Easy Make-Ahead Bruschetta Chicken Bake (Freezer Meal)
All the great taste of the classic Bruschetta Chicken, but in an easy-to-make and easy-to-freeze casserole! Serve with garlic bread and a green salad for an easy weeknight dinner!
Easy Make-Ahead Bruschetta Chicken Bake
When it comes to fast & easy recipes for chicken freezer meals, this easy Bruschetta Chicken Bake recipe is right up there on the top of the list!
I love this baked bruschetta chicken recipe because it’s full of the classic Italian flavors of traditional bruschetta, without all the normal mealtime preparation fuss.
And while I would love to eat out at an Italian restaurant every night so I could indulge in fresh bruschetta, my bank account nor my waistline would never be able to survive that!
So instead, this quick casserole version of bruschetta chicken makes for a great weeknight dinner, at least until I win the lottery and can hire a personal chef…a girl can dream, right?
Ingredients for Bruschetta Chicken Freezer Meal
This quick and flavorful dish relies on a just a few simple ingredients, and takes barely any time to prepare.
You will need:
- boneless skinless chicken breasts – You’ll want to cut them into bite-sized pieces, ideally not much bigger than 1 inch. (You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs here if you prefer.)
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- stuffing mix – The stuff in the red box is what I usually use (in fact, that’s where I got this recipe from).
- diced tomatoes – The recipe calls for canned, but you can use Roma tomatoes or even small cherry tomatoes if you prefer fresh. (If you use fresh tomatoes you may need to increase your water by 1/4 cup to help hydrate the stuffing mix.) You can go extra fancy here and use fire-roasted diced tomatoes, or go for even bolder flavor with Italian-style diced tomatoes.
- minced garlic
- basil – I use dried, because it’s what I keep on hand, but you can use fresh basil, too (just double the amount).
Preparing Your Chicken Bruschetta Bake
Start by spraying a 9×13 casserole dish or baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Or if you prefer, coat the inside of the dish with butter (yum!).
Layer your pieces of chicken on the bottom of the dish. (I love that this easy chicken freezer meal recipe requires NO pre-cooking of the chicken!) Sprinkle salt and black pepper over the chicken pieces to season.
Add the shredded mozzarella cheese over the chicken layer.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the stuffing mix, diced tomatoes (undrained), garlic, dried basil, and water. Stir well to make sure the stuffing mix has soaked up all the liquid.
Spoon your stuffing mixture over the cheese and chicken.
And that’s it!
To prepare this as a freezer meal, simply cover your dish tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, label it with the recipe name, date, and baking instructions, and then place it in the freezer to freeze.
Baking Your Bruschetta Chicken Casserole
This Bruschetta Chicken casserole freezer meal recipe does best when it is cooked from thawed (rather than straight from frozen). So, you’ll want to pull this quick dinner option out of the freezer the night before and let it thaw in the fridge overnight.
The next day, remove it from the fridge, uncover, and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, until the chicken pieces are fully cooked. (The chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165F.)
Serving Suggestions
This make-ahead Bruschetta Chicken Bake is a great choice for a main course any time of the year. Pair it with a side salad for a perfect, easy dinner full of bold flavors the whole family will enjoy.
If you want to get extra fancy, try topping it with a little Parmesan cheese or fresh mozzarella, and some chopped fresh sweet basil once it comes out of the oven.
And if you REALLY want to take it “over the top”, drizzle a bit of balsamic reduction (it’s super easy to make your own with some balsamic vinegar) over the top right before serving.
Any leftovers (if there are any) will keep for several days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Meal Prep
This recipe also works well for meal prep. If a full casserole worth is too much for your needs, split the ingredients between two 8×8 baking dishes and freeze.
Then, pull one out at the start of your week and bake as directed. Once cooled, dish individual servings of the chicken bake into your favorite meal prep containers, add some salad and/or veggies, and you’ve got yourself a healthy meal ready to go for work or play.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
If you like chicken bakes, be sure to check out my family favorite – Chicken Alfredo Bake – or my quick version of a classic Chicken Parmesan.
Bruschetta Chicken Bake
INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 pkg boxed stuffing mix chicken variety
- 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes undrained
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tsp. minced garlic
- 1 tsp. dried basil
INSTRUCTIONS
- Spray inside of a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Place chicken in bottom of dish and spread evenly. Season with salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over chicken pieces.
- In medium-size bowl, combine stuffing mix, tomatoes, water, garlic and basil. Stir to combine. Spread stuffing mixture evenly over chicken and cheese.
- Cover, label, date and freeze.
To reheat:
- Remove from freezer and thaw overnight in refrigerator.
- Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.
Have you every put freah basil or balsamic glaze over this, like a true brushetta?
I personally have not (mostly because I cannot for the life of me seem to keep basil plants alive either in my kitchen or in my garden, so I don’t usually have fresh basil around) but you absolutely could use fresh basil easily, and add a balsamic glaze if you wanted. It would probably be awesome to cook the chicken in a balsamic reduction – would mean more prep time up front, but definitely more flavor!
How long would you say to reheat AFTER it’s cooked? I made a dish, cooked it and plan to refrigerate/freeze… would you still do 30 min?
@Maggie, if you’ve already cooked it, then reheat just until it is warmed through. Usually in the oven that would still be 20-30 minutes from refrigerated, longer if from frozen. Or you could reheat in the microwave as well.
What size pan is best for this? 8×8, 9×13?
9×13. If you want to do two smaller meals you can use two 8×8 pans.
Do you add the season pack from stuffing?
Yes. I’ll make sure to clarify that in the recipe instructions.
Do you cook the stuffing before mixing it with the other ingredients or use it dry? Thank you!
After you’ve put the chicken in the dish and covered it with the layer of mozzarella cheese, you’ll then combine the dry stuffing mix (and flavor packet), tomatoes, water, garlic and basil in a bowl, stir to combine it, and then spread the stuffing mixture evenly over chicken and cheese.