Chicken-Penne Florentine Bake

photo by:kraft

What’s not to love? Chicken, spinach and two kinds of cheese are baked with multi-grain pasta for a totally satisfying—and better-for-you—take on an Italian favorite.

time

prep:

25 min

total:

43 min

servings

total:

6 servings, 1 cup each

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What You Need

cups multi-grain penne pasta, uncooked

lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

Tbsp. flour

Tbsp. KRAFT Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing

cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, cubed

pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained

cup KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

Make It

HEAT oven to 375ºF.

COOK pasta as directed on package, omitting salt.

MEANWHILE, toss chicken with flour. Heat dressing in large skillet on medium heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 3 min. or until evenly browned. Add broth and Neufchatel; cook 3 min. or until Neufchatel is melted, stirring frequently. Stir in spinach.

DRAIN pasta. Add to chicken mixture; mix lightly. Spoon half into 2-qt. casserole sprayed with cooking spray; top with 1/2 cup mozzarella. Repeat layers; sprinkle with Parmesan.

BAKE 16 to 18 min. or until mozzarella is melted and casserole is heated through.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Make Ahead

Pasta can be cooked ahead of time. Cook as directed on package, just until al dente. Rinse pasta, drain well and place in a freezer-weight resealable plastic bag. Freeze up to 2 months. When ready to use, thaw pasta by running hot tap water over pasta; drain. Then, use as directed.

Keeping it Safe

Cutting raw boneless chicken breasts into pieces is a slippery task. Make it safer and prevent the knife from slipping by cutting the chicken while it is partially frozen.

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smemery02

posted:10/24/2010

This was pretty good. I made some modifications to it and would probably make it again. What I like about it is that it's not too fattening, and has all the spinach mixed in...easy way to get in some veggies to the kids. The kids and husband liked it, so will likely make it again.

sarah_baird

posted:10/22/2010

Easy to make and taste great! I like to add broccoli too.

jackief1079

posted:10/21/2010

used fresh spinach instead of frozen. just put it in the colander and drain the pasta on top of it. going to add chopped tomatoes the next time i make it. if you cant find neufchatel, its also called "farmers cheese"..

a cook

posted:10/17/2010

quick ,easy & tasty!

pestee42

posted:10/16/2010

This was dry and bland. I guess you could spice it up to your liking but why not just find a recipe that is good to begin with?

binky1183

posted:10/15/2010

I tried this for the first time for my boyfriend's birthday dinner and we both loved it. I couldn't find the sun-dried tomato dressing so I used the Tuscan House dressing instead and I added a lot more of it and the chicken broth because it did seem to be a bit dry. I also used fresh spinach. Very tasty and easy. I'm going to try adding tomatoes next time!

amlamb

posted:10/12/2010

I modified this recipe a bit and did not toss the chicken with flour. (That step just seemed out of place.) My husband raved about the taste of this dish and could not wait to eat the leftovers the next day. It's very easy to make and I will make it again soon.

Kerri927

posted:10/10/2010

I was excited to make this dish tonight, but disappointed with the strong spinach flavor. If you like spinach, this dish is for you! If not, stay away. :)

priscilla170

posted:10/4/2010

If you make the recipe just as stated, it will be VERY bland and dry - I found this out the hard way the 1st time. The 2nd time, it turned out delicious...... I added some garlic salt and pepper, more cream cheese for a creamier consistency, added mushroom and a little bit of chopped onion. So good!

karalizs

posted:10/3/2010

We are vegetarians so I made some changes but it was delicious! I used one full box of pasta and doubled the sauce ingredients. Eliminated the chicken and flour and added the dressing to the sauce mix. I added 1 cup frozen peas, 2 diced, seeded tomatoes, and 1/2 a package of sliced mushrooms cut into smaller pieces. Yum!