Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Show: Everyday ItalianEpisode: Kids' Cooking Class

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (723)

Cook Time:
40 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
4 servings

Times:

Prep: 15 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 40 min
Total:: 55 min

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Ingredients

1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina
Melanie Brunswick, ME 02-09-2010
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Pretty good, but recipe quantities seem off
Rated: 3 stars out of 5

A decent basic recipe, but there's certainly room for improvement. Half a cup of cubed chicken is certainly not enough for... four servings! That would give you about two bite-size pieces of chicken per person. I used two breasts and it still could have used a bit more. Also, the recipe calls for just one cup of pasta, but the video shows Giada pouring in more than half the box of elbows! I used about three cups, but I think two cups would have been perfect. Overall it has a good flavor, but is rather bland and needs more herbs and spices to jazz it up. Just about anything would work in this, especially fresh basil. I think I'll make this again and try a provolone/mozzarella combo. Oh, one more thing -- after baking it was quite dry. I would also try adding about 3/4 cup of chicken broth, or perhaps even white sauce, before putting it in the oven.Read more
recipe Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina
null null, null 02-08-2010
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Quite good for its simplicity
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I used a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. and instead of only using 1/2c of chicken im pretty sure the amount i cooked was... about 1 cup. other than that i followed the recipe exactly. It wasn't anything to write home about, but with how simple this recipe is I was really excited with it. I usually like more complex dinners so this was really very fast, simple, easy, and good! I made some garlic bread with it and, im not gonna lie. had two of the four servings just now. I would probably double the recipe if you have a family of about 4 and want leftovers! I must say, I'm excipe to have these leftovers tomorrow.Read more
recipe Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina
Christina Lavallette, NJ 02-08-2010
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Great Easy Dish!
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

This dish was pretty basic, and very good, as it was easy to embellish with the seasonings you and your family like. Pleases... picky eaters too.Read more
recipe Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina
Julie-Anne Portmore, FL 02-07-2010
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Awesome!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This was absolutely awesome! Will make over and over and have already shared with friends. Waiting for them to make it so i... can have more! And it was so easy, perfect for college students with little time....Read more
recipe Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina
monique ft myers, FL 02-07-2010
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Excellent!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I added a few extra's-artichokes and yellow pepper! Also great as leftover!
recipe Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina
KELLY Middletown, CT 02-07-2010
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A staple in my house
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I have been making this recipe for over a year now and we never get tired of it! It is definitely a staple meal and in our... dinner rotation. I make this at least once a month if not twice. I love that this recipe is so versatile and you can add different ingredients and make it your own. I personally add mushrooms to mine, plus a little oregano and rosemary. I have also added black olives before which gives it something special. Some other people posted this recipe is kind of bland. To jazz up mine, I add some soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and also a tiny bit red chili flakes, does the trick. I have made it with fresh parsley and dried parsley and fresh parsley brings it all home, definitely a difference in taste. Makes perfect left overs. I cannot recommend this simple, yet delicious dish enough. Giada does it again! Read more