Why does no one prepare you for the fact that you will have to think of something to make for dinner nearly every night for the entirety of your adult life? That’s a lot of dinners. And a lot of choices to make. That’s why it’s a great idea to have a bunch of simple, easy to throw together dinners on hand that you can rotate through without even having to think about it. One of our favorites is this easy Chicken Parm Casserole. Made out of a couple of shortcuts and just five ingredients, it takes minutes to get in the oven and is always a sure crowd-pleaser.

What Ingredients Do You Need for Chicken Parm Casserole?

You only need five things! Really! They are:

• A pound of spaghetti.
• Two jars of your favorite marinara.
• Mozzarella cheese.
• Parmesan cheese.
• Some frozen breaded chicken, like patties, filets, or cutlets.

For extra credit, you could add in some Italian seasoning or fresh basil.

How do you Make Chicken Parm Casserole?

It’s just about as easy as dinner gets. Ready?

First up, bring a big pot of water to a boil, salt it up, and cook that spaghetti until it’s almost al dente, about a minute less than the package tells you. (It’ll cook more in the oven and you don’t want it to get mushy.)

Drain it and add the pasta right back to the pot. Stir in a jar and a half of the marinara and about two cups of the mozzarella. Transfer that sauced pasta to a 9×13.

Lay your frozen chicken on top — no need to thaw it — and then get it into the oven for 20 minutes. You want to give the chicken a chance to crisp up before you top it with the chicken parm classics, so this oven time gives it that head start.

After 20 minutes, pull the baking dish out and top each chicken piece with a nice spoonful of the remaining marinara. Sprinkle that with the rest of the mozzarella and the parmesan and get it back into the oven just until the cheese has melted and starts to turn lightly golden. Then it’s time for the best part — to eat!