Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

(5)
  • Minutes to Prepare:
  • Minutes to Cook:
  • Number of Servings: 4
Ingredients
1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta) 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes) 1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion) 1 clove garlic, minced 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice 1 cup shredded mozzarella 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup italian bread crumbs 1/4 cup grated Parmesan 1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more.

Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish.

In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter.

Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Number of Servings: 4

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user JAZZIKINSWS.

Servings Per Recipe: 4
Nutritional Info Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 665.2
  • Total Fat: 11.2 g
  • Cholesterol: 92.3 mg
  • Sodium: 534.6 mg
  • Total Carbs: 25.6 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 2.3 g
  • Protein: 34.4 g

Member Reviews
  • ERINTHEROCKSTAR
    I made this last night - turned out great!! I used Kraft Mozza-Cheddar and it cut WAY down on the calories, plus I added green and red peppers, basil and oragano, soooo yummy!! - 10/15/09
  • JACREN
    I used rotini pasta, as I didn't have anything smaller. I would add more seasonings next time, but otherwise delicious. I will have to refigure my calories, as I got about 8 - 1 cup servings, and the break down is only for 4 servings. - 6/28/11
  • CD9825182
    Sounds good but one serving is over 50% of my calories for the day. - 6/27/11
  • AMYVW2011
    So good! - 1/15/11
  • LOVELYMRSB
    This sounds delicious! Almost like a grown-up italian mac n' cheese. I can't wait to try it! - 9/19/10
  • MICHELLEFINDLEY
    The calories do seem high. I plan to use 2% Mozzerella cheese. I think mushrooms would be good, too, along with some Italian seasoning! Looking forward to trying it! - 10/26/09
  • SHOPGIRL1960
    Sounds good...but oh my the calories!!! - 10/20/09
  • 4MYGIRLZ
    I will give this a try - in looking at the ingredients, it looks like 1 pound of cheese was used in the calculations rather than 1 cup - makes a BIG difference!! - 10/19/09
  • AMYLOVESTZU
    this sounds great but the cals seem high it must be the cheese.. I am going to try it anyway and check on the cheese - 10/10/09