This high-protein chicken alfredo bake packs 46 grams of protein in under 500 calories! Creamy and satisfying, plus perfect for meal prep!
This recipe has been a fan favorite in my house, mostly from Mr. Hungry. He's obsessed with it, and so are my friends on IG. I shared a picture of a dinner I ate, and people went crazy for it. What's funny is it doesn't feel like a real recipe because I used a jar of alfredo sauce. So automatically, it feels like "not a real recipe" I should post, but this is how I cook for us. As I mentioned in my last post about air fryer salmon, if I can buy it for a reasonable price and it saves me time, that's what I'm gonna do.
Plus, I have to say jarred alfredo sauce has come A LONG way since the last time I tried it many years ago. Gone are the watery, tasteless days of jarred alfredo sauce. At least for the two brands I tried, Carbones and Raos, both creamy, delicious, full of flavor, and relatively free of unnecessary preservatives. But if you have an alfredo recipe you love, go ahead and make it. Just if I can hit the easy button, I will do it. You do you.
Either way, you are getting 46 grams of protein for under 450 calories, which is a great deal! A lot of that comes from the chickpea pasta that I used, which also packs healthy carbohydrates and fiber. It's absolutely delicious and healthy AF for you, so put it on your meal plan this week!
How to Make High-Protein Chicken Alfredo Bake
*This is a visual how-to section, full printable recipe card below.
The first step is to cook your pasta according to package directions.
to cook your chicken or prep rotisserie chicken. For me, the easiest way to prep my chicken was to air fry some chicken tenders sprinkled with a butter seasoning blend from Costco. You could also pan-fry, grill, or bake your chicken with any seasoning blend you think would go well with Alfredo sauce. Once it's done, chop it into bite-size pieces.
Next, you need cooked broccoli. I used my steam in the microwave method, but you could also roast it. Because the broccoli was going in a casserole, I did break it up into bite-size pieces before cooking.
Once you have cooked chopped chicken, broccoli, and pasta, combine them with alfredo sauce, top them with mozzarella cheese, and bake at 400F for about 20 minutes. As usual, until the top is bubbly with golden spots,
Swaps and Substitutions
Chickpea pasta - you can use any high-protein pasta in any shape. Banza I get at Costco (see my healthy Costco shopping list here) is still my favorite, but you can use anything; if you use regular pasta, this won't be as high protein of a recipe; the protein in the pasta really amps up the amount of protein per serving here.
Chicken tenders - you can use cooked chicken breast or rotisserie chicken. I chose chicken tenders because they are easy to add flavor to and quick to air fry.
Broccoli - you should easily sub another veggie like cauliflower here, but nothing beats the classic chicken and broccoli alfredo combo.
Alfredo sauce - if you have a homemade alfredo sauce recipe that you love, feel free to use it! I used a jar of Rao's, which was about 110 calories per ¼ cup, with seven servings in a jar. Homemade varieties may change the macros in this recipe!
Mozzarella cheese - optional, but so delicious. I wouldn't omit it!
How to Meal Prep High Protein Chicken Alfredo Bake
Option 1: Make this as written in the recipe card and divide it into six containers.
Option 2: Divide cooked chicken, broccoli, and pasta into six glass oven-safe containers and mix with ¼ cup alfredo sauce. Top with two tablespoons of cheese. Bake in the meal prep containers at 400 for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted.
Reheat using the microwave.
How to Store and Freeze High-Protein Chicken Alfredo Bake
To store: Let the casserole cool completely, and then store it in an airtight container for up to five days. Honestly, we put saran wrap over ours last time and stored it in the fridge; it was fine. But it's always preferable to bake in a Pyrex dish with a lid if possible.
To freeze: I would freeze this before baking if you can. So layer everything, including the cheese, and then freeze. At that point, you could bake directly from frozen at 375 for 45 minutes (is my guess). Make sure to let the internal temperature come to 165F.
High Protein Chicken Alfredo
Equipment
- 9 x 11 casserole dish
Ingredients
- 8 ounces chickpea pasta dry
- 8 cups broccoli
- 2 lbs chicken tenders 20 ounces cooked
- sprinkle salt
- sprinkle pepper
- butter or italian seasoning
- 7 ounces alfredo sauce I used Raos
- 1 cup mozzarella
Instructions
- Cook pasta al dente according to the package directions.8 ounces chickpea pasta dry
- Cook your chicken or prep rotisserie chicken. I seasoned my chicken with Kinder’s butter seasoning, salt, and pepper. I air-fried it on 400F for 15 minutes, flipping it halfway through.2 lbs chicken tenders, sprinkle salt, sprinkle pepper, butter or italian seasoning
- Steam broccoli. I used my microwave steaming method.8 cups broccoli
- Once you have cooked chopped chicken, broccoli, and pasta, combine them with alfredo sauce, top them with mozzarella cheese, and bake at 400F for about 20 minutes. As usual, until the top is bubbly with golden spots.7 ounces alfredo sauce, 1 cup mozzarella
Nutrition
Kelli Shallal MPH RD says
one of our favorites 🙂
Megan says
Yum! So quick and easy! Alfredo is a hit at our house