This Chicken Pesto Alfredo is comfort food at its finest! This yummy freezer meal is bursting with flavors of chicken, pesto, bacon, cheese, spinach and tomatoes all tossed together in a creamy white sauce. Make it ahead of time and pop it in the oven for a weeknight dinner!
My Baked Chicken Pesto Alfredo Freezer Meal is one that really doesn’t get old. Plus it’s all real food, baby! Nothing processed. The flavors of this Italian dish mesh so well together and even though there are some “fancier” ingredients (says my kids) even my pickiest of eaters will eat it.
This baked chicken pesto alfredo has chicken, pesto, bacon, cheese, fresh spinach, and some tomatoes all mixed together in a delicious white sauce. This pasta is da bomb! That’s right I said “da bomb” and I meant it. I think I will take it even further and say that my baked chicken pesto alfredo freezer meal is da bomb diggity!
INGREDIENTS
This chicken pesto alfredo pasta is made with chicken, basil pesto (make your own or use store-bought!), bacon, cheese, spinach, and tomatoes all mixed together in a simple white sauce of milk, chicken broth, flour and butter. The topping is to die for with bacon, bread crumbs, cheese and a touch of olive oil. Delicious!
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN PESTO ALFREDO PASTA
Make a simple white sauce by melting butter in a pan over medium heat. Sprinkle in flour over melted butter and whisk constantly for 3-4 minutes over medium heat. Then add in chicken broth and whisk quickly together. Cook over heat until it’s thick and bubbles up. Set white sauce aside.
Cook penne pasta according to package directions. Drain noodles and then dump them into a large mixing bowl.
Add in white sauce, cooked chicken, cheese, spinach, crushed tomatoes, milk, pesto, and 1/2 cup of bacon. Mix well.
Pour pasta into a 9×13 baking dish.
In a separate bowl mix parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, remaining bacon and olive oil.
Cover pasta with bread crumb mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
CAN YOU FREEZE CHICKEN PESTO ALFREDO?
Yes, it is so easy! Before baking cover with foil, label, and freeze.
To cook it, thaw it in the fridge the night before, remove foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
CAN I PORTION IT OUT INTO SMALLER DISHES?
Yes, I love to do this! If you want smaller portions, divvy it out in small loaf pans or little aluminum lasagna pans. Remember to label it with the recipe name and cook time and temperature. Store in the freezer and bake in the oven for a quick dinner.
The baking times might be a little bit less, but not much. Start watching it about 15 minutes before the time listed to see if it is done.
WHAT OTHER RECIPES CAN YOU MAKE WITH CHICKEN?
- Bake this delicious Creamy White Chicken Enchiladas
- Make this Homemade Chicken Taquitos with Cilantro & Pepper-Jack Cheese
- Prepare this Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Make this Instant Pot Chicken Teriyaki
- Prepare this Seriously Easy Chicken Pot Pie
The next time you make this chicken pesto alfredo recipe, I would love to see it! Snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #happymoneysaver and tagging me @happymoneysaver!
Chicken Pesto Alfredo Pasta
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 16 oz penne pasta – cooked al dente and drained
- 4 cups cooked chicken cubed
- 4 cups shredded Italian cheese blend 16 ounces
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach
- 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 3 tbsp basil pesto
- 3/4 cup crispy bacon- finely chopped
- 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Make a simple white sauce by melting butter in a pan over medium heat. Sprinkle in flour over melted butter and whisk constantly for 3-4 minutes over medium heat. Then add in chicken broth and whisk quickly together. Cook over heat until it’s thick and bubbles up. Set white sauce aside.
- Cook penne pasta according to package directions. Drain noodles and then dump them into a large mixing bowl.
- Add in white sauce, cooked chicken, cheese, spinach, crushed tomatoes, milk, pesto and 1/2 cup of the bacon. Mix well.
- Pour pasta into a 9×13 baking dish.
- In a separate bowl mix together parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, remaining bacon and olive oil.
- Cover pasta with bread crumb mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
MAKE IT A FREEZER MEAL
- Before baking cover with foil, label and freeze. Thaw, remove foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Loved this recipe?
Make sure to follow on Instagram @happymoneysaver and on Pinterest @happymoneysaver for more money savin’ recipes!
This recipe was first posted on August 26th, 2016, but has been updated with new photos and better-detailed instructions on September 16th, 2021.
About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
Comments & Reviews
Debbie says
Need a serving size for your ntritional content? Saw the facts but no serving size stated. Thank you! Have a diabetic son and need a precise amount!
Maria says
Made this for my boyfriend, his brother, & myself and it was amazinggg! Cant wait to eat the one waiting in the freezer!
Lexi says
What do you think about adding frozen cooked shrimp instead of chicken?
June says
This recipe was TO DIE FOR! I loved it. Thanks so much!
Nika says
i was expecting more of an alfredo sauce for white sauce. if made alfredo instead, would it freeze well?
Laura says
I was looking for a new freezer meal to take a sick friend and tried this one. It was really tasty. I doubled it and it made about 3 9×13 pans. The day was warm, so I grilled the chicken breasts and that gave it great flavor. I will be making this again..
Debra says
I made this a couple of nights ago for my family and everyone absolutely LOVED IT!!! I am so glad this recipe yielded about 10 servings (enough to freeze some for later). I made it exactly as written — no changes, no substitutions… I couldn’t improve on “perfection”. Thank you Karrie!
Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes.
Judy says
This recipe is awesome! Everyone in the house couldn’t stop talking about how good this was. It’s a keeper!
Nikki says
Hi,
I’m making this for a ill friend who no longer can cook and the tray I’m using is a lot bigger than 9×13 so I’ve had to add more chicken, I’m worried the sauce won’t be enough. I have two questions;
1. Can I double the sauce amount?
2. If I do, do I still cook it at the same tempreature and for 45 mins, or would I cook it longer and how long?
Thanks heaps! Yummmm 🙂
Karrie says
The sauce shouldn’t delay it from cooking the same time frame, but with doubling and using a larger pan it will probably take a bit longer to cook. When you cook it just watch it every 5 minutes after the original bake time until it looks done.
Karen says
How many servings does this yield? And what is the serving size?
Happy.MoneySaver says
It would serve about 8 people unless you are really hungry!
Pam says
I just made this and loved it. I would add a bit more spinach next time. Wondering if there is any nutritional information for it?
Happy.MoneySaver says
Here is the general nutritional information for six servings. Hope this helps!
Amount Per Serving
Calories 575 Calories from Fat 334
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 37.1g
Saturated Fat 20.7g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 181mg
Sodium 984mg
Potassium 420mg
Total Carbohydrates 9.0g
Sugars 4.2g
Protein 50.2g
Vitamin A 48% • Vitamin C 7%
Calcium 50% • Iron 10%
Jessi says
I just made this on Sunday and had it for dinner two nights ago…IT WAS DELICIOUS! I omitted the bacon just because I didn’t have any, but it was still incredible! I highly recommend it. I will be making it again in the future. I even shared the recipe with my mom.
Miranda says
Hi! How many chicken breasts do you use for one dish? Can’t wait to try it!
Happy.MoneySaver says
If I have large chicken breasts I will cook two of them and that is perfect. If I have smaller chicken breasts I will use three of them. You can’t really go with too much chicken! 🙂
Toni Robinson says
Have you ever done this with gluten free pasta and does it turn out the same?
Happy.MoneySaver says
I have never tried it with the gluten free pasta before but my guess is that it would still be amazing!
Joe Wakefield says
When you say “Add cooked chicken…” How are you cooking the chicken? In a skillet? Bake it? Do I put anything on the chicken before cooking it?
Happy.MoneySaver says
I usually use leftover cooked chicken. It can be leftover grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken or even roasted in the oven with salt and pepper.
Sam says
Thus looks amazing!
sarah k @ the pajama chef says
this looks delicious! i’ll have to try it soon 🙂
Heidi says
This looks delicious! I’ll definitely want to save this for my freezer meal list with baby #3 on the way!
Cheryl Smith says
Oh, my word! This dish sounds delish! As do ALL of your recipes here!!! I have never known how to make pesto. So thankful you share that recipe, too. What a wonderful log you have here. God bless you for sharing such a wealth of information. 🙂
Arie Hornbeak says
I love any meal that I can make in 45 minutes or less and can be frozen for a later date. Thanks for the recipes.