Baked Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo Casserole
A homemade Alfredo sauce with shredded rotisserie chicken, fresh pasta and Italian cheeses make a luxurious comfort meal.
This is an amalgamation of two Kitchen Tapestry recipes, Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Conchiglioni and My Version of Fettuccine Carbonara, baked in a casserole.
There are any number of versions of Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo recipes on in the food blog-o-sphere, some made in a pan on the stove, some in a casserole, but after a morning of research, I walked away with these impressions:
(1) Many if not most of them use penne pasta. My Number One Fan prefers ribbon pasta instead of the tubular variety, and so, she shall have it. It’s easy to see why most cooks use penne, though. It’s a heartier pasta that stands up to the hot stovetop or the baking process of a casserole. But if all your ingredients are assembled warm and baked at a proper temperature and length of time, fettuccine stands up to the task. You can also use even wider ribbon pasta, such as tagliatelle and pappardelle. The trick is to initially cook the pasta only just to the al dente state an no further as it will soften up and continue to absorb moisture in the casserole.
(2) A lot of food bloggers—perhaps not surprisingly—use a bottled version of Alfredo sauce. Now, I am not averse to the convenience of can-o-dis recipes, but bottled Alfredo sauce is a ghastly food factory concoction. Making an Alfredo Sauce from scratch is not difficult, and infinitely tastier.
(3) None of the recipes I reviewed use fresh pasta. Fresh pasta is nationally distributed and sold in the major super-markets these days and while dried pasta would certainly work, I find that fresh pasta in this recipe gives it a certain Je ne sais quoi.
(4) Not many bloggers consider the convenience of using shredded store-bought rotisserie chicken. I’m lucky to live near a store that shreds the meat for you, but if that isn’t an option for you, just buy two whole rotisserie chickens, refrigerate overnight, then de-bone and shred the white meat for this recipe. Two chickens will yield about thee cups of white meat.
A final footnote: As I addressed in My Version of Fettuccine Alfredo, I am well aware that this is not a true Alfredo as the classic recipe dictates. That is why I called the recipe,“My Version.” I take poetic license in using the term “Alfredo” here becasue it has a flavor profile to which Americans can relate. Italian-Americans might tolerate it. Italians living on the peninsula will consider this blasphemous.
Baked Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo Casserole
A homemade Alfredo sauce with shredded rotisserie chicken, fresh pasta and Italian cheeses make a luxurious comfort meal.
Ingredients
- 1 lb shredded rotisserie chicken breasts (3 cups)
- 2 lb fresh fettuccine pasta (like, Bertolli)
- 1 stick butter
- 2 egg yolks, room temperature
- 4 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese (like, Kraft)
- 4 green onions, chopped, reserve green tops
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup Italian Blend shredded cheese (like, Kraft)
- 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
- non-stick cooking spray (like, Pam)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions to al dente, drain, then set aside in cold water until ready to add to the recipe.
- Sauté the chopped white parts of the green onion in olive oil until slightly caramelized. Set aside.
- In a sauce pan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add the heavy cream and the white wine. Bring to a very low simmer.
- Whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl until creamy and blended, then temper them by adding a small amount of the hot cream mixture and blending well. Do this three times to bring the yolks up to temperature, then slowly stream the yolks into the cream mixture while whisking.
- Add the sautéed onion and red pepper flakes to the sauce, and then remove from the heat.
- Pre-heat the oven to 400°F.
- Drain the pasta thoroughly, and place into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the shredded chicken, the sauce, and the freshly ground black pepper and then blend thoroughly.
- Turn out the chicken mixture in to a flat 9" x 13" baking dish, treated with the non-stick cooking spray.
- Top the casserole with the Italian Blend cheese, then the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Garnish with the chopped green onion tops.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake 30-35 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake another 10-15 minutes until the top is bubbly and slightly browned.
Notes
- Using fresh pasta is preferred, but dried pasta will work.
- If you cannot find store-bought pre-shredded rotisserie chicken, but two whole rotisserie chickens and refrigerator overnight. Then, de-bone them and shred the chicken breast. Two standard sized rotisserie chickens will yield about three cups. Save the dark meat for other uses.
