Chicken Asparagus Penne Bake!

We love asparagus at our house. We bought three big bunches of asparagus the other day and were trying to come up with some good recipes for them.

This is what we came up with. This will be perfect for dinner tonight! Definitely worth a try!

Ingredients

2 large bunches of asparagus, tough ends chopped off
1/8 cup olive oil
2 cups penne pasta
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch cubes
1 medium onion diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper to taste

For the topping:
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
5 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. On a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place asparagus into a single layer and drizzle olive oil over the asparagus. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Bake for 15-20 minutes remove from oven and set aside to cool. Once cool cut asparagus into equal thirds.
4. Turn down the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
5. While asparagus is roasting, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta. You want to slightly undercook the pasta because you’ll finish cooking it in the oven.
6. In a large pot, brown the cubes of chicken with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat, don’t cook them all the way through or your chicken will be chewy. Remove from the pot then add the onion and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
7. Turn the heat down to medium then add in the milk and whisk in the flour. Let the mixture thicken, about 2 minutes, then add asparagus. Toss the mixture together to coat all the ingredients with the creamy sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and pour into a large 2 1/2 quart dish.
8. In a small bowl, toss panko and parmesan cheese with melted butter. Sprinkle generously on top of the casserole.
9. Bake, uncovered for 45 minutes or until pasta and chicken has been thoroughly cooked through and the mixture is bubbling.
10. Serve immediately.