French Onion Chicken Pasta Bake

chicken and pasta baked in a creamy french onion sauce. Don’t sleep on this recipe if you are bored of the regular rotation of meals always on the menu.

BAKED FRENCH ONION AND CHICKEN PASTA
2 lb. diced chicken
8 oz. pasta noodles of choice
1 yellow onion, sliced thinly
2 tsp garlic, minced
2 TBSP flour
1 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. heavy cream (Have also used sour cream here)
2 TBSP french onion soup mix, dry
1 1/2 c. mozzarella, shredded, divided
1 can sliced mushrooms, optional
In a skillet cook diced chicken that has been seasoned to taste with salt, pepper, and paprika. Separately, boil water, and partially cook noodles. Drain when they still have just a slight bit of crunch to them, will finish cooking in the oven. Remove chicken from skillet, while skillet is still hot, add entire sliced onion. Saute onion until brown and caramelized. Towards the end of onions cooking, add in drained mushrooms. Remove from skillet and add to chicken.
Sauce: In a saucepan with 3 TBSP olive oil, cook garlic until fragrant. Whisk in flour, and then chicken broth. Continue to whisk until smooth. Bring sauce to a boil. Reduce to simmer and whisk in milk, cream, and dry onion soup mix. Once smooth, slowly stir in 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese until melted. In a greased casserole dish mix chicken, noodles, and onions. Pour sauce over top. Mix gently to coat everything. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until heated through.

this casserole is inspired by a home chef meal anna had years ago. this turned out nothing like the one i remembered but nonetheless turned into a delicious creamy pasta casserole. drop the onions and mushrooms to apease the picky eaters and this should suit everyone in the family.

This recipe reheats really well for leftovers. We’ve also frozen a serving or two to eat at a later day and was still really good after being in the freezer for a few weeks.