Dinner for 6

Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta Bake

Name: Creamy Tomato Chicken Pasta Bake
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 4 tbsp unsalted butter; 1 small onion; 2 cloves garlic; 6 tbsp / 1/2 cup plain flour; 2 cups milk; 2 cups tomato passata; 1 cup water; 2 tsp salt; black pepper; 3 cups dried ziti / penne pasta; 2 cups shredded cooked chicken; 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese; 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese; pepper; fresh basil leaves; freshly grated parmesan

$6.54for 435 minServes 6

Penne, chicken, and tomato sauce cook together before cheddar and mozzarella melt over the finished pasta.

Photo: recipetineats.com

What it costs

Pick your city to see which ingredients are on sale

Ingredient	Amount	Cost
	Butter, 2 oz$0.40/oz typical	2 oz	$0.80Typical price
	Onions, 0.3 lb$1.29/lb typical	0.3 lb	$0.39Typical price
	Garlic, 0.25$0.75 each typical	0.25	$0.15Typical price
	Milk, 17 oz$0.04/oz typical	17 oz	$0.68Typical price
	Tomato paste and sauce, 17 oz$0.10/oz typical	17 oz	$1.70Typical price
	Pasta, 11 oz$0.10/oz typical	11 oz	$1.05Typical price
	Chicken breast, 0.65 lb$3.49/lb typical	0.65 lb	$2.18Typical price
	Cheddar and shredded cheese, 4 oz$0.30/oz typical	4 oz	$1.20Typical price
	Mozzarella, 3 oz$0.30/oz typical	3 oz	$0.90Typical price
	Fresh herbs (cilantro, 0.25$1.49 each typical	0.25	$0.37Typical price
	Parmesan, 0.5 oz$0.55/oz typical	0.5 oz	$0.28Typical price
Total for the servings shown		$9.81

Swaps

Swap chicken breast for chicken thighsabout $1.20/lb less at typical prices
Swap onions for red onionsabout $0.20/lb more at typical prices
Swap milk for almondabout $0.01/oz more at typical prices
Swap butter for margarine and vegan butterabout $0.15/oz less at typical prices

Pantry staples you likely have

FlourSalt and pepper

Not included in the cost.

35 minstart to table
Mediumdifficulty
6servings as written
$typical cost tier

Italian High-protein Kid-friendly Budget Family Dinners One-pot Summer

Typical price

$1.63 per serving$6.54 for 4

City Store

Typical price: Salefork's estimate of an everyday US shelf price for each ingredient. Pick your city to price it from this week's ad.

The amounts listed are small for a full dinner, so this price per serving is likely low. Plan on a side or a bigger portion.

Ingredients

4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
6 tbsp / 1/2 cup plain flour
2 cups milk
2 cups tomato passata
1 cup water
2 tsp salt
black pepper
3 cups dried ziti / penne pasta
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
pepper
fresh basil leaves
freshly grated parmesan

Steps

Heat the oven to 400 F and chop the onion, garlic, and basil.
Melt the butter in a large oven-safe pot over medium heat, then cook the onion for 4 minutes and garlic for 1 minute.
Stir in the flour for 1 minute, whisk in the milk, passata, water, salt, and pepper, and simmer for 3 minutes.
Stir in the dried pasta and cook for 8 minutes, stirring often, until nearly tender.
Fold in the chicken, top with cheddar and mozzarella, and bake uncovered for 10 minutes until bubbling and the chicken reaches 165 F.
Rest the pasta for 3 minutes, then top with basil and parmesan.

Main ingredient on sale this week? See what to make with chicken breast, boneless on sale.