Chicken Pesto Pasta Bake

Pasta bakes never go out of style… this one is packed with green goodness, ricotta and succulent Santa Rosa chicken making a wonderful mid-week meal for the whole family.

  • 45min
  • 10 mins
Chicken Pesto Pasta Bake

What you will need

  • 800g Cannelloni tubes - par-cooked and cut in half
  • 30g butter
  • 2 bunch kale or silver beet destalked and leaves finely shredded
  • 2 heads broccoli – florets only blanched until tender then finely chopped
  • 300g basil pesto
  • 400g ricotta
  • 600g crème fraiche
  • 2 lemons zested
  • 1 pack Hellers sliced roast chicken roughly chopped
  • 350g smoked havarti or smoked cheddar grated

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 200C
  2. Butter a large round shallow dish
  3. In a fry pan over medium heat sauté the kale or silver beet in the butter until just wilted set aside to cool slightly
  4. In a large bowl add the broccoli, pesto, ricotta, crème fraiche, lemon zest and cooled kale, season well and mix thoroughly
  5. Fold through the chicken and half the smoked cheese
  6. Place the par-cooked and cut cannelloni tubes into the buttered dish and start stuffing the mixture into the tubes
  7. Pour the remaining mixture all over the tubes and sprinkle all over with the remaining smoked cheese
  8. Bake for 30mins until bubbling and golden
  9. Serve with an extra generous drizzle of pesto all over the top and a delicious side salad
Serve with extra basil pesto Salad of cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and balsamic vinaigrette