Chicken Parmesan Meatball Pasta Bake
Last Friday, I had a house full of hungry kids and dinner guests, so I tucked tender chicken Parmesan meatballs into a bubbling pan of pasta instead of frying them one by one. The little meatballs…
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
- 1 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- to taste kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 (24-ounce) jars marinara sauce
- 16 ounces rigatoni
- 2 cups shredded low-moisture mozzarella
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment, and bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil.
- In a large bowl, gently mix the ground chicken, breadcrumbs, egg, Parmesan, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Stop mixing as soon as everything comes together so the meatballs stay tender.
- Roll the mixture into about thirty 1 1/2-inch meatballs and arrange them on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly browned and cooked through.
- While the meatballs bake, cook the rigatoni in the boiling water until 2 minutes shy of the package timing. Drain well, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F. Toss the drained rigatoni with one jar of marinara and enough reserved pasta water to make it glossy and easy to stir.
- Spread half of the pasta in a deep 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Nestle half of the meatballs into it, spoon over half of the remaining marinara, and sprinkle with 1 cup of mozzarella. Repeat with the remaining pasta, meatballs, marinara, and mozzarella.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 8 to 10 minutes more, until the cheese is browned in spots and the sauce is bubbling. Rest for 5 minutes, then scatter with basil and bring the dish straight to the dinner table.
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