Mexican Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake is a quick and easy dinner recipe that adds a southwestern twist to chicken alfredo. This baked alfredo recipe includes chicken, alfredo sauce, salsa, taco seasoning and lots of cheese!
Mexican Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake is one of our go-to dinner recipes. We all love regular chicken alfredo, but sometimes it’s fun to change it up a little bit. Just adding salsa and taco seasoning to the alfredo sauce for the most amazing flavor. And of course, the more cheese, the better. The recipe calls for grated parmesan and cheddar, but you can use a Mexican blend or any combination of cheese that you like best.
The recipe can be made in a 9X13 dish for a large family, or can be divided in half so that you can eat half now and save the other half to freeze for later! Or you can freeze all of it – this is a great freezer meal! I’ve included tips below on freezing this dish to enjoy later.
Ingredients in Mexican Chicken Alfredo Bake
Pasta – I usually use rotini in this recipe, but you could use penne, ziti, rigatoni, elbows…pretty much any type of bite-sized pasta would work great!
Chicken – You will need about 2 lbs of chicken breasts for this recipe. The recipe gives directions for cubing and then cooking the chicken with chopped onion, salt and pepper, but if you already have shredded chicken in your freezer, you can definitely use that. I love using rotisserie chicken in recipes so I’ve used that many times in this recipe and it works so well and saves some time too!
Alfredo sauce – The recipe requires two (16 oz) jars of alfredo sauce. You can also use the refrigerated variety if you prefer, or even your favorite homemade alfredo sauce if if you’d like.
Cheese – The original recipe calls for grated Parmesan cheese and cheddar or Colby Jack as well. You can use the jarred Parmesan but freshly grated Parmesan is even better! The Parmesan adds a deeper flavor to the alfredo sauce, but if you want less of the alfredo taste, you can swap out the parmesan for more cheddar. Half of the cheddar or Colby Jack should be reserved to sprinkle on the top right before baking.
Salsa – Medium salsa works great, but you can use mild or hot depending on your tastes.
Taco seasoning – Use at least a tablespoon for flavor, and up to 2 tablespoons if you want a little bit more of a kick.
How to make Baked Mexican Chicken Alfredo
Cook the pasta according to package directions and then set aside after draining and rinsing with cold water.
In a large skillet, cook onion, chicken, salt and pepper over medium heat until chicken is no longer pink.
Add the alfredo sauce and heat until boiling, then add the cheese, salsa and taco seasoning.
Add the cooked pasta and then divide mixture between two greased 8-inch square pans. If you need to serve a lot of people, you can put the pasta in a 9X13 and bake the whole thing at once, but I prefer to split it up and freeze one of the pans to bake another night.
If you would like more cheese, add a sprinkle of cheddar or Colby Jack cheese on top before covering with foil. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.
MEXICAN CHICKEN ALFREDO PASTA
Ingredients
- 16 oz rotini pasta
- 2 pounds chicken breast cubed
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 2 16 oz jars alfredo sauce
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded cheddar or Colby Jack cheese, divided mix 1/2 cup in the recipe and then reserve 1/2 cup to sprinkle on top right before baking
- 1 cup medium salsa
- 1-2 Tbsp taco seasoning I used 2 and it was a little spicy so use less if desired
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions and then set aside after draining and rinsing with cold water.
- In a large skillet, cook onion, chicken, salt and pepper over medium heat until chicken is no longer pink.
- Add the alfredo sauce and heat until boiling, then add the cheeses, salsa and taco seasoning.
- Add the cooked pasta and then divide mixture between two greased 8-inch square pans. If you would like more cheese, add a sprinkle of cheddar or Colby Jack on top before covering the pans with foil.
- Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.
Can I freeze this pasta bake recipe?
Absolutely! Pasta is one of my favorite things to freeze because it holds up so well in the freezing process. You can bake the pasta before freezing and then essentially just heat it up later, but I prefer to freeze the pasta bake before baking.
Freezer Tips
This recipe can easily be divided into two 8X8 pans. One to eat now, and one to freeze for later!
- You can freeze the pasta before baking or after. I prefer to freeze before baking, but either way will work.
- To freeze the pasta, assemble the dish completely (just don’t bake it yet!) and then let the sauce cool down. Once it is completely cooled, cover the pan tightly with foil. If you will be freezing for more than a couple of weeks, you may want to double up on the foil to prevent freezer burn.
- When you are ready to bake, remove the dish from the freezer. Leave the foil on and set on the counter while preheating oven to 350°. Bake for about 45 minutes and then remove the foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes. The pasta should be bubbly and the cheese on top should be completely melted.
Love Easy Chicken recipes? Try these other delicious dishes a try:
- Easy Chicken Fried Rice recipe
- Easy Chicken Curry recipe
- 5 Minute Chicken Salad recipe
- Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken recipe
- Classic Chicken Noodle Soup recipe
- Easy Salsa Chicken recipe
- Easy Chicken Pot Pie recipe
- 20-minute Chicken Stew recipe
- Best Chicken & Dumplings recipe
- Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
- Easy Indian Butter Chicken
- Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
- Easy Chicken Cacciatore Bake
- Grilled Chicken Salad with Pesto Ranch Recipe
Mexican Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake is a quick and easy dinner recipe that adds a southwestern twist to chicken alfredo. This baked alfredo recipe includes chicken, alfredo sauce, salsa, taco seasoning and lots of cheese! 
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