BBQ Chicken Pasta Bake.
I’ve had some requests to share more of our dinners and meal ideas with you, so without further ado – here is a recent dinner Mr. How Sweet hogged we shared.
See that cheesiness up there? You can’t go wrong with BBQ and chicken and cheese and pasta and caramelized onions and… well, it just doesn’t get any better. Oh wait, yes it does. Add some panko for crunch.
And of course I used smoked cheese. I have a mild obsession with smoked cheese. I just can’t get enough of it. Especially when it comes to BBQ dishes – it adds even more of the smokey flavor and compliments the BBQ sauce perfectly.
We had a little smorgasbord of pastas going on in this casserole. I wanted to use up the remainders of a few boxes, so into the pot went elbow macaroni, penne and rotini. Ideally, I think penne would work best here. Perhaps this would also be tasty made into cupcakes?
Mr. How Sweet and I both agreed that this could not be classified as mac and cheese. When I think of mac and cheese, I think of a delicious pool of artery-clogging cheese and heavy cream sauce. The cheese sauce I made was very light (I used skim milk, a little butter + flour) and I only added about 1/4 of a cup to the entire dish to simply act as a “glue.” You can skip it entirely, but I think it helps hold the whole thing together.
Not that I really needed to worry about holding it together, considering Mr. How Sweet ate this entire dish in one sitting. And when I say “one sitting,” I really mean about 10 minutes. He is a walking garbage disposal. Sometimes he even sounds like one too.
serves 2-3
4-5 ounces boneless chicken breast, shredded
3 cups cooked whole wheat pasta
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce
1 small onion, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup skim milk
2 ounces shredded smoked cheese (I used cheddar, gouda and gruyere blend)
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350.
Prepare pasta and shredded chicken and set aside. In a small sauce pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and sliced onions with a sprinkle of sea salt and let caramelized – about 10 minutes. Â During this time, combine shredded chicken with 2 tablespoons bbq sauce. Once onions are caramelized, set aside.
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and whisk in flour to create a roux. Immediately add skim milk and turn down to low heat. Add 1 ounce cheese and stir until cheese is melted and mixture thickens – about 2-3 minutes.
In the casserole dish, alternate layering pasta, bbq chicken, and onions. Add cheese mixture about 1-2 tablespoons at a time, throughly mixing to act like glue and hold the pasta together. Top with additional cheese sauce, remaining shredded cheese, BBQ sauce drizzles and panko bread crumbs.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
Yes, Mr. How Sweet finished this whole dish. No, I didn’t even get one bite. But I was way ahead of him and made a second small casserole dish that he didn’t even know about. So I got my share.
But when I say that it serves 2-3? Just make sure we aren’t coming for dinner that night. Because in that case, it serves 1.
99 Comments on “BBQ Chicken Pasta Bake.”
Smoked cheese, bbq chicken and pasta? I’m in love.
Smoked cheese reels me in every time – looks great! :)
I am DEFINITELY trying this soon! I’m a huge fan of casseroles (so that my husband has leftovers to take to work) so this looks perfect!
Thanks for my first laugh of the morning! :-) The pasta looks amazing…I love that it is “light”! ;-)
I really love BBQ sauce…I really like pasta….I’ve never tried them together, but I definitely will now. He ate this all in 1 sitting? I am IMPRESSED. Great crunchy top!
I love how you’re posting dinners now! This looks so tasty :)
I knew the Mr. was going to be all over this one when I read the title! You know, if you ever have boys, you are going to go broke if they like food anywhere close to as much as your man. My boys are freaking me out with how much they eat lately and pasta bakes are a huge indicator for me with food. They LOVE them here, but I have never done bbq. I need to try that next time. I also agree that penne (or rigatoni) make the best pasta bakes, but sometimes ya just gotta get rid of the odds and ends hanging out in the pantry. It looks great Jessica! Have a great Wednesday!
I love pasta bakes! So easy and delicious!
I think my husband would love this (i suspect i would too!)
Definitely going to give it a try – thank you!!!
I love this idea!! My hubby would be all over this!
love this idea!
Mmmmm! Comfort food. I’m in!
This looks great! I’m not a big fan of smoked cheese though…we made mac n’ cheese last night, unfortunately this insurance guy was over (said he would be done by the time the mac n’ cheese was out of the oven) but he WASN”T, so it got dried out. Grrr….such a waste of time! But I love any cheesy dish!!
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I don’t think you can ever go wrong with that occasion. And hey, almost anything can be made into cupcakes – this too. :D It would be super cute for a kid’s party!
This looks so delicious!! I really want to try this. mmmm!!!
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I love when you share your dinner ideas. They always sound delicious and help give me ideas. Which I always need help with. :)
bbq sauce on pasta?! never tried it! but it just looks so good that i will just have to!
oh. yum.
I think I may be able to gobble this up in one sitting too. It looks amazing!
I think my husband would love this. Marking it to try soon! :) Thanks for the idea!
I’m not that big of a bbq sauce fan unless I’m eating a bbq sandwich. I know my husband would love this though!
Every morning you manage to make my mouth water!!!!
Looove. Looks delicious and such a perfect fall, comfort meal – love the smoked cheese with the BBQ.
Serves 2-3? If you put that in front of me, it would be gone in two seconds.
Oh my god this looks amazing! I love pasta and bbq and cheese! Can I have frosting after?
The smoky cheese & chicken in here has me wanting some for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Love that this recipe is lighter, but still filled with flavor. xo
We love bbq chicken pizza, so I bet we would love this!
This looks sooooo good!
LOVE bbq sauce in pasta & on pizza too! YUM!
You make me want to unvegan myself hahaha.
I can never get enough bbq sauce – I bet this is to die for. Also, my husband would eat the entire thing, too…I have no doubts. He and Mr. How Sweet would be good friends (as long as there was plenty of food for both of them). :-) Happy Wednesday!
Yum! and looks healthy too – would make a great weeknight supper for the hub and me!
I don’t think I’ve ever thought to put bbq sauce on pasta before!
I love one-dish meals and this looks totally awesome. I definitely don’t do BBQ enough… No idea why!!
Wow – this looks SO GOOD!!
Pasta bakes are my bff. So is BBQ sauce.
Yum! You’re recipes always make me hungry. I love BBQ so much especially with carmelized onions. If only I could get the Chubbs too like it too. He’s funny about BBQ sauce.
Thank you! This is a recipe I definitely am going to have to try. :-)
Looks amazing! :)
mmmm yum :) going in the folder.
This looks awesome! We had BBQ chicken for dinner last night and I have some leftover. I think tonight I’ll mke this casserole with it! Yum!
I love a good casserole. They are usually pretty easy to make, very filling and remind me of autumn or winter:) This looks really good… and how can you go wrong with smoked cheese?!
Scott would love this! nothing like a good noodle casserole to win over any man’s heart :)
oh my gosh..I wish I could eat that pasta bake right off of the screen! It looks delicious and SO clever. You never cease to amaze me. This is a recipe I will be making for sure. My tummy already thanks you :)
Never would have thought of BBQ and pasta, but looks yummy! I love casserole dishes so simple.
This looks so devine! I could see why Mr. Sweet would hog it all. I don’t think I’d be able to share if that meal were sitting in front of me!
This pasta bake looks fab! Love the cheesy top:)
Okay wow, I think I could eat that whole thing by myself too! At least I’d want to ;)
I could just picture my husband devouring all of this in one setting too! Bbq chicken and cheese- two things he loves.