Cali Alfredo Chicken Bake

This recipe is so DELICIOUS, you won’t believe how easy it is.  The Cali Alfredo Chicken Bake takes tender chicken breast and bakes it in layers of fresh spinach, mushrooms, creamy alfredo and, of course, cheese on top!  This one dish wonder will become a regular on your dinner rotation!

I have to start this post by saying, if you make ANYTHING this week, make this.  I knew it would be good, but this recipe took me by surprise by how well the flavors combined and how everything baked together.  The Cali-Alfredo Chicken Bake literally tastes like something that you would order at a restaurant and not something you can throw into the oven in about 15 minutes in your own kitchen!

Really though, I shouldn’t have been surprised.  I would love to take all of the credit for this recipe, but it was actually inspired by my recent trip to Chuck E. Cheese Headquarters.  That might not be what you expected to read, but it is true and what they are up to over there is really remarkable!

About two weeks ago, I went up to the HQ as a part of a year long partnership I am starting with Chuck E. Cheese as a Chuck E Champion.  One of the first things we did on our trip was head to the Chuck E Cheese restaurant to try out their new menu.  All of the pizzas are made fresh, from scratch, right in every restaurant.  They have both the traditional, kid friendly, pizza favorites like cheese and pepperoni, but also have a whole new line of delicious favorites that are just as delicious for grown ups as they are for kids like, BBQ Chicken Pizza, Parmesan Breadsticks with Garlic Herb Butter, and the thin crust Cali-Alfredo pizza.  This pizza has a creamy alfredo sauce spread over the fresh made crust, then has layers of spinach, mushrooms, sausage, and cheese on top.  The smell alone, is enough to let you know you are going to fall in love with this pizza!  Add the awesome, fresh salad bar and maybe a glass of beer or wine to that, and the parents might be begging the kids to go to Chuck E Cheese.

I was excited about the new menu, but even more so about some of the other changes that they are making in the restaurant! You will see the play area getting wiped down every hour with environmentally friendly cleaning products to keep things clean and germ-free.  The token system is getting replaced at many restaurants with a play pass so you don’t have to carry around coins, that have been, well… who knows where!  And they are decking out the place with free wifi so you can relax while the kids have a great time! Now that’s speaking my love language!

PRO TIP: For a fun and relaxing trip to Chuck E. Cheese, try heading over there during their less busy hours.  The kids will have tons of room to run, play, and get warn out, and you can even get some great deals like their $5.99 lunch buffet (2 and under is FREE!) which is served M-F from 11-2pm.

I am excited to share more with you over my year as a part of the Chuck E Champions program.  I have all sorts of fun stuff up my sleeve like birthday party tips, fundraiser ideas, and cool tips and trick for getting the most out of your visits with your little ones!

Once I got back I was still thinking about some of the awesome flavor combos that their top culinarily trained chef had put together on the new menu.  I knew that the Cali Alfredo Pizza, was destined to find itself made over into one of my signature chicken bake dinners.  So back to what I was saying, I shouldn’t have been surprised how delicious this turned out since it was after all inspired by some pretty delicious stuff, but something magical happened in that baking dish when it went in the oven. And just like magic, this dinner disappeared as soon as it hit our family’s plates!

I used the flavors from the Cali-Alfredo pizza and doubled up on the spinach and mushrooms.  The pizza has sausage on it, which is delicious, but can traditionally take a little more time to prepare so I decided to use bacon in it’s place.  My husband will tell you that this was a great decision, but I myself, don’t care much for bacon (criminal, I know!) so I made a second dish without it, and both turned out crazy, crazy delicious.  So make this dish to your taste either way, and enjoy!

Cali Alfredo Chicken Bake – Easy Dinner Recipe

This recipe couldn’t be simpler with only 8 ingredients:

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 cups chopped spinach
• 1 cup chopped crimini mushrooms
• 1 1/2 cup (12 oz) alfredo sauce
• 1/2 cup chopped bacon (optional)
• 1 cup (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

Just like with all of my chicken bake recipes, this dinner can be prepped and into the oven in just 10-15 minutes.  You make it in one dish and it is remarkably easy to both make and clean up.  And with so much easy going on, you aren’t going to believe how it tastes!  There is so much flavor and depth to this recipe it is almost unbelievable how easy it is to make!  It tastes more like it came from a restaurant than taking 15 minutes to pull together from your fridge!

Believe it though! It really is so good and so easy… even my 2, 4 and 6 year old all devoured it! Here is how to make it:

1. To start, trim the chicken and place it in a single layer in a large baking dish and season it with salt, pepper and garlic powder.This works best when you can use chicken breasts around the same size, but if one is bigger or smaller, just put the bigger ones to the outside and the smaller piece to the middle.  Thicker chicken breasts could take longer to cook as well, so keep an eye on it and allow a little extra time if yours are larger.
2. Place the spinach and mushrooms over the top, then pour the alfredo evenly over the top and finish by sprinkling the bacon and cheese over everything.When you add the spinach it looks kind of like a ton of spinach, but don’t worry, spinach cooks down so much that once you take it out of the oven it will be just the right amount.  On the mushrooms, my favorite are these crimini mushrooms, followed by the baby bellas.  You can use any mushroom, but those have a really great flavor that infuses into the sauce as it all bakes together.When you pick an alfredo sauce make sure and find something that you love since this will be a main flavor for the dish.  I am pretty picky about my cream sauces, and don’t always love jarred versions, but with the fresh spinach, mushrooms, and rich and flavorful juices from the chicken that bake into the sauce, it ends up to tasting so fresh and delicious!I know I am a weirdo and I don’t like bacon, so I have it listed as optional on the recipe.  If you do like bacon, then definitely go for it!  Fresh is always best.  I use this method to do large batches and then freeze it to keep on hand for recipes like this one.  If you don’t like bacon though, no fear.  This recipe has so many awesome ingredients it is still flavor packed even without the bacon and wil be every bit just as good.  With the way this all bakes together the dish does take on quite a bit of bacon flavor, so if you don’t care for it, you are better off to leave it out, rather  than try to eat around it.
3. Bake at 375˚F for 40-50 minutes on the middle rack.On all of my chicken bakes, I get questions on whether or not the dish should be covered. In my oven I do not have to cover the dish when baking on the middle rack and it does not over-brown.  Ovens vary in size, altitude, and true temperature though, so each oven will cook differently. Keep an eye on the top, and if the cheese starts to get browned, place foil over the top loosely for the remainder of the bake time.  Try to keep it uncovered as long as possible though to cook off some of the additional liquid released during cooking so that the sauce won’t be too thin.
4. Remove from oven and let sit 3-5 minutes, then serve hot over pasta, rice, spinach, mashed potatoes, or your favorite side dish!

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Cali Alfredo Chicken Bake

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Author:Kimber

Print Review Recipe

Ingredients

• 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 cups chopped spinach
• 1 cup chopped crimini mushrooms
• 1 1/2 cup 12 oz alfredo sauce
• 1/2 cup chopped bacon optional
• 1 cup 4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

• To start, trim the chicken and place it in a single layer in a large baking dish and season it with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
• Place the spinach and mushrooms over the top, then pour the alfredo evenly over the top and finish by sprinkling the bacon and cheese over everything.
• Bake at 375˚F for 40-50 minutes on the middle rack. Keep an eye on the top, and if the cheese starts to get browned, place foil over the top loosely for the remainder of the bake time.
• Remove from oven and let sit 3-5 minutes, then serve hot over pasta, rice, spinach, mashed potatoes, or your favorite side dish!

(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)

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This recipe has quickly become one of our favorites and graces our table often!  I hope you love it every bit as much as we do!  If you try it, I would love to hear what you thought in the comments below.  It makes my day to hear when people make and love my recipes!