Cheesy Chicken and Roasted Tomato Mozzarella Pasta Bake

Spring practice started this week, which means I'm at the facility at six in the morning and Lisa is handling the morning routine alone, which she does with the efficiency of an ER nurse and the patience of a woman who has been doing this for three football seasons in Denver. I leave coffee made. I leave the permission slips signed. I leave a note on the counter that says something like "Diego has practice at 3:30" or "twins need snacks packed." This is not enough, and we both know it, but it is what it is during the season.

The green chile stash in our freezer is getting low. This is an annual crisis. Gloria sends me home from Las Cruces every September with thirty-odd Ziploc bags of roasted Hatch green chile, and by March I'm rationing like it's wartime. I stretch each bag — one for the week's eggs, one for a pot of stew, one for green chile cheeseburgers on Friday nights. But it's March and I'm down to six bags and September is six months away. This is the kind of math that genuinely stresses me out. Lisa says I'm dramatic. She's right, but she doesn't understand what it means to run out of green chile.

Spring in Denver is mud season. The backyard is a disaster zone. The twins, who have discovered the specific joy of jumping in puddles, came inside Tuesday looking like they'd been wrestling in it. Marco had mud up to his elbows and Elena had mud in her hair, which she claimed was an accident and which I absolutely did not believe. We ended up ordering pizza, which is not how I planned the evening but which is how most evenings go when you have four kids under ten.

I made green chile mac and cheese on Sunday using one of the precious remaining bags — roasted green chile folded into a sharp cheddar sauce over elbow macaroni, topped with crushed tortilla chips for crunch. It's a recipe I adapted from something my mother used to make, except she used Velveeta because it was the eighties and that was just how things were. My version uses real cheese. Gloria has opinions about this. I've learned to nod and then cook it my way anyway, which is how I handle most of Gloria's opinions about my cooking.

The kids ate the mac and cheese like it was their last meal. Diego had three bowls. Sofia ate hers slowly and methodically, analyzing it. The twins ate some of it and distributed the rest across the table in a way that suggested performance art. Spring practice is going well. The team has good energy. March is manageable. I'll take it.

The green chile mac and cheese was Sunday’s meal, but I’ll be honest—once I started thinking about it, I realized what I was really after was a cheesy pasta bake that could anchor the week before it got away from us entirely. This Cheesy Chicken and Roasted Tomato Mozzarella Pasta Bake is the version I reach for when I want that same bubbling, pull-it-out-of-the-oven comfort but need something with a little more protein to keep six people fed and reasonably quiet. It’s the kind of dish you assemble on Sunday, and it carries the weight of the week for you—at least through Tuesday.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 6

Ingredients

12 oz rigatoni or penne pasta
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 425°F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Roast the tomatoes. Toss cherry tomatoes with 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil, half the garlic, a pinch of salt and pepper, and spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 15–18 minutes until blistered and beginning to caramelize. Set aside.
Cook the pasta. Cook pasta in the boiling salted water until 2 minutes shy of al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain.
Sear the chicken. While pasta cooks, heat remaining 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season chicken pieces with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5–6 minutes until golden on the outside but not fully cooked through. Add remaining garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
Build the bake. Reduce heat to medium. Add chicken broth and reserved pasta water to the skillet, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, and 1/4 cup Parmesan until a loose sauce forms. Fold in the drained pasta and roasted tomatoes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Top and bake. Scatter remaining mozzarella and Parmesan evenly over the top. Transfer skillet to the oven (or pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish) and bake uncovered at 425°F for 15–18 minutes until cheese is melted, golden, and bubbling at the edges.
Rest and serve. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes. Scatter fresh basil over the top and serve directly from the pan.

Nutrition (per serving)

Cheesy Chicken and Roasted Tomato Mozzarella Pasta Bake — The Sunday Reset Our Family Needed