Cook: 30 Healthy, easy, quick homestyle cooking comfort food for the win! This One-Pot Basil Chicken Baked Ziti is perfect for a delicious, easy weeknight dinner!
As many of you know, Cody and I are smack-dab in the middle of a big move right now. Our current situation: walls of boxes everywhere (evidence will be probably be on my Insta Story (opens in a new tab) pretty soon), a task list the size of Texas (which we will be leaving in 2 weeks, so bittersweet! More about this in the Healthy Sriracha Shredded Chicken Tacos (opens in a new tab) post), and missing a ton of kitchen items because I prematurely packed them in an effort to save time down the road. Real life, y’all.
All that to say that this delicious One-Pot Basil Chicken Baked Ziti is a result of 3 things:
- My typical comfort food cravings during times of chaos and stress (Anyone with me? Can we be real like that?).
- Having ZERO time or dishes to really make anything fancy that takes longer than 30 minutes!
- This delicious pasta sauce that I happened to have on hand: Ragu’s® Homestyle Thick and Hearty Traditional Sauce!
I pretty much always keep this stuff on hand because you just never know when you’re going to have a comfort food craving that could turn into an entire pizza devoured if not diverted to a recipe like this one! This delicious sauce doesn’t have artificial flavors, colors, or high-fructose corn syrup. Check out Ragu’s® website to learn more about the new Homestyle sauces!
OBVS, this sauce is also incredibly helpful because of how easy it is to use when you’re in a rush and need that delicious dinner STAT. For me, homestyle cooking is all about finding easy and fun recipes that you can share with family and have on the table quickly!
This One-Pot Basil Chicken Ziti is just that.
Homestyle cooking, comfort food, easy, fun, shareable, and without completely derailing your healthy eating progress. It’s actually loaded with protein, calcium, and healthy carbs!
Tips for the cooked chicken: I like to buy a whole chicken and roast it at the beginning of the week, shred it up, and use the chicken in easy recipes throughout the week. It makes for quicker and easier weeknight meals!
If you’re looking for a vegetarian variation of this recipe, check out the Mushroom & Spinach Pasta Bake (opens in a new tab) or Vegetarian Zucchini Spaghetti w/ Red Sauce & Mushrooms (opens in a new tab) recipes!
Here’s the easy, delicious recipe:
Ingredients
- 2 medium chicken breasts (cooked, shredded)
- 12 oz . whole wheat penne (cooked)
- 23 oz . jar Ragu® Thick and Hearty Traditional Sauce
- 2 cups spinach
- 6 oz . mozzarella cheese
- 5-6 basil leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Mix the shredded, cooked chicken, cooked penne, pasta sauce, and spinach together. Pour into a casserole dish or bakeware.
- Top with mozzarella (or also mix it in) and basil leaves (shredded or whole).
- Bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Did you make this? I’d love to see!
Tag me on socials at @JarOfLemons (opens in a new tab) or #JarOfLemons (opens in a new tab)
I love one pot recipes and this basil chicken baked ziti was amazing. The flavors were spot on.
So glad you loved it!
This one-pot basil chicken baked ziti looks so comforting! A great family meal with tender chicken, pasta, and plenty of cheesy goodness.
Perfect weeknight dinner. No fuss, comes together quick and the whole family enjoyes it. Made it a few times now and will definitely repeat again
So glad to hear this, May. Thanks for the review!
Added sundried tomatoes and a dash of fresh grated parmesan and it was very good.
What method are you cooking the chicken with, and what should you season the chicken with.
I typically bake chicken in the oven or make it in the Instant Pot. Planning on sharing my Instant Pot method soon! My go-to seasoning is salt, pepper, garlic, and a little bit of smoked paprika. I hope you enjoy the recipe!