Million Dollar Chicken Alfredo Bake
Creamy, cheesy, garlicky comfort in a casserole dish.
When you see ‘million dollar’ in a recipe title, what you can expect is not that it’s an expensive dish, but rather that it’s an indulgent and decadent one that’s as creamy as can be. That’s exactly what you get with our Million Dollar Chicken Alfredo Bake, which is an easy-to-make pasta casserole that’s brimming with garlicky Alfredo flavor that’s made creamier (and cheesier) than any Alfredo you’ve had before. Just look at that cheesiness… yum!
You’re not using jarred Alfredo here, but that’s no problem at all because Alfredo is actually a super easy sauce to make. You just melt some butter in a saucepan before adding in plenty of garlic, and some half and half or heavy cream and letting it all simmer before stirring in some Parmesan as the finishing touch. Since this sauce is meant to go into a bake, ours is made a little sturdier with a roux and also incorporates some chicken broth to keep it from being too rich.
That creamy base is mixed with chicken and cavatappi, but we’re not done yet. After half of it is nestled in the baking dish, it’s layered with sliced provolone and sour cream before the rest of the pasta joins it and it’s topped off with mozzarella cheese. That means you meet stringy ooey-gooey cheese on the top and in the middle and that layer of sour cream hits just the right tangy note against the garlicky Alfredo. It’s creamy, indulgent comfort in a casserole dish.
Million Dollar Chicken Alfredo Bake
Ingredients
- 1 lb cavatappi pasta
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 5-7 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups half and half
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flake
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 2 cups Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 6-8 slices provolone cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, freshly grated
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with butter or nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta 2 minutes less than package directions indicate. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop cooking.
- While pasta cooks, make the sauce:
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low, then gradually whisk in half and half, chicken broth, and onion powder, parsley, basil, salt, thyme, pepper, red pepper flake.
- Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil while whisking constantly. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, 7-10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and whisk in Parmesan cheese until melted. Stir in chicken and pasta and toss until coated.
- Pour half of the pasta mixture into the baking dish and top with sliced provolone cheese. Spread sour cream over cheese, then pour remaining pasta mixture over the top. Top with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake until bubbly and golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Carlsbad Cravings.