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Easy Mediterranean Chicken Penne

Published May 17th 2012 Updated February 1st 2024

This Easy Mediterranean Chicken Penne is a one dish meal filled with chicken, baby spinach and sundried tomatoes. Serve it with a salad and warm garlic bread for a family-style feast.

Mediterranean Chicken Penne

Easy Mediterranean Chicken Penne Recipe

This easy Mediterranean inspired chicken and penne pasta dish was a happy accident in my kitchen. This recipe pulls pantry ingredients transforming them into a 5 star meal. How to make Mediterranean Chicken Penne: (Scroll down for full printable recipe.)

  • Prepare Dish – Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 12×8 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
  • Onion – Cook diced onion in a couple of drizzles of olive oil until it’s translucent and beginning to brown. Season with salt and black pepper to your taste then add the crushed red pepper flakes.
  • Sauce – To the pot add both jars of Alfredo sauce, milk, and cream cheese. Mix well, then simmer uncovered on low heat, stirring just until the cream cheese melts.
  • Mix-ins – To the pot add Parmesan cheese, basil pesto, sun dried tomatoes, chicken and shredded cheese. Mix well.
  • Pasta – Add the cooked penne pasta and the baby spinach. If you’d like the sauce a little thinner, add extra milk.
  • Transfer to Dish – Pour the mixture into the baking dish and sprinkle the remaining shredded mozzarella on top.
  • Topping – Toss together crumbs and butter, sprinkle over cheese.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden and the edges are bubbly.
  • Serve immediately.
Mediterranean Chicken Penne

How to Make the Best Mediterranean Chicken Penne Pasta Recipe

The beauty of this dish, is, if you’re hard pressed for time it could be finished completely on the stove top and sprinkled with Parmesan and a few toasted pine nuts for crunch, just before serving. It makes life so much less stressful when you can prepare a dish that’s simple and versatile.

  • Ingredients you’ll need to make homemade Easy Mediterranean Chicken Penne: Penne pasta cooked to al dente, rotisserie chicken, (grilled, roasted or poached will work) prepared alfredo sauce, sundried tomatoes, basil pesto, onion, olive oil, salt, black pepper, chive and onion cream cheese, shredded mozzarella cheese, crushed red pepper flakes, baby spinach, grated Parmesan cheese, melted butter and Italian breadcrumbs to make the crispy topping.
  • Kitchen gadgets you’ll need: Rectangle 13×9 inch baking dish, a large skillet or pot, measuring cups and spoons, sharp knife and cutting board, cheese grater, mixing spoons or silicone spatula for stirring and a pasta pot for cooking the penne pasta.
  • You can use leftover grilled, roasted or poached chicken for this recipe. I tend to have rotisserie chicken often in our fridge, so that’s what I use most often.
  • You can use any brand of prepared pesto that you enjoy.
  • You could skip the oven and serve this dish as is. To do so stir all of the ingredients plus cheese into the mixture and simmer on the stove top until heated through. Then sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese just before serving.
  • I highly recommend rinsing and soaking the sundried tomatoes for a few minutes if time allows. This will allow them to soften and remove some of the oil they’re packed in. The flavor will be enhanced and not dominate the pasta.
  • Lighter dairy works beautifully in this recipe including the alfredo sauce. Use a quality brand for the best end result.
  • Store leftover Mediterranean Chicken Penne chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in single servings in the microwave.
easy-Mediterranean-chicken-penne

More Easy Pasta Recipes to Make

Pasta is inexpensive and can add bulk to the menu with plenty to go around. That makes any pasta dish a win in my Southern kitchen. More easy pasta recipes you may also like to try:

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Easy Mediterranean Chicken Penne

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Main Course, Pasta, Poultry
Cuisine: American, Mediterranean-inspired, Southern
Keyword: easy-chicken-penne, easy-mediterranean-chicken-penne
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 504kcal
Author: Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

  • 1 small onion diced
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp each salt and black pepper adjust to taste
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 15 oz jars light creamy Alfredo sauce any brand, I used Classico
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup 1/3 less fat chive and onion cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup basil pesto
  • 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes rinsed
  • 3 cups roughly chopped roasted chicken
  • 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese divided use
  • 4 cups cooked penne pasta
  • 1 6 oz package baby leaf spinach
  • Topping:
  • 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs or Italian cracker crumbs
  • 2 Tbsp melted butter

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 13×9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
  • In a large stove top pot over medium-high heat, cook diced onion in a couple of drizzles of olive oil until it's translucent and beginning to brown. Season with salt and black pepper to your taste then add the crushed red pepper flakes.
  • To the pot add both jars of Alfredo sauce, 1/2 cup of milk, and cream cheese.
  • Mix well, then simmer uncovered on low heat, stirring just until the cream cheese melts.
  • To the pot add Parmesan cheese, basil pesto, sun dried tomatoes, chicken and 1 1/4 cups of shredded cheese. Mix well.
  • Add the cooked penne pasta and the baby spinach. If you'd like the sauce a little thinner, add extra milk. [Tip: At this point, you could skip the oven and serve this dish as is….Stir all of the cheese into the mixture and simmer on the stove top until heated through. Then sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese just before serving. For a little crunch, top with toasted pine nuts.]
  • Pour the mixture into the baking dish and sprinkle the remaining shredded mozzarella on top.
  • Toss together crumbs and butter, sprinkle over cheese.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden and the edges are bubbly.
  • Serve immediately.

Notes

Sun dried tomatoes are packed in oil. I recommend that you rinse the oil from the tomatoes for this dish, to prevent the flavor from overpowering the sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 504kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 1740mg | Potassium: 485mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 975IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 312mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @melissassk or tag #melissassk!

14 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I was so busy fixing snacks today for tomorrows Super Bowl party I didn’t even think about dinner until my husband wandered into “my space” looking forsomethingo to eat. So I checked this site for quick and delicious and you didn’t fail! I even had every thing on hand except for the onion chive cream cheese but I did have a bit of the Boursin’s garlic and herb cheese which I used instead, nor did I have spinach so I left that out. This dish turned out so good with so little time. Thank you, thank you!!!

    1. Hi Rebekah, what a great question I have never tried freezing this one. Pasta freezes well so I expect it would do fine. If you try it come back and leave a comment letting me know how it goes. Btw, so happy you love this one I do too!

  2. Oh my, oh my, oh my… honey sweetheart, you touched my heart and my taste buds!!

    I just printed this out!

    Thank you!

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