Chicken Kyiv Pasta Bake Recipe

Chicken Kyiv pasta bake recipe – everything I love about a chicken kyiv (kiev), but reimagined as an easy-to-throw-together, comforting dinner. Of course, it’s gluten-free and Coeliac-friendly as always.

Chicken Kyiv pasta bake recipe? Yep, it’s the crispy coating, creamy filling and juicy chicken that you’d expect… but remixed with pasta and a baked finish!

This is exactly the kind of lazy pasta bake that I want in my meal plans: it’s not only quick to throw together, but it’s the ultimate comfort food I crave after a long day.

And it’s not exactly hard to see where the inspiration for this one came from and why… I missed eating chicken kyivs!

Of course, there are fortunately gluten-free chicken kyivs available frozen in supermarkets but as I can’t tolerate onion and garlic, I haven’t had a ‘proper’ one in somewhere near a decade.

Fortunately, this dish, inspired by something I’ve missed eating for years, more than satisfies all my chicken kyiv cravings and is a lot quicker and easier to make!

Here’s all the humble supermarket-friendly ingredients you’ll need:

Chicken Kyiv pasta bake recipe: What you’ll need…

• Gluten-free penne or fusilli: You’ll find this down the free from aisle in supermarkets without problems at all. If you find your pasta breaks easily or excessively gets stuck together, I’d recommend using brown rice pasta as it doesn’t break anywhere near as easily and also doesn’t have any extra unwanted flavour.
• Butter: This is simply for frying for added flavour, also to replicate that garlic butter-like flavour of a kyiv.
• Garlic-infused oil: An instant injection of wonderful garlic flavour – no chopping or pre-frying of fresh garlic required. And if your garlic oil doesn’t have any bits of actual garlic floating in it, then it’s low FODMAP too. You could also add a small tsp of minced garlic if you like a proper garlicky kyiv, if you can tolerate it of course!
• Courgette (zucchini): I use this sort of like a ‘hidden veg’ because it’s in there… but it doesn’t really affect the finished flavour too much and and neither the texture if you dice it very finely. I always like to sneak veg into my weeknight dinners wherever poss!
• Large leek: Like courgette, it’s not especially ‘kyiv-like’ but when making a saucy bake like this, any added flavour goes a long way. If you’d prefer and can tolerate it, you could use onion instead too.
• Chicken breasts: I always seem to have chicken breasts in the fridge, so that’s what I used! Cooking the chicken breast until it’s sealed (white on the outside, not browned) is important as it’ll continue to cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes too. This will stop it from becoming overcooked and dry.
• Cornflour: This helps to thicken the lovely sauce, though the pasta will help a touch too if you chuck it in ASAP after draining it.
• Gluten-free stock: Any stock cube will do, as long as it’s gluten-free! These are stocked with all the regular stock cubes and often clearly labelled as gluten-free. I used a chicken stock cube for this recipe.
• Mascarpone or cream cheese: This adds a welcome creamy flavour to the sauce which most definitely sells that creamy kyiv flavour.
• Dried parsley: Fresh works too and again, helps to add that subtle herby garlic butter-like flavour.
• Lemon zest: What can I say? It never fails to work in any creamy chicken dish!
• Gluten-free cornflakes or gluten-free breadcrumbs: I used cornflakes in the photos as that’s what I had in the cupboard, but either works perfectly for creating that crispy coating.
• Salt and pepper: Even a little makes a world of difference, so make sure you use it if you can!

So, what does my gluten-free chicken kyiv pasta bake taste like?

The crispy coating on top (read above to see the unexpected ingredient I used!) is reminiscent of that ultra crispy, deep-fried finish you’d expect and of course, works perfectly on a pasta bake.

Underneath you’ll find perfect pasta and a garlic-tinged, herby, creamy sauce with some veggies thrown in for good measure.

The combination of both means a welcome crunch in every bite that’s packed with tons of flavour. Needless to say, it’s a welcome change from some variation of tomato pasta, which we end up eating a lot!

Chicken Kyiv pasta bake recipe: Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this recipe gluten-free? Is it suitable for Coeliacs?

It is gluten-free, though nobody would know just by tasting it – trust me!

Bear in mind that minimising cross-contamination is hugely important if you’re Coeliac or making this for someone who is. Here’s some tips from Coeliac UK on minimising the risk of cross contamination.

Also, make sure that all ingredients used don’t have any gluten-containing ingredients. Then make sure that they also don’t have a ‘may contain’ warning for gluten, wheat, rye, barley, oats (which aren’t gf), spelt and khorasan wheat (aka Kamut).

Here’s some more info from Coeliac UK on identifying safe gluten-free products.

Can I make your chicken Kyiv pasta bake recipe dairy-free?

Yes! Simply:

• Use a dairy-free ‘buttery’ margarine instead of butter
• Use dairy-free cream instead of cream cheese or mascarpone. I find dairy-free cream cheese can sometimes have strange effects when melted, so I’d use dairy-free cream instead.

Can I make your chicken Kyiv pasta bake recipe veggie or vegan?

Actually, yes! If you’re vegan, follow the dairy-free advice above and the veggie advice below:

• Swap the chicken breast for the florets of 1 small cauliflower, which have been steamed or microwaved separately. Add instead of chicken and immediately continue with step 3.
• Use gluten-free vegetable stock

Is this recipe low FODMAP?

It can be – see the guidance below! With these changes made, just under one serving of the finished dish would be a safe low FODMAP serving size:

• Ensure your garlic-infused oil doesn’t have any actual bits of garlic floating in it (the one in Tesco is safe, but sadly the one in Aldi is not, for example)
• Use leek but the green parts only
• Use lactose-free cream cheese
• Use a low FODMAP stock cube

Can I add more veg or use different veg?

Yes, this really is a recipe you can make your own! Here’s a few things I’ve added in the past or would recommend instead of courgette or leek:

• Cauliflower (chopped into florets and steamed or boiled first – instead of leek or courgette or as an extra addition to bulk it out)
• Mushrooms (instead of courgette)
• Spinach (roughly chopped and allowed to wilt in the pan – instead of courgette)
• Onion (instead of leek)

Is this a healthy recipe?

If you want to make this recipe healthier, you can always do one or all of the below:

• Use light cream cheese
• Use a low-calorie garlic-flavoured spray instead of garlic infused oil
• Omit the butter

Can I freeze your chicken Kyiv pasta bake?

Yes! Once cooled, simply portion into airtight containers and freeze for up to 2-3 months.

To reheat from frozen, defrost in the fridge overnight then reheat in the microwave until piping hot in the middle.

You can also store this in the fridge for 3-4 days and microwave until piping hot too.

Chicken Kyiv pasta bake recipe: Tips for quick and easy prep + cooking

1. Get all the ingredients out and ready before you start cooking. Trust me, it makes cooking feel a lot easier!
2. Get the pasta on and boiling while you prepare the veggies and chicken. No worries if it finishes before you’re ready to add it to the pan either, once drained, you can just set aside until you’re ready. Get the pan ready for the butter and garlic oil and on the heat – once you’ve finished chopping, it’ll be ready to fry!
3. Once the pasta is done (try a bit to see if it’s hard or not) don’t cook it for any longer than you have to. Gluten-free pasta has a bad habit of easily falling apart when overcooked, so don’t leave it simmering too long once cooked. We’re gonna be cooking it further in the oven after all!
4. The casserole dish I used is about 13 x 11in. Smaller dishes will likely need the full 20 minutes in the oven, whereas larger dishes will be closer towards the 15 minute mark.
5. If you use a large ovenproof frying pan to fry the veggies and chicken etc. then you don’t need to transfer the mixture to a casserole dish. Just add the pasta to the chicken sauce and top with crushed cornflakes/breadcrumbs in the pan, then place the pan in the oven to bake. That means less washing up!

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Thanks for reading all about my chicken kyiv pasta bake recipe! If you make it, I’d love to see how it turned out so don’t forget to take a snap of your creations and tag me on Instagram!

Any questions about the recipe? Please do let me know by following me on Instagram and leaving me a comment on a recent photo!

Thanks for reading,

Becky xxx

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