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This No-Boil Baked Chicken Pasta is the Easiest Pasta Dinner I’ve Ever Made

Christine Gallary
Christine GallarySenior Recipe Editor
After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, I worked at Cook's Illustrated and CHOW's test kitchens. I've edited and tested recipes for more than 15 years, including developing recipes for the James Beard-award winning Mister Jiu's in Chinatown cookbook. My favorite taste testers are my husband, Hayden, and daughter, Sophie.
published Dec 13, 2024
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Chicken & Tomato No-Boil Pasta Bake in a dish
Credit: Ghazalle Badiozamani

Long before one-pot pastas like pasta puttanesca and mac and cheese took the world by storm, I fell in love with a no-boil pasta bake (as did many others based on the recipe reviews). This pasta was even easier than one-pot pastas because you didn’t have to stand at the stovetop stirring constantly while it cooked. All you had to do was stir dried pasta, canned tomatoes, cooked chicken, milk, and some cheeses together, then put it in the oven and walk away. This meant I had time to put together the easy breadcrumb topping, make a simple arugula side salad, and even set the table while the main dish cooked. I served it to visiting family members, with kids and grown-ups alike enjoying the tender pasta, cheesy sauce, and crisp topping. They thought I had spent all afternoon in the kitchen when in reality I had spent maybe 10 minutes on prep.

Get the recipe: Chicken & Tomato No-Boil Pasta Bake 

What Makes Chicken & Tomato No-Boil Pasta Bake So Good

  • It truly is no boil. The oven does all the hard work of cooking the pasta because there’s plenty of liquid from the canned tomato juices and milk. Just stir things together and bake.
  • The topping makes it special. The easy herby breadcrumb topping is really what takes this pasta bake over the edge since it adds some crunch and texture — don’t skip it!

How to Make Chicken & Tomato No-Boil Pasta Bake

  1. Stir all the ingredients together. Mix dried rigatoni, cooked chicken, canned diced tomatoes, and cheeses together in a bowl, then transfer to the vessel you want to bake it in. Pour milk over the top, then cover the baking dish or pot.
  2. Bake and make the topping. Bake until the pasta is tender, about 50 minutes. Meanwhile, blitz dried breadcrumbs, fresh herbs, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil together until it looks like wet sand to make the topping.
  3. Broil with the topping. Uncover the pasta and spread the herby breadcrumbs on top. Broil until the topping is toasted.

If You’re Making Chicken & Tomato No-Boil Pasta Bake, a Few Tips

  • Choose whatever cooking vessel you have that is broiler safe. A pot, Dutch oven, or even a baking dish works here.
  • If you’d like to make this dish vegetarian, skip the chicken or mix in 2 cups diced vegetables instead.
  • It’s okay if you don’t have a food processor, just very finely chop the herbs by hand and mix with the remaining topping ingredients.

Get the recipe: Chicken & Tomato No-Boil Pasta Bake

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