Filipino-style Chicken Macaroni Bake
Filipino style Chicken Macaroni Bake
Need a simple dish to feed a large group of people? This Filipino style chicken macaroni bake will get the job done. What makes this Filipino is the use of sweet spaghetti sauce. Obviously by name, it is sweeter in flavor than an Italian spaghetti sauce that you might be used to. Also the addition of the Filipino quick melt cheese gives the macaroni a creamy texture. This cheese is hard to find unless you have access to a Filipino grocery store. You can substitute parmesan, mozzarella, or Monterey Jack cheeses. This recipe is fairly straightforward to make. My only recommendation would be to undercook the macaroni by 1-2 minutes. They will soak up a lot of the sauce while baking.
Ingredients
Filipino Sweet Spaghetti Sauce
- 3 cups tomatoes
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 tbsp sugar
Chicken Macaroni Bake
- 16 oz elbow macaroni undercooked by 1-2 minutes
- 2 lbs cooked chicken chopped
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 medium onion diced
- 8 oz button mushrooms sliced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp chicken bouillon
- 1/2 cup fresh herbs (basil/parsley/oregano) chopped
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup Filipino quick melt cheese or mozzerella cheese
Instructions
- Puree the sweet spaghetti sauce ingredients in a blender. Set aside.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large pot or saucepan over medium high heat. Add in the onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and garlic. Cook down for 4 minutes.
- Add in the chicken and fresh herbs. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the sweet spaghetti sauce and the chicken bouillon. Simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Turn off the heat. Mix in the macaroni, making sure that the noodles are evenly incorporated with the chicken tomato sauce mixture.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9”x13” baking dish. Pour in the chicken macaroni. Cover with a layer of mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Bake for 25 minutes.
- Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.
