It’s so nice to have a healthy meal that is delicious and easy to throw together. It’s even better when it tastes like comfort food. That’s why I am loving this Chicken Veggie Alfredo Bake! Creating a low-carb meal full of veggies can be super easy, and who doesn’t love Italian?
If you enjoy this, you should check out our red-sauce twist on the recipe: Pasta Sauce Chicken Veggie Bake. Both of these meals are simple to make and make feeding your family good, nutritious food easy and delicious! My husband and I have enjoyed swapping back and forth between the Chicken Veggie Alfredo Bake and the Pasta Sauce Chicken Veggie Bake when planning our weekly meals.
Just knowing we have tuned in meals that help us achieve our fitness goals makes it easier for us to stay on track during busy weeks. Both of these recipes are also amazing baked a second time. Kind of like a good spaghetti, all of the flavors taste even better after sitting for a day. You can make one of these dishes and then eat on it another night when you’re on the run. That’s how we roll when we’re in the middle of sports season with my kids!
Chicken Veggie Alfredo Bake
Course: EntreCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Medium4
servings20
minutes50
minutes587
kcalIngredients
8 Oz Mushrooms
24 Oz Broccoli
2 Tab Olive Oil
2-3 Medium Chicken Breasts
1 Jar Alfredo Sauce (I like to use Rao’s Alfredo sauce since it tastes amazing and has only a few ingredients)
8 Oz Block Mozzarella Cheese
Italian Seasoning to Taste
Salt to Taste
Pepper to Taste
Directions
- Cut up mushrooms and broccoli into bite-sized pieces.
- Pour veggies into large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Add Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper and stir to mix in with veggies. Pour veggies onto roasting pan. *You can see note 1 for how to bake the chicken, but I prefer to saute it as described in step 4.
- Put veggies in air fryer or bake for about 30 minutes on 400 degrees or until mushrooms are soft and broccoli is starting to blacken.
- Meanwhile, cut chicken breasts and shave off any unwanted fat. Saute in olive oil until chicken is cooked thru and no longer pink (with an internal temp of around 165 degrees F). While you’re waiting on the veggies to finish cooking is also a great time to shred the cheese.
- Wipe out large bowl you used to mix veggies. When veggies are ready, dump them back into the bowl. Add chicken and the jar of Alfredo sauce. Stir gently to mix.
- Gently dump mixture into a 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Notes
- To save time, you can bake the chicken with the veggies. Cut medium chicken breasts in half and shave off any unwanted fat. Lightly season both sides with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Lay the chicken on top of the veggies and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees or until meat has reached internal temp of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. I personally prefer the taste of sauteed chicken, but I have baked it when I am short on time.
What’s the Best Way to Roast Veggies?
If you have an air-fryer, you can definitely roast the veggies and even the chicken that way. You can also bake them at 400 degrees in the oven. I love using my copper baking pan. It allows air to circulate around the veggies, so they crisp up really well. My oven also has an “air-fryer mode”, so I usually roast everything for about 30 minutes at 400 using this setting.
Is it Better to Use a Block of Cheese or Pre-Shredded Cheese?
Most shredded cheese contains a starch coating to keep the cheese from sticking together. This is an unnecessary additive that is for convenience and does not add nutritional value to the food. I love to avoid additives like this whenever possible. If you shred the cheese yourself, you can avoid the added starch. When I first starting limiting our family to only block cheese, I was worried about the time it would take to shred it myself. However, it doesn’t take much time at all to shred cheese. Just knowing your family is getting only good ingredients makes it totally worth the few minutes it takes.
What Kind of Cheese do We Use in the Chicken Veggie Alfredo Bake?
I love cheese from Azure Standard. Their cheese and butter tastes so much better than most of the ones found in regular grocery stores. Their commitment to whole, healthy products also makes me feel like my family is getting foods that are good for them. They have an endless list of food and household products and deliver monthly to drop-points throughout the US. You can check them out here.
Does It Matter Which Brand of Sauce I Use?
The fewer ingredients in a sauce, the better, especially when they’re whole foods you recognize. A lot of companies throw in a bunch of preservatives and other additives that are not good for you or your family. A good brand that usually keeps it to simple, whole foods is Rao’s. Their alfredo sauce is very good; so is their red spaghetti sauce. I even like using the four cheese or roasted garlic sauce on pizza! It tastes so much better than regular pizza sauce.
Is the Chicken Veggie Alfredo Bake a Low-Carb Meal?
This recipe is a low-carb meal full of veggies. Because of the cheese and alfredo sauce, it feels like you’re eating comfort food. However, it’s one of those dialed-in meals that is packed full of veggies. You could add a healthy carb on the side, but we usually just stick with the Chicken Alfredo Veggie Bake. It’s a great way to eat low-carb and still feel like you’re enjoying a delicious, cheesy Italian dinner.
What if My Kids Won’t Eat Veggies?
Feeding a family when you’re trying to eat healthy is a balancing act. As a Mom, I totally get it, I want my kids to eat healthy. Sometimes, if they spot a piece of a veggie, an entire dish suddenly becomes inedible. At the same time, knowing veggies and whole foods are better for them makes me think twice before passing them a frozen pizza instead. Sometimes, we’ll just tweak a meal so we can all eat together.
For example, when we eat the Chicken Alfredo Veggie Bake, I’ve cooked them healthy penne noodles with Rao’s Alfredo sauce. We’ll split up the chicken between the two recipes after it’s sauteed so they can have some protein with their noodles. I’ll even add some applesauce or rolls on the side for the kids. Meanwhile, Rusty and I stick with just the main baked dish.
All 4 of my kids seldom agree on a meal, but finding sides and ways to fix healthier meals in a way they enjoy can make eating healthier as a family doable. There are times when they get a frozen pizza, but the norm is to eat a balanced meal alongside what me and Rusty are eating. No meal plan is perfect; it’s all about doing a little better each day!