Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake
Who can resist a good pasta bake? Inspired by one of our most popular chicken dishes, this easy dinner is deliciously cheesy and packed with so much flavour. Perfect for a filling midweek meal, it’s a slimming-friendly pasta recipe that the whole family will be excited to eat!
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NutritionPer Serving
- Calories497
- Carbs56g
- Protein39g
- Fat11g
- Saturates5.6g
- Sugars14g
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For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card below. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff in the blurb!
A pasta bake is the type of recipe we always look forward to during the week, so you’ll definitely want to save a spot on your meal plan for this Italian-inspired version. We’ve taken all the best bits of our hugely popular Creamy Tuscan Chicken recipe and turned it into a cheese-topped, hearty pasta dinner.
You’ll love how easy this recipe is to make – the sauce comes together in about 20 minutes, with tender chicken, fragrant garlic, basil and oregano, silky cream cheese and sweet sun-dried tomatoes. To keep the calories down, you’ll need the sun-dried tomatoes that don’t come in oil. If you want to use the ones in oil, we’d recommend draining them well on some kitchen towel (and working out the additional calories, if you’re counting).
Mix in the pasta, sprinkle on plenty of mozzarella and finish with slices of fresh tomato. It comes out of the oven all gooey, golden and super satisfying, while still being slimming friendly. What more could you ask for?
What diets is this Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake suitable for?
This recipe is not suitable for dairy-free or gluten-free diets. It could be made vegetarian if you wanted to swap the chicken for meat-free chicken pieces, and use a vegetarian stock cube.
As always, please take extra care when cooking for people with allergies and be sure to use different utensils, cookware and preparation areas.
Do you need any special ingredients to make Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake?
You don’t need any special ingredients to make this recipe, although you will need to pick up some sun-dried tomatoes. These can often be found preserved in jars of oil, although the oil-based versions contain more calories. We recommend using ones that don’t come in oil, although if you can’t find these, you can drain the oil well and work out any additional calories.
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These Merchant Gourmet sun-dried tomatoes can be found in Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, and they are also available online from Amazon.
We use a 28cm ovenproof dish to bake this pasta recipe in the oven. It’s a handy size to have in the kitchen when you’re cooking for a few people.
How many calories are in this Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake?
This Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake is included in our Weekly Indulgence category because it contains just 497 calories per portion. For more delicious dishes between 400 and 500 calories, take a look at other Weekly Indulgence recipes!
This Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake recipe is ideal when following any of the larger diet plans such as Weight Watchers or counting calories.
The average woman needs around 2000kcal per day to maintain a healthy body weight, and men typically need slightly more at 2,500kcals, but you may want to reduce these if you are aiming to lose weight. You can find more information on the NHS website.
Step 1
Spray a large frying pan or wok with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a medium heat.
Step 2
Add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes until soft.
Step 3
Add the chicken and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes, until the chicken is sealed on all sides.
Step 4
Add the basil, oregano and garlic granules and cook for a further minute until fragrant.
Step 5
Add the stock and the sun-dried tomatoes and stir in the cream cheese. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a strong simmer. Cook for around 15 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Step 6
Add the spinach and stir until wilted.
Step 7
Preheat the oven to 180°C. While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, usually for around 10-12 minutes, and drain well.
Step 8
Stir the pasta into the sauce, taste and season with some salt and black pepper if you wish.
Step 9
Transfer to an ovenproof dish, sprinkle over the mozzarella and arrange the tomato slices on top.
Step 10
Sprinkle over a little black pepper and salt, then place in the oven for 20 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the tomatoes are cooked.
What could I serve with this Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake?
This is a really hearty, filling recipe that we like to serve with a simple mixed salad. A 15 calorie serving of salad would take the total calories for the whole meal to 512. If you wanted, you could also serve a smaller portion alongside any of the following side dishes:
How do you know when Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake is cooked?
The chicken should be cooked until the juices run clear and there is no pinkness left in the middle. Once assembled, you should cook this Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake in the oven until the cheese is golden and bubbling. This will take around 20 minutes.
Here in the UK, the standard advice is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and maintained that temperature for 2 minutes. This is to keep you and your family safe!
How long can you keep Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake in the fridge?
Once you’ve served this recipe, you’ll ideally need to eat it within 4 hours.
You can store any leftover Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake in the fridge for up to 3 days. Make sure that you allow leftovers to fully cool before putting them in a container with a lid and chilling in the refrigerator.
Can I freeze Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake?
This recipe CAN be frozen, but pasta dishes can sometimes become dry when they are frozen, defrosted and reheated. For this reason, we recommend only freezing the sauce if you intend to batch cook this recipe. You can make the sauce following steps 1-5 of the recipe and following these instructions if you plan to freeze it:
- Make sure that you freeze it as soon as it is cold enough.
- Choose a container or a bag that is suitable for freezing.
- Label your dish with the name of the recipe and the date that you froze it on.
The sauce can then be defrosted at a later date and the Tuscan Chicken Bake can be assembled following from step 6 onwards.
How do I reheat Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake?
From chilled: Place in a microwavable container with a loosely fitting lid and heat for 4-7 minutes until piping hot. You can also reheat the sauce in a pan over a moderate heat.
From frozen: Allow to defrost overnight and reheat from chilled.
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Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake
Who can resist a good pasta bake? Inspired by one of our most popular chicken dishes, this easy dinner is deliciously cheesy and packed with so much flavour. Perfect for a filling midweek meal, it’s a slimming-friendly pasta recipe that the whole family will be excited to eat!
-
Prep Time
10 MINS
-
Cook Time
45 MINS
- KCals 497
- Carbs 56G
Instructions
- Spray a large frying pan or wok with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a medium heat.
- Add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes until soft.
- Add the chicken and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes, until the chicken is sealed on all sides.
- Add the basil, oregano and garlic granules and cook for a further minute until fragrant.
- Add the stock and the sun-dried tomatoes and stir in the cream cheese. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a strong simmer. Cook for around 15 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Add the spinach and stir until wilted.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, usually for around 10-12 minutes, and drain well.
- Stir the pasta into the sauce, taste and season with some salt and black pepper if you wish.
- Transfer to an ovenproof dish, sprinkle over the mozzarella and arrange the tomato slices on top.
- Sprinkle over a little black pepper and salt, then place in the oven for 20 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the tomatoes are cooked.
Looking for Slimming World Syns or Weight Watchers (WW) Points?
With ever-changing plans and point calculations, we have made the decision to remove WW Points from the website - referring to your individual plan or advice from your consultant is always going to give the most accurate results.
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