Chicken • Family Meal • British Comfort

Mary Berry Chicken Pasta Bake Recipe: Easy, Creamy & Family Favorite

By M Azeem Under 1 hr 6–8 servings Easy

$Mary Berry chicken pasta bake with penne, creamy Dijon b\u00e9chamel, paprika chicken and Parmesan crust$

Mary Berry's chicken pasta bake is a comforting British baked dish combining paprika-seasoned chicken strips, penne pasta, and a creamy Dijon mustard-infused béchamel sauce topped with Parmesan. Rated 4.1/5 from 176 reviews on BBC Food, it serves 6–8 people and bakes in just 20 minutes.

Mary Berry has spent over 60 years perfecting family-friendly recipes, and her chicken pasta bake is proof of why millions trust her. Originally featured on her BBC Two series Mary Berry's Absolute Favourites, this dish delivers rich, golden-topped comfort without demanding hours in the kitchen. Prep takes less than 30 minutes, and the result is something that genuinely pleases a table of both adults and picky eaters.

What separates this recipe from generic pasta bakes? The béchamel is built properly butter, flour, hot milk, whisked smooth then sharpened with Dijon mustard and Parmesan for depth. No cream needed. No shortcuts that compromise flavor. It is the kind of honest, structured cooking that defines Mary Berry's style.

Recipe Overview at a Glance

Detail	Information
Prep Time	Less than 30 minutes
Cook Time	20–30 minutes
Total Time	Under 1 hour
Servings	6–8 people
Calories per serving	532 kcal
Difficulty	Easy
Source	Mary Berry's Absolute Favourites, BBC Two

What Equipment Do You Need?

Large saucepan (for sauce)
Large frying pan
Shallow ovenproof dish (1.75 litre / 3 pint)
Resealable freezer bag (for coating chicken)
Balloon whisk
Colander
Microwave-proof jug (optional, for heating milk)

What Are the Ingredients for Mary Berry's Chicken Pasta Bake?

For the pasta and chicken:

Butter, for greasing the dish
250g (9oz) penne pasta
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips roughly the size of a little finger
1 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce:

50g (1¾oz) butter
50g (1¾oz) plain flour
750ml (1 pint 6 fl oz) hot milk
1 tsp Dijon mustard
100g (3½oz) Parmesan cheese, coarsely grated
2 large tomatoes, deseeded and cut into small cubes

How Do You Make Mary Berry's Chicken Pasta Bake Step by Step?

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C Fan/Gas 7. Grease a shallow 1.75-litre ovenproof dish with butter.
Cook the penne and chopped onion together in boiling salted water according to packet instructions. Drain, rinse under cold water, and leave to drain again in the colander.
Coat the chicken. Place the chicken strips in a resealable freezer bag with the paprika, salt, and pepper. Seal and shake to coat evenly.
Fry the chicken. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Fry the chicken for approximately 2 minutes until golden-brown and just cooked through. Work in batches if needed. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Make the sauce. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the flour and whisk together to form a roux. Cook for 1 minute, then gradually add the hot milk, whisking continuously over high heat until smooth and thickened. Allow to boil for 4 minutes. Stir in the Dijon mustard and half the Parmesan. Season well.
Combine. Add the drained pasta and onion to the sauce and stir to combine. Spoon half of this mixture into the greased dish, layer the chicken strips over the top, then spoon the remaining pasta and sauce over the chicken.
Bake. Scatter the diced tomatoes over the top and finish with the remaining Parmesan. Bake for approximately 20 minutes until piping hot and golden-brown on top.

Mary Berry's Top Tips for the Perfect Result

Heat the milk before adding it to the roux. Cold milk causes lumps. Pour milk into a microwave-proof jug and heat on high for 1–2 minutes to save an extra pan.
Don't overcrowd the frying pan. Chicken strips need high heat and space to brown, not steam.
Whisk the sauce continuously. Stop whisking and you risk a lumpy béchamel keep it moving.
Boil the sauce for the full 4 minutes. This cooks out the raw flour taste and ensures proper thickening.
Use coarsely grated Parmesan. Finely grated cheese melts too quickly; coarser grating gives a better golden crust.

How Do You Make a Simple Chicken Pasta Bake Without Cream?

Mary Berry's original recipe contains no cream at all a key content gap most competing articles miss. The creaminess comes entirely from the béchamel sauce made with whole milk, butter, and flour. The Dijon mustard adds a subtle tang that makes the sauce taste richer than it actually is.

For an even lighter version:

Swap whole milk for semi-skimmed to reduce fat
Reduce Parmesan to 75g and add a handful of breadcrumbs for the topping
Use spray oil instead of butter to grease the dish

This makes Mary Berry's recipe one of the best creamy chicken pasta bake recipes for those avoiding heavy cream.

Mary Berry's Chicken and Broccoli Bake Recipe (Variation)

For a vegetable-forward variation, Mary Berry's chicken and broccoli bake uses a very similar sauce base with a few key differences:

Additional/changed ingredients:

500g cooked chicken breast or thighs, shredded
300g broccoli florets, lightly blanched
150ml double cream (optional, for extra richness)
150g mature cheddar cheese (instead of Parmesan)
50g fresh breadcrumbs for a crispy topping
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Lightly steam the broccoli for 2–3 minutes before combining with the chicken and cheese sauce. Transfer to a baking dish, top with the remaining cheese and breadcrumbs, and bake at 200°C/180°C Fan for 20–25 minutes until bubbling and golden.

Key tip: Drain the broccoli thoroughly. Excess water from under-drained florets is the most common reason this bake turns watery.

What Are the Best Variations of Mary Berry's Chicken Pasta Bake?

Variation	Key Change	Best For
Chicken and broccoli bake	Add blanched broccoli, use cheddar	Families wanting added veg
Chicken and mushroom	Sauté sliced mushrooms with chicken	Richer, earthier flavor
Chicken and pepper	Replace tomatoes with sliced peppers	Sweeter, more colorful result
Gluten-free version	Use gluten-free pasta and cornflour instead of plain flour	Gluten intolerance
Dairy-free version	Use oat milk, dairy-free butter and vegan cheese	Dairy intolerance
Leftover roast chicken	Replace fresh chicken with cooked shredded chicken	Quicker weeknight meal

Pasta shape tip: Penne is Mary Berry's choice, but fusilli, orecchiette, rigatoni, or any short pasta shape with ridges works well the ridges grip the sauce better.

Can You Make Mary Berry's Chicken Pasta Bake Ahead of Time?

Yes and it actually benefits from being made ahead. Here are your three storage options:

Method	Duration	Reheating Instructions
Refrigerate (assembled, unbaked)	Up to 24 hours	Bake at 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6 for 30 minutes
Refrigerate (baked leftovers)	Up to 3 days	Reheat in oven at 180°C for 20 minutes
Freeze (assembled, unbaked)	Up to 3 months	Cover with foil; bake at 200°C for 40–45 minutes

Freezing tip: Only freeze the dish before it has been oven-baked. Assemble it in a freezer-to-oven safe dish, cool completely, and wrap tightly with cling film before freezing.

What to Serve with Mary Berry's Chicken Pasta Bake?

A crisp green salad with a lemon vinaigrette
Steamed tenderstem broccoli or green beans
Garlic bread (particularly good for scooping up the sauce)
Roasted cherry tomatoes
A glass of dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or unoaked Chardonnay

Nutrition Information Per Serving

Each serving (recipe serves 6–8) provides approximately:

Calories: 532 kcal
Protein: 35g
Carbohydrates: 46g (of which 10g sugars)
Fat: 22g (of which 11.5g saturates)
Fibre: 4.5g
Salt: 0.9g

Source: BBC Food

What Is Mary Berry's Most Famous Recipe?

According to BBC Food (updated February 2026), the five most popular Mary Berry recipes consistently ranking among the most searched and cooked dishes in the UK are:

Yorkshire puddings Described as "foolproof" and one of BBC Food's most visited recipes overall
Easy Victoria sponge A classic tea-party treat with a no-fuss method
Scones Works every time, whether plain or with sultanas
Beef lasagne al forno With a signature store-cupboard addition to the ragù
Lemon drizzle traybake cake Mary Berry's self-described personal favorite

For savory dishes, the chicken pasta bake is one of her most replicated family dinner recipes on BBC Food, with 176 ratings and a 4.1/5 score.

What Does Mary Berry Use Instead of Butter? What Is Her Baking Spread?

Mary Berry is known for her nuanced advice on fats in baking. For her Victoria sponge and other sponge-based recipes, she sometimes recommends Stork baking margarine as an alternative to butter a choice that allows the cake to be made with cold fat, unlike butter which needs to be at room temperature.

However, her core advice is about butterfat percentage. As she wrote for BBC Good Food: "I always aim [for] over 75%. The problem with lower fat spreads and butters is they have a higher water content. When it evaporates it causes layers [to] bind together in your mix."

For certain moist cakes (such as her sunshine cake and chocolate beetroot cake), Mary Berry uses sunflower oil instead of butter. Sunflower oil is 100% fat, compared to butter's 80–90%, making it ideal for cakes where moisture retention is the priority.

In her chicken pasta bake, Mary Berry uses standard butter for both greasing the dish and building the béchamel roux no substitute needed here.

What Makes Mary Berry's Lemon Drizzle Special?

Mary Berry has called lemon drizzle her personal favorite cake: "If you ask anybody what their real favourite cake is, it's nearly always lemon drizzle. It's certainly mine."

Two things separate her version from others:

Granulated sugar in the topping, not caster sugar. Granulated sugar dissolves less readily, creating the signature crunchy, crystallized finish across the top of the cake.
The drizzle is applied immediately. The lemon and granulated sugar mixture is spooned over the cake while it is still warm, so it soaks slightly into the sponge while leaving the top crunchy.

Her recipe has been a fixture in British kitchens since the 1960s and it remains the recipe she is most frequently asked about when stopped on the street.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

Sauce is lumpy: The milk was added too quickly or wasn't warm enough. Remove from heat, use an immersion blender to smooth it out, then return to heat.
Pasta bake is dry after reheating: Add a splash of milk or a small spoon of butter before reheating and cover with foil to retain moisture.
Chicken is rubbery: It was overcooked during the frying stage. Two minutes over high heat is all it needs it will finish cooking in the oven.
Topping isn't browning: The oven wasn't hot enough, or the dish was too deep. Use a wide, shallow dish and ensure the oven is fully preheated to 220°C before the dish goes in.
Bake is watery: This usually happens when the pasta wasn't drained properly, or the sauce wasn't boiled long enough. Always rinse pasta in cold water and drain thoroughly, and simmer the sauce for the full 4 minutes.

Try It Tonight

Mary Berry's chicken pasta bake earns its place in the weekly rotation because it delivers on every level quick enough for a Tuesday, impressive enough for a table of guests. The béchamel is forgiving, the paprika-coated chicken adds warmth without heat, and the golden Parmesan crust is hard to resist.

Make it once, freeze a portion, try the broccoli variation the following week. Once you have the sauce method down, the rest practically takes care of itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts in Mary Berry's chicken pasta bake?

Yes. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs work well and tend to stay juicier. Slice them into strips of a similar size and fry in the same way approximately 2–3 minutes over high heat until golden.

What pasta shapes work best in Mary Berry's chicken pasta bake?

Mary Berry uses penne but specifies that fusilli or orecchiette are equally suitable. Any short pasta shape with ridges works well, as the ridges help grip the béchamel sauce.

How many calories are in Mary Berry's chicken pasta bake per serving?

Each serving provides approximately 532 kcal, along with 35g of protein, 46g of carbohydrates, and 22g of fat. The recipe serves 6–8 people, according to BBC Food.

Can I make Mary Berry's chicken pasta bake gluten-free?

Yes. Substitute gluten-free penne pasta and replace the plain flour in the roux with cornflour (use 25g of cornflour instead of 50g of plain flour). The method remains the same.

Why does Mary Berry add Dijon mustard to the pasta bake sauce?

Dijon mustard enhances the savory depth of the béchamel without making it taste like mustard. It balances the richness of the butter and Parmesan and brings the sauce into sharper focus.

How long can you freeze Mary Berry's chicken pasta bake?

Up to 3 months, but only if frozen before baking. Assemble the dish in a freezer-safe container, wrap tightly, and freeze. To reheat, cover with foil and bake at 200°C for 40–45 minutes.

Can I use cheddar instead of Parmesan in Mary Berry's chicken pasta bake?

Yes. Mature cheddar is a good substitute and melts similarly. It produces a slightly sharper, less nutty flavor. A 50/50 mix of Parmesan and cheddar gives good coverage and a well-browned top.

What is the difference between Mary Berry's chicken pasta bake and her chicken and broccoli bake?

The chicken pasta bake uses penne pasta in a Parmesan béchamel with tomatoes on top. The broccoli bake omits pasta, adds blanched broccoli, uses cheddar and breadcrumbs for the topping, and often includes double cream for a richer sauce.

Does Mary Berry's chicken pasta bake contain cream?

No. The original BBC recipe uses only milk (750ml) as the liquid for the béchamel sauce. The creaminess comes from the butter-flour roux and the melted Parmesan no cream required.

Can I prepare Mary Berry's chicken pasta bake the night before?

Yes. Assemble the dish fully, cover, and refrigerate overnight. The following day, bake at 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6 for 30 minutes. The pasta can also be cooked up to 24 hours in advance and stored separately in the fridge.

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