Easy 5-Ingredient Baked Marinara Chicken Casserole Recipe Is Cheesy, Saucy Goodness by Elisa Schmitz

Easy casserole recipes reign on 30Seconds. Why? Because you really can't beat an easy, delicious casserole recipe for dinner – from hosting friends and family to pulling together quick weeknight meals. Casseroles make meal-planning easy, since most everything bakes up in one convenient casserole dish.

This easy five-ingredient baked marinara chicken casserole recipe is loaded with cheesy, saucy goodness, making it one of my current favorite casseroles. I'll bet you already have the ingredients for this chicken dinner recipe on hand: chicken breast, marinara sauce, olive oil, Italian seasoning and cheddar cheese. These simple ingredients are baked up into a moist and juicy chicken dish that's ideal to serve over pasta or, if you're watching your carbs, on its own with a side of vegetables.

I served this delicious budget-friendly chicken casserole recipe over rotini for my husband and with a side of avocado slices for myself. And the leftovers were just as good for lunch the next day!

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Cuisine: American / Italian
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 large chicken breasts, cut into chicken tenders
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 26 ounces marinara sauce (you can use your favorite jarred sauce or make your own marinara sauce)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (you could use mozzarella or Parmesan cheese instead)
• shredded Parmesan cheese, for garnish (optional)

Helpful Products

• Casserole Dish
• Mixing Bowl
• Cheese Grater
• Cutting Board
• Chef Knife
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• Meat Thermometer
• Food Storage Containers

Recipe Notes

• You can use your favorite jarred sauce or make your own marinara sauce.

• Instead of cheddar cheese, you could use mozzarella or Parmesan cheese (or your favorite cheese, or no cheese at all).

• You can serve this casserole over pasta or rice, or on its own with your favorite vegetable side dishes.

• You can garnish this casserole with a sprinkle of shredded Parmesan cheese, or fresh chopped cilantro or basil, if desired.

• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Here's how to make it:

1. Add olive oil and Italian seasoning to a 13x9-inch casserole dish and spread to coat the bottom of the dish.
   
2. Add the chicken breast tenders to the dish and roll to coat each piece of chicken in the olive oil and herb mixture.
   
3. Pour the marinara sauce over the chicken, ensuring that the chicken is covered by the sauce.
   
4. Bake the sauce-covered chicken at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes. Remove casserole from oven. Flip the chicken pieces over onto their other sides, stir sauce and cover chicken with the stirred sauce.
   
5. Cover the casserole with the cheddar cheese.
   
6. Return cheese-covered casserole to the oven and bake for 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and golden. (Chicken is done when it measures 165 degrees F on a meat thermometer.)
   
7. Allow casserole to rest for about five minutes then serve (see Recipe Notes for serving suggestions).
   
   

Recipe cooking times and servings are approximate. Need to convert cooking and baking measurements? Here are some kitchen conversion charts. Here's how to submit your recipes to 30Seconds.

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