts out to thaw - Oh! there's the spinach in the fridge - along with some mushrooms that I keep meaning to put in something...anything (my husband isn't really crazy about mushrooms, so I kinda have to hide 'em most of the time). So, here is my chance to use it all in one swoop! I gave it 4 stars because I did some stuff different: I didn't have bell pepper, and I subbed mozzarella cheese for the cheddar. I used 1 regular-size (not Costco-size, though we did get them there in a 3-pack) jar Classico tomato/basil spaghetti sauce for the milk and soup. I also added 1 Tbsp. minced garlic to the saute pan with the onions and mushrooms and a shake or 2 of nutmeg to the cottage cheese mixture. Oh! For the pasta, I used frozen cheese tortellini too. I layered sauce, tortellini, cottage cheese mixture, sauce, and remaining cheese. It was super good, thanks!

Greeny4444
Very, very good. I made it the second time with leftover ham and thought it was even better.

sandrasothere

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Tweaks

This was very tasty, once I added enough salt to it (and I am definitely not a salt person)! I think the combo of pasta and spinach just soaked up the salt. Be sure to taste test before baking. I also used ricotta cheese instead of cottage, and I added garlic powder seasoning as well. I used half the amount of mushrooms, and it still turned out great. I used 1.5 lbs of chicken, cooked in my crockpot for 3 hrs on high (shred directly in crock pot - super easy). Will definitely make again!

Laura Ham
A very interesting, flexible one-course dish. I used the bag of frozen 'pepper stir fry' that I had on hand, some cubed and fried chicken breast, and used mashed tofu instead of the cottage cheese (all that I had on hand). It did come together rather easily, although I somehow forgot to add in the cream of mushroom soup (oops!). The colors were brilliant (due to the red and yellow peppers, the colors of the cheese, and the spinach) and the taste, even without the soup, was plenty for my adult taste buds (if serving kids, though, I would probably use the soup). I definately had to add garlic, though, and next time, to add a little sophistication to the dish, I may add some sun dried tomatoes, maybe some pine nuts or roasted bell peppers instead of the fresh peppers. You could easily add a can of diced tomatos as well, or substitute the can of mushroom soup for some tomato puree. Thanks for sharing, I can't wait to play with this one some more!

Courtney Elizabeth