Chicken Cheesesteak Baked Ziti

The flavors you know and love transformed into a gooey, cheesy baked ziti (pasta) dish with chicken! A dish the entire family will go crazy for with less than 30 minutes prep time!

My toddler is a huge soup fan and asks to have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He’ll actually eat soup leftovers (with a roll) for breakfast in the morning sometimes. If you ask him his favorite soup is tomato basil and because I can’t say no to him asking for such a healthy meal (and I love it too), I make it often at our home.

Last week he asked for some tomato basil soup, and my schedule was so busy with the craziness of the holidays that I bought some pre-made tomato basil soup at the store. I thought he would be thrilled to have it and I could save a bit of time from not having to make it myself.

I warmed the soup up for him for lunch and he was so excited for it. However, one spoonful in he said, “Mom, this is not very good.” He pushed the soup away from him and stared me down. CAUGHT — He knew I had taken a shortcut!

Yes, our FOUR year old will not touch soup from a can 😂

While there are some negative implications of his little palate, at least I can say he appreciates good food and gives honest feedback!

One such dish that scored a raving 10/10 from him: this cheesy chicken cheesesteak baked ziti! He was a little skeptical at first (he’ll always pick marinara over a white sauce), but after eating a few bites he thanked me over and over again and tried to convince the babe to try it too. << I love when he parents for me…

When everyone in my family had tried it and finished their plates, the ratings were unanimous: 10/10. I gave it a 15/10, but my husband claims that isn’t a valid score…

This pasta is crazy delicious: so cheesy, and the flavors are perfection! This is one of the many recipes I had dog-eared to try from Lauren’s new cookbook Modern Comfort Food. If you aren’t familiar with Lauren, she blogs over at Climbing Grier Mountain and no one does comfort food like her! Lauren and I have been friends for a few years now and she’s one of the most genuine, kind, and fun people I’ve ever met! She’s also crazy talented and you can quickly tell that by glancing at her site and her latest cookbook.

In my opinion, there is nothing like comfort food in winter and I can’t wait to work my way through this book during the cold days ahead! If you know someone that also loves comfort food (wait, who doesn’t?!) this cookbook would make the perfect Christmas gift!

This Chicken Cheesesteak Baked Ziti is not only a quick and easy dish to create (less than 30 minutes hands-on time), but it is one of those meals that will wow company and have them thinking you’ve been slaving over it all day 😉

Since washing dishes is not my favorite activity in the world, I do condense this dish into 3 pots/pans total. I use the same skillet to first cook the onions/pepper mixture, and then the chicken. I also use the same pot to cook the pasta in and then reuse it to make the provolone cream sauce. And finally, instead of transferring finished parts of the dish to a bowl, I transfer it to the final baking dish. It makes it a bit trickier to stir without spilling, but it’s doable!

I’ve also tried substituting the provolone cheese in the cream sauce with an Italian blend of cheese (just pre-grated) because I happened to have everything BUT grated provolone cheese one night. We also loved this tiny change just in case you can’t find/don’t have grated provolone!

Make sure to check out Lauren’s website and her latest AMAZING cookbook here!

More Comfort Food Favorites:

Creamy (Lightened-up) Parmesan Pasta

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

Instant Pot OR Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

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Chicken Cheesesteak Baked Ziti

Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

40 mins

 

The flavors you know and love transformed into a gooey, cheesy baked ziti dish with chicken! A dish the entire family will go crazy for with less than 30 minutes prep time!

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4 -6 servings

Calories: 639 kcal

Author: Chelsea, recipe republished with permission from Lauren's Cookbook "Modern Comfort Cooking"

Ingredients

For the Pasta:

• 8 ounces dry ziti or rigatoni pasta

For the Peppers & Onions:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup thinly-sliced yellow onion
• 1 cup thinly-sliced red pepper
• 1 cup thinly-sliced green pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper and 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

For the Chicken:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly-sliced
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper and 1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Provolone Sauce:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups shredded provolone cheese (OR pre-grated Italian cheese blend)
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper and 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 slices provolone cheese
• Fresh chopped parsley, for garnish

Instructions

For the Pasta:

1. Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add a pinch of salt to the water, followed by the pasta. Cook the pasta according to package instructions or until al dente. Strain the pasta through a colander and pour it into a large mixing bowl.

For the Peppers & Onions:

1. In a large skillet preheated to medium-high heat, add the butter. Next, add the onion, red pepper, green pepper, salt and ground pepper. Sauté the veggies until they are softened and golden brown, about 10 minutes. If you need to add water to the pan to prevent the veggies from sticking that’s okay! Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the red wine vinegar. Pour the peppers and onions into the bowl (I just throw it in the final greased baking dish) with the drained pasta.

For the Chicken:

1. In a large skillet preheated to medium-high heat (I use the same skillet used for the peppers/onions), add the olive oil. Next, add the chicken breasts, along with the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Toss everything together and sauté the chicken for about 8 minutes or until it is no longer pink inside. Remove the chicken from the skillet using a pair of tongs, and place it into the bowl (I just throw it in the final baking dish) with the pasta, peppers and onions.

For the Provolone Sauce:

1. In a medium saucepan (I use the same pot used to cook the pasta in) preheated to medium heat, add the butter. Let it melt and then whisk in the flour. Keep whisking for a minute or until you cook out all of that raw our taste. Gradually add the milk. Stir often so the mixture doesn’t clump. 

2. After about 5 minutes the sauce should thicken, then add the shredded provolone. Keep stirring, and season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and pour the sauce over the chicken, peppers, onions and pasta. Toss to make sure everything is well combined.

3. To assemble the dish, preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Spray a 13 x 9-inch (33 x 23-cm) baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the chicken cheesesteak mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top the chicken mixture with provolone slices and place the dish into the oven. Bake it for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown. Remove the chicken cheesesteak from the oven and garnish it with fresh chopped parsley.