Healthy tomato chicken pasta bake with vegetables. Great as a weeknight dinner and an easy way to add more vegetables into a meal. Filled with healthy ingredients and lots of Italian flavors. An easy dinner to make when you need to serve many people.
Healthy Tomato Chicken Pasta Bake
This chicken pasta bake uses a tomato sauce. This tomato sauce is mixed with pieces of chicken thigh, frozen vegetables and pasta and then baked to make a healthy chicken pasta bake. The combination of the tomato sauce and the herbs, onion and garlic in it gives this pasta bake a lot of Italian flavors.
Frozen vegetables help save on time and effort when cooking. They come pre cut and are normally frozen at peak freshness. This makes them a quick and easy way to add more vegetables into meals. Use any frozen vegetables to suit your taste. I normally use frozen peas, corn and carrot but anything will work. For example frozen broccoli, spinach or beans. The aim is to just have a healthy tomato based vegetable and chicken pasta bake.
This recipe will make 6 large portions or 8 smaller portions. The pasta bake goes great on its own or it works as a part of a large spread of dishes. I find it pairs well with garlic bread (but I think most things do!).
Tomato Sauce For Pasta Bake
The sauce for the pasta bake is a nice Italian style tomato sauce with onion, garlic, tomato and Italian herbs. It is quite a basic Italian tomato sauce but it uses very little oil for the whole thing so is quite healthy. For best results use the best quality canned tomatoes that you have access to. I find whole tomatoes are normally the best quality but crushed and chopped tomatoes work just as well.
Add the chicken and frozen vegetables to the tomato sauce after it has simmered and reduced down. This stops the chicken and vegetables from overcooking, as they will also cook in the oven.
Best Pasta For Pasta Bake
Any type of pasta will work for this recipe. I prefer (and would recommend) something on the smallish side that can also pick up a reasonable amount of sauce. The pasta types that are vaguely cylinder in shape are best. Penne, ziti and spirals are all good choices in my opinion. I used spirals when making this recipe but often alternate with penne.
When cooking the pasta I would do so for 1 minute less than the package instructions. This is because the pasta will also continue to cook whilst in the oven.
Cooking The Healthy Tomato Chicken Pasta Bake
Combine the chicken, frozen vegetable and sauce mixture with the cooked pasta together in a large baking tray. Mix it all together so that there is an even distribution of everything and top it with grated cheese.
Put the dish in an oven preheated to 400°F/200°C for 20-25 minutes. The aim is to have the cheese melt and just be starting to brown.
Once cooked, take the pasta bake out of the oven and let it rest/cool for at least 15 minutes (ideally 30 minutes). This is going to do 2 things. Firstly it will allow the pasta to cool to a tolerable temperature. Secondly, and more importantly, it will help the pasta bake hold its shape after cutting it up and not spill out everywhere.
Storing The Pasta Bake
You can make the sauce ahead of time (without the chicken and vegetables) and keep it in the fridge for 5-7 days or freeze it until ready to use. For best results don’t cook the chicken and don’t mix in the frozen vegetable until ready to make the pasta bake. You can combine the chicken with the sauce and then freeze it, however I would not recommend adding in the frozen vegetables and then refreezing.
Once the pasta bake has been cooked, store it for up to 4 days in the fridge.
Dietary and Substitutions
Use gluten-free pasta to make this recipe gluten-free and either don’t use cheese or use dairy-free cheese to make the recipe dairy-free. Avoid egg based pasta to make the pasta bake egg-free. Most store bought dry pastas should be egg-free. Substitute the chicken for tofu in order to make the recipe vegetarian and vegan friendly (obviously need dairy-free cheese for vegan).
A tablespoon of pre mixed Italian herbs can be used in place of the dried rosemary, thyme and basil in the recipe. This can make the recipe a bit easier to make and avoids having to own 3 different types of dried herbs.
Use any frozen vegetables for this recipe. You can add in frozen broccoli, frozen spinach or anything else you have. I like to use a mixture of corn, peas and carrots as they come pre mixed and are nicely sized for the pasta bake. You can also choose to use fresh vegetables. Make sure to either partially cook them ahead of time or cut them small enough to cook in the oven along with the pasta bake.
For another chicken pasta dish try Chicken Thigh and Tomato Spaghetti.
Healthy Tomato Chicken Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 18 oz / 500 g chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups frozen vegetables (Note 1)
- 16 oz / 450 g pasta
- 1/2 cup grated cheese
Tomato Sauce
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 clove garlic
- 28 oz / 800 g canned tomatoes whole, chopped or crushed
- 1/4 cup water or chicken stock
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried basil
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat
- Add cut up chicken thigh to the saucepan and cook for 3-4 minutes until browned. Remove from saucepan and set aside for later.
- Add diced onion to the oil remaining in the saucepan, along with 1 teaspoon of salt, and sweat onions for 4-5 minutes until softened. Add in the minced garlic and cook for another minute.
- Empty in the canned tomatoes and rinse out the can with the 1/4 cup of water. Add in dried rosemary, dried thyme, dried basil and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Bring sauce to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 25-30 minutes, until thickened and not much liquid remaining.
- Meanwhile preheat oven to 400°F/200°C and prepare pasta by cooking in salted boiling water for 1 minute less than package instructions. (Note 2)
- Once sauce has finished cooking add the cooked chicken and frozen vegetables in. Stir to combine
- Combine the chicken, vegetable and sauce mixture with the cooked pasta in a baking tray and top with cheese. Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until cheese melted and starting to brown
- Let pasta bake cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting into squares and serving. (Note 3)
Notes
- Any frozen vegetables can be used. I prefer carrot, peas and corn as it can be found pre mixed.
- The pasta will continue to cook in the oven so does not need to be fully cooked beforehand.
- Letting the pasta bake cool will make it easier to cut and not have it fall apart. It will maintain its shape more.
