One Pot Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta Bake (no cream)
A pasta bake, cooked entirely in one pot! The sauce is creamy and tomatoey but is made without a drop of cream, making this a great midweek meal.
- Prep time
- 5 min
- Cook time
- 30 min
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 small onion (, diced)
- 2 garlic cloves (, minced)
- 6 tbsp 1/2 cup plain flour
- 2 cup milk ((500ml))
- 2 cup tomato passata ((500ml) (Note 1))
- 1 cup water ((or chicken or vegetable broth) (250ml))
- 2 tsp salt
- Black pepper
- 3 cup dried ziti / penne pasta ((uncooked))
- 2 cup shredded cooked chicken
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Pepper
- Fresh basil leaves
- Freshly grated parmesan
Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
- 2
Melt butter in a deep fry pan or skillet (Note 2) over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes until translucent. Add the flour and stir to combine, then cook for 2 minutes.
- 3
Add the milk and whisk for 1 minute, in small circles around the fry pan, until it starts to thicken. Then add the tomato passata, water, salt and pepper. Increase the heat to medium high and cook for around 5 minutes or until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon (see photo below). Whisk occasionally for the first 3 minutes, then whisk constantly for the last 2 minutes.
- 4
Do a taste test and add 1 to 2 tsp of sugar if it is a bit sour (depends on quality of passata you use).
- 5
Add the ziti/penne, chicken and cheddar cheese and mix through. Leave it to cook for around 1 minute on the stove, then take it off the stove.
- 6
Scatter with mozzarella cheese. Cover with a lid or foil (Note 3) and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the lid/foil and bake for a further 5 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes before serving, garnished with fresh basil leaves and grated parmesan, if desired.