Easy Weeknight Chicken Marinara Casserole with Spinach
This recipe for chicken marinara casserole with spinach was perfect for an easy weeknight meal! It was one of those times when I had ingredients, and needed to use them fast. I was gifted a rotisserie chicken (the best present ever) and had some other things begging to be used in the fridge.
Sometimes You Need A Throw-Together-Casserole
Chicken Marinara Casserole with Spinach was definitely a throw together deal.
Thankfully I have stocked my pantry with Dreamfield’s noodles, so whenever I am in a pinch looking for dinner, I can always add some pasta!
I have canned all my own spaghetti sauce, so in this recipe I use a quart of home canned pasta sauce. But you can definitely use your favorite sauce, whether it be store bought or homemade. It’ll still turn out great!
Marinara: Any Tomato Based Sauce
Quick apology or disclaimer: I am not sure what constitutes a true marinara sauce. In my mind, it is a tomato based pasta sauce, and I’m pretty sure my recipe for this homemade canned sauce was called marinara.
Hence the name of this recipe. Alright, let’s move on to the ingredients!
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What You Need to Make Chicken Marinara Casserole with Spinach
If you do not have a rotisserie chicken laying around, then you will want to precook at least 3 cups of chicken for this recipe.
If I had not had the whole chicken, I would have cooked a chicken breast in the pressure cooker, and then shred it for this recipe. You may need 2-3 lbs of chicken breast to reach 3 cups of chicken. More or less will be fine, it will not mess up the recipe. You just need enough to have a good chicken layer for the casserole.
The seasoning was already on the rotisserie chicken. So if you are precooking another chicken option, be sure to salt, pepper, and add Italian seasoning if you would like.
So, with the rotisserie chicken, I pulled off approximately 3 cups of the chicken.
You’ll need a 9×13 baking dish.
I used fresh spinach for this recipe. You could probably use frozen, no big deal. It is cooked along with the onion, garlic, and marinara sauce, so it will cook down either way.
This Chicken Marinara Casserole Recipe is a THM-S, Low Carb friendly option!
Like I said earlier, I use Dreamfield’s pasta, always. It is a higher fiber pasta, that is low carb friendly. I notice when I use the “cheap” pasta that it hurts my stomach. So I always choose Dreamfield’s! It’s THM friendly, for S, E, or FP!
With all the good fats going on in this recipe, it is a THM-S (S stands for satisfying fats) and low-carb friendly. You could tweak the pasta here even further with a gluten free option, and you would be set.
If you are curious about Trim Healthy Mama and want to know more, see this post that explains this amazing way of eating for long term health!
How to Make Chicken Marinara Casserole
First, we will heat the oil in our skillet, and then add the onion and garlic. It will smell amazing, of course.
Then, add the entire box of spinach. 10-15 oz, depending on the store you buy your box of spinach from.
Stir this around until the spinach wilts.
Add the jar of marinara sauce. Let it bubble for only a few minutes while you assemble the rest of the casserole. I added a bit more salt to this, after I tasted it. The marinara sauce should have plenty of flavor going on, but if you want to add more salt, pepper, garlic powder, or Italian seasoning, you certainly can!
The chicken will be shredded already, and I just place it in the bottom of the 9×13 baking dish.
I used 1/2 block of cream cheese and 1/2 cup cottage cheese, blended together until smooth. If it is too thick, just add some almond milk or regular milk.
Add this creamy mixture to the chicken in the bottom of the dish, and then add the cooked noodles. Stir it all together.
The bottom layer will be the creamy chicken and pasta.
Now, pour the marinara sauce and spinach mixture on top of the creamy chicken pasta layer. I did not stir, I just poked it a little to encourage the marinara to drip down if it wanted to. But it doesn’t have to. 🙂
For the top layer, just add on your shredded mozzarella cheese, and sprinkle a bit of parmesan on the top of the mozzarella. Yum!
A Note on Flavor and Spices
Like I said earlier, if your chicken is not preseasoned like my rotisserie was, you’ll have to add the flavorings yourself. Honestly, I’m always afraid that my meal will not have enough salt or flavor! (My husband is big on the bold flavors.)
So I encourage you to taste the marinara sauce before you add it to the casserole. Make sure it is flavorful enough for your tastes. I added a bit of salt to my sauce mixture. If you wanted to add garlic powder, Italian seasoning, or salt to the creamy mixture, you can do that, too. It’s all up to your preference. That’s the beauty of a casserole, in my opinion.
It’s Ready to Cook!
After you have assembled the casserole, place it in your preheated oven, set to 350 degrees, and cook for 30-45 minutes. I did 45 minutes, and the cheese was getting pretty well done.
You can serve this with a nice salad, or even something like green beans on the side!
This heats up well for leftovers, too! We all enjoyed this for lunch two days after we had this for dinner.
Chicken Marinara Casserole with Spinach
Ingredients
- 1 box pasta of choice I used Dreamfield's spaghetti
- 2 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 15 0z box fresh spinach can use frozen
- 1 large jar marinara sauce
- 3 cups shredded, precooked chicken perfect for leftover rotisserie
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese I used low-fat
- 1/2 cup 1/3 less fat cream cheese (4 oz)
- Salt, pepper, garlic powder, or Italian seasoning to taste if needed
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese more if desired
- Sprinkling parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.
- Boil the pasta until it's done.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil, and add the onion and garlic. Cook until onion is tender.
- Add the spinach, and stir and cook until it is wilted.
- Add the entire jar of marinara sauce to the pan. Cook for a few more minutes. Taste and add more seasonings if desired.
- Place shredded chicken in 9×13 cooking dish.
- Blend the cream cheese and cottage cheese together until smooth. Add it to the chicken.
- Pour the cooked noodles on top of the cream mixture and chicken, and mix well. This is the bottom layer.
- Next, add the marinara and spinach sauce on top of the creamy chicken layer.
- Place the shredded mozzarella and parmesan on top!
- Cook for 30-45 minutes, or until it's done.
- Enjoy!
Notes
For more healthy recipes, head over to Farm Fresh Recipes!
Do you love casseroles like me? Take a look at these:
