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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bjmetelko

posted:2/23/2012

My husband and I both liked this recipe. However, the recipe did not have any seasoning so I added some premixed Italian Herb Seasoning from McCormick that comes in a Grinder. We both felt it really added to the overall flavor of this dish. I will definitely make this recipe again. Next time, I may add toasted pine nuts and sliced red pepper to the recipe.

Caseheath

posted:2/8/2012

My husband really likes this recipe. I like it, don't love it though. I do make it about once a month for something different though.

a cook

posted:12/15/2011

This is a wonderful and easy recipe. Good for dishes that need to go to work functions!

kshreve25

posted:11/11/2011

This turned out better than I expected. It had good flavor and I stuck to the recipe. Next time I would add some garlic, but only because my family loves garlic.

kathleencmc

posted:11/2/2011

This was really good, however, I would DEFINITELY add some fresh garlic to it next time and maybe some mushrooms and/or a few sun dried tomatoes. It was good and easy, but a little bland.

a cook

posted:10/2/2011

Really good, I used broccoli instead of spinach.

cutekate58

posted:9/29/2011

Flavor wasn't bad, but very dry! I will definitely double the sauce next time.

shuffman85

posted:9/12/2011

Very tasty. My picky-about-veggies husband even liked it. Next time I will add some garlic to the sauce, I think that's all it was missing.

a cook

posted:9/9/2011

This recipe was just OK, kind of bland. Next time I think I'll try a different cheese, the mozzerella didn't give it much taste.

MariaEgermeier

posted:9/5/2011

My Family Loved it! I didn't have the broth or cream cheese so I added a little more than half a jar of alfredo and some water but did everything else. Also I added a little red pepper flakes to the flour before shaking it up, and added some Thyme when mixing it all, Delicious!