Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake

And pasta. I should definitely mention the pasta.

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake / Bev Cooks

Oh, and the roasted garlic cream sauce! I’m gonna mention that, too. An entire head of garlic (duh) roasted until it’s so tender you could use it as a face mask.

By the way!- don’t do that.

This is like, one of your classics. Chicken and broccoli, yes yes. Alfredo sauce, I’m listening. Roasted GARLIC alfredo sauce, come a little closer. Some baby pasta shells, I’m yours for the rest of time.

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake / Bev Cooks  Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake / Bev Cooks

This is what’s so great. You’ll boil your chicken and pasta at the same time. Sort of at the same time. The chicken gets a slight head start. Which reminds me, anytime I hear the words “head start” I think of that time in 4th grade when we had a track meet at my elementary school in Hot Springs, AR. And this horrible, little scrawny boy was next to me at the start of the race line, and right before they blew the horn for us to run, he flipped his eyelids right in my face, RIGHT IN MY FACE, and I’ve never recovered. That is what I think of when I hear the words “head start.” Has nothing to do with the story, I realize. This is what trauma does to the brain.

Anyway, you’ll never be the same if you don’t try this easy, creamy, luscious (<—are we still friends?) recipe. A little boil boil, little chop chop, little whisk whisk, little bake bake, little gorge gorge.

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake / Bev Cooks

It’s juuuuust enough sauce, too. The goods don’t drown in it, but it’s also not dry, withering away, hallucinating at the sight of mirages at the other end of the pan, parched as it becomes petrified in its own pitiful, brittle state.

Yeah this is definitely not coming out right.

It’s awesome, basically. And you need to devote all of January to it.

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake / Bev Cooks

There’s pasta in it.

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake:

what it took for 4:
* 1 head garlic + 1 tsp oil and a pinch of salt
* 2 chicken breasts (around 14 oz)
* 1 1/2 cup small pasta shells (you could even go a full 2 cups if you want)
* 2 medium heads broccoli, broken into florets
* 4 Tbs. butter
* 4 Tbs. all-purpose flour
* 2 cups milk
* 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
* 4 Tbs. panko
* 2 Tbs. butter, melted
* salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Slice off the end of the head of garlic and place inside a small aluminum foil square. Drizzle with a tsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Fold the foil around the garlic and roast for 30 minutes in the oven. Once roasted, let cool a few minutes. Squeeze the cloves out of the skins and mince them to a paste.

Adjust oven to 350.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the chicken breast and poach for 5 minutes. Add the pasta to the pot and boil for 3 minutes.

Drain everything; give the chicken a good dice, and transfer the pasta to a 9×13 baking dish. Add the chicken and broccoli florets to the dish. Sprinkle everything with a pinch of salt.

In the meantime, make your cream sauce. Heat the butter in a small saucepan. Once melted, whisk in the flour and continue to whisk until it’s slightly brown, and the flour taste is gone. You made a roux! Add the roasted garlic paste and whisk to combine. Add the milk and cheese; continue to whisk until the sauce has thickened, 5-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour the cream sauce over the casserole dish, covering all the broccoli, chicken and pasta. Get it good and covered. Mmmmm.

In a small bowl, combine the panko breadcrumbs and the melted butter. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the panko mix over the whole dish.

Bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes, until the panko is golden brown and the pasta on the edges just gets just a weeee bit crispy. You know what I mean.

Eat!

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake / Bev Cooks

That panko on top is the best crunch in alllllll the land.

 

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26 Responses to Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake

  1. Sune Moolman December 18, 2014 at 2:01 am #
    Well if there is pasta in it ... count me in! Love that garlic! :)
  2. Amanda December 18, 2014 at 9:06 am #
    Looks delicious!! I am all for alfredo in any form.
  3. Jessica @ Golden Brown and Delicious December 18, 2014 at 9:28 am #
    Oh my. I don't even like broccoli and I WANT this. Like for breakfast.
  4. Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy December 18, 2014 at 11:28 am #
    "These are a few of my favorite things...." Seriously. I love every. single. thing. you talked about in this recipe, minus the eye flip thing. Ewww! Boys are gross and totally did that to me, too!
  5. Jennifer @ The Foodie Patootie December 18, 2014 at 2:00 pm #
    Oh yes, need this LUSCIOUS dish of pasta in my life. I came out of the womb eating pasta, I'm sure. (My thighs prove this fact.)
  6. Emily @ Life on Food December 19, 2014 at 5:09 am #
    Pinned!!
  7. Lori December 21, 2014 at 6:45 am #
    As a family who fights over roasted garlic, it sounds great. Could I use shrimp instead of would it be over cooked?
    • Bev Weidner December 21, 2014 at 4:25 pm #
      Ya know, I'm afraiiiiiid it might overcook with shrimp. But try it and let me know how it turns out!
    • Laura December 30, 2014 at 12:08 am #
      Oooooh that would be amazing! Maybe sautee the shrimp separately and add it at the end?
  8. Haak December 22, 2014 at 12:23 pm #
    Thank you SO much for including my gift guide in your post! Happy Holidays!
  9. Rachel Pike December 28, 2014 at 7:15 pm #
    We had this for dinner tonight! Yummo! This is a keeper on my Pinterest board. :)
  10. Laura December 30, 2014 at 12:09 am #
    Made this for dinner tonight. Winner winner chicken dinner!!!
  11. Lisa January 5, 2015 at 11:56 am #
    Would this be ok prepared the night before, and then baked the next evening?
    • Bev Weidner January 5, 2015 at 8:27 pm #
      Yeah, I totally bet it would be just fine!
  12. Caitlin April 5, 2015 at 2:42 am #
    Bev! I've been a long time follower / creeper on instagram and even made your (ahmazing) broken pasta after you posted it. annnd now I've spent the long weekend just clicking through to the previous post and there are so many recipes now that I am dying to try! So I just wanted to say thank you and to let you know - instead of silently creeping through the archives Oh - and I'm in love with your babies. The End!
    • Bev Weidner April 5, 2015 at 6:25 pm #
      Hahaha! Thanks for the outside creepin'. I dig it. :)
      • Darby K January 9, 2016 at 1:29 pm #
        Can I make this early in the day and reheat it for a pot luck? Or should I assemble everything except sauce and breadcrumbs and do that the last minute?
  13. Kimberly October 23, 2018 at 7:30 pm #
    This was delicious! I subsituted the pasta for chopped cauliflower (since I was out of pasta) and it was amazing. The sauce felt light for a casserole and was really flavorful! The cook time was perfect, the veggies still felt fresh. Thanks!

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Friday Links | 12.19.14 - December 19, 2014 […] Gimme all the pasta bake from Bev Cooks. […]
  2. The Weekend Dish: 12/20/2014 : Best of Baking with Pinterest! - December 20, 2014 […] Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake (Bev Cooks) I absolutely loved baked pasta recipes during the winter, and this one is definitely going on my list of dinners make. […]
  3. Elegant Cakes – The Weekend Dish: 12/20/2014 - December 20, 2014 […] Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake (Bev Cooks) I absolutely loved baked pasta recipes during the winter, and this one is definitely going on my list of dinners make. […]
  4. The Weekend Dish: 12/20/2014 | Kitchen Gadgets for Cooking - December 21, 2014 […] Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake (Bev Cooks) I absolutely loved baked pasta recipes during the winter, and this one is definitely going on my list of dinners make. […]
  5. We Had Pasta, Some Pasta, and Finished with Pasta | Lucky Rhino - April 24, 2015 […] up was this lovely Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake from Bev […]
  6. Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake - Mimi Delicioso - May 20, 2015 […] bevcooks.com – Get the recipe […]

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