Pasta Casserole with Chicken Fillet, Bell Pepper, Cheese and Béchamel Sauce

Delicious, satisfying, and not at all difficult to prepare a dish. Boil pasta, fry vegetables with chicken fillet, cook béchamel sauce, lay everything out in layers, and bake until delicious cheese crust. Pasta casserole with chicken fillet, bell peppers, and béchamel sauce is a great lunch or dinner for the whole family!

Cook: 1 hour

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• Pasta – 250 g
• Chicken fillet – 250 g (1 pcs.)
• Bulb onions – 100 g (1 pcs.)
• Bulgarian red pepper – 100 g (0.5 pcs.)
• Bulgarian yellow pepper – 100 g (0.5 pcs.)
• Tomato paste – 1 tbsp (no slide)
• Garlic – 2-3 cloves
• Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp
• Hard cheese – 100 g
• Ground paprika – 1 teaspoon (or to taste)
• Dried thyme – 1 teaspoon (or to taste)
• Salt to taste
• Ground hot pepper – to taste

For the béchamel sauce:

• Butter – 50 g
• Flour – 50 g
• Milk – 500 g
• Ground nutmeg – 1/4 teaspoon (or to taste)
• Salt to taste
• Ground hot pepper – to taste

Directions

1. Pour 2-3 liters of water into a saucepan, add salt (about 1 level tablespoon) and bring to a boil. Pour pasta into boiled water and cook until tender, according to the instructions on the package. (Traditionally, I cook for 1 minute less than indicated on the package.)

   

2. While the pasta is cooking, prepare the rest of the ingredients. Cut the peeled and washed onions into small cubes. For bell peppers, remove seeds and partitions and also cut into small cubes. Peel and chop the cloves of garlic with a knife or pass through a press.
3. Wash the chicken fillet, pat dry with paper towels cut into medium-sized pieces. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet and add the onion. While stirring, fry for 2 minutes. Add chopped garlic and continue to fry for 1 minute. Add chicken fillet. Stir.
4. As soon as the fillet pieces are lighter, add the bell peppers. Stir and fry everything together for a few minutes. Add tomato paste, paprika, thyme, pepper, and a little salt to the skillet.

   

5. Stir and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 4-5 minutes. Remove the finished fillet with vegetables from the heat. Drain the finished pasta. Add chicken fillet with vegetables to the pasta and stir. Grate the cheese on a coarse grater. Divide it into three parts.

   

6. Prepare products for the béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add flour. Stir with a whisk and fry the flour for 1 minute. Pour milk in portions, stirring constantly. Boil the sauce until thick. Remove sauce from heat. Season the sauce to taste with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Divide the sauce in half.
7. Preheat the oven to 180-200 degrees. Put half of the pasta with chicken and vegetables into a baking dish (I have a shape measuring 25×20 cm).

   

8. Spread half of the sauce on top and sprinkle with one part of the cheese (1/3 of the total).
9. Next, add the remaining half of the pasta, then add the sauce. Finally, sprinkle the remaining cheese on the pasta (2/3 of the total).
10. Bake pasta with chicken fillet, bell pepper, cheese, and béchamel sauce in an oven preheated to 180-200 degrees for about 20 minutes, until golden brown.
11. Delicious and tender pasta casserole with chicken fillet, bell pepper, cheese, and béchamel sauce is ready!

    

Bon Appetit!