A pasta bake with plenty of thick, creamy tomato sauce….made with NO CREAM….all in ONE POT! Even the pasta is cooked right in the pan with the sauce! Creamy Tomato Pasta Bake with Chicken is the ultimate recipe for low-effort comfort food to feed a family or group of friends.
My mother makes an incredible Japanese pasta bake called Makaroni Guratan, which is basically Macaroni Gratin pronounced with a Japanese accent. It is soooo typical of the Japanese to change the spelling of English words to the way Japanese pronounce it. It’s an endless source of amusement for me!
As the name implies, it is macaroni baked in a classic french “gratin” style with a creamy white sauce made from a roux. It was a childhood favourite and I used to nag my mother to make it frequently, but she only ever treated us with it for special occasions. So I got to know Makaroni Guratan as a special occasion dish.
As I grew older and started to cook, I realised why she only made it for special occasions….because it is such an effort to make! It requires four separate pots/pans/dishes. FOUR!! A pot to cook the pasta, a saucepan to make the white sauce, a fry pan to sauté the chicken and mushroom and a baking dish to bake it all in.
Shoot me now.
It is worth the effort. But I only make it for special occasions…..(they do say daughters turn into their mothers….)
But I love saucy pasta bakes, so I invented my own creamy tomato one-pot version which is really convenient for midweek meals. I don’t like to cook with cream for midweek meals so this is made using a simple roux base (don’t let that fancy sounding word scare you, it’s just butter + flour that is used as a thickener for the sauce). Also, if you wanted to make a pasta bake as saucy as I’ve made this, you would need three cartons of cream….my arteries are hardening just at the thought!
This pasta bake is based on the same technique I use for my One Pot Saucy Creamy Mac and Cheese. It is not quite as saucy so it holds together better when you serve it, as opposed to the Mac and Cheese which collapses into a pile of cheesy creamy deliciousness.
I hope you consider trying it! It’s a great one for midweek. 🙂 I mean, seriously…check out all that creamy tomato sauce!! – Nagi
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One Pot Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta Bake (no cream)
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 small onion , diced
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 6 tbsp / 1/2 cup plain flour
- 2 cups milk (500ml)
- 2 cups tomato passata (500ml) (Note 1)
- 1 cup water (or chicken or vegetable broth) (250ml)
- 2 tsp salt
- Black pepper
- 3 cups dried ziti / penne pasta (uncooked)
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Pepper
Garnish (optional)
- Fresh basil leaves
- Freshly grated parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
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Mel says
I’ve just gone back to work after my maternity leave, and this looks just perfect as a midweek dinner. Will definitely try it!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hope you do Mel! Little easier to make than homemade croissants 😉
Marissa | Pinch and Swirl says
Wow, 4 pots!?! Your mom must really, really love you! 😉
This one-pot-wonder of yours looks like my kind of mid-week comfort food. Gorgeous photos too, Nagi.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Totally my kind of midweek comfort meal too 🙂 Yeah, I think my mum loves us kids….sometimes I wonder though, when she rouses on us even though we’re all 30+!
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
Yes Ma’am, another winner. I made a creamy pasta with leftover ham for dinner last night and we were so hungry we just ate – no photos. Argh.
I think I’d do the same thing if this beautiful dish were on the table. I’d reach for a fork and not the camera. 🙂
Nagi | RecipeTin says
This is the 3rd time I’ve made this in the last few weeks. I kept thinking “I should blog this, I should blog this” but kept forgetting to photograph it! The impatience of greedy people. 🙂
Agnès Tremblay says
Your receipies look so easy, I’ll try it one of these days. I’m a french Canadian so please excuse my English!
I just had a surgery for the liver so I’ll wait to recover a little before trying. I’m glad I found your web site though.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi Agnes – I’m sorry to hear you had to have surgery. I wish you a very speedy recovery and I hope you aren’t too uncomfortable. As for your English, please do not EVER apologise for it. Being able to speak more than one language is a gift you should be proud of. There are so many people in this world who don’t even attempt to speak a second language, let alone be as fluent as you are. 🙂
Besides, what you wrote was perfect English! 🙂
I hope you do try this! All my recipes are easy, I only share easy ones (well, I might do the odd complicated one, but 90% of my recipes are super easy!).
Get well soon!
mila furman says
Nagi….perfection as always! Love this dish! And the fact that there is no cream is quite nice! 4 cups of cream? Have mercy!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
I know right?? I would literally keel over from a heart attack if I ate something with 4 cups of cream in it!! 🙂
Rachel (Rachel's Kitchen NZ) says
I always love your recipe notes – Nagi – today “…I don’t have a lid for the fry pan I used but I have a lid for a larger pot which I just place on top…” reminds me of myself:) This recipe sounds fabulous!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
I swear, you and I are constantly bouncing messages like that back and forth! “I just made cauliflower soup” “I just made chargrilled eggplant”!! 🙂
Shinee says
Another amazing recipe, Nagi! I swear I cook your recipes at least once a week for dinner! Love them!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Thanks Shinee, you are so sweet! 🙂
John@Kitchen Riffs says
I love gratins! Particularly nice, cheesy ones like this. I make pasta bakes without the roux base — need to try your version. Love the flavor of this! Pretty light on the photos, too.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Thank you John!! Why haven’t I seen you in my feed lately? Hmm, must go check my subscription settings!