Baked Pastina Casserole
I’ve made this with lots of different pasta shapes—little stars, tiny elbows, ditalini, tiny wagon wheels—so use whichever you like or have on hand. In a pinch, you can even break a handful of spaghetti into small pieces if you don’t have any short-cut pasta on the shelf. It’s a perfect portable dish, a nice choice if you want to make something to take to a party or a new neighbor.
Recipe information
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Step 2
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain the pasta and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Step 3
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onion and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onion is soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Add the chicken mixture to the bowl with the drained pasta, then add the canned tomatoes and their juice, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
Step 4
Butter an 8 x 8 x 2-inch baking dish and spread the pasta in the prepared dish. In a small bowl, mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
