Smoked Chicken Tortellini Pasta Bake

Looking for a quick weeknight meal? Try this smoked pasta bake recipe with leftover smoked chicken, fresh pasta and lots of cheese.

What is a pasta bake?

Baked pasta is a pasta dish that usually includes pre-cooked pasta, meat, pasta sauce and cheese. It’s quite a versatile dish, because you can use any type of pasta, meat or sauce.

To save even more time, I like using fresh pasta found in the refrigerator section. When you bake the pasta in a casserole, it actually doesn’t need to be boiled, because it cooks through with the moisture of the sauce.

I also also save time by using pre-cooked meat. You can either grab a rotisserie chicken at the grocery or use up leftover shredded chicken or turkey that you have from another meal.

And I toss in vegetables that don’t need to be pre-cooked like fresh spinach and cherry tomatoes.

While most people make pasta bakes in the oven, I like cooking it on the smoker because it adds even more depth of flavor.

Once you master this technique, you can mix and match your ingredients.

Try using ravioli or cooked ziti instead of tortellini. Stir in marinara sauce instead of alfredo and pesto. Cooked onions, bell peppers, garlic, mushrooms or zucchini are also great mix-ins.

You can also mix in other cooked meats like ground beef or ground Italian sausage. The possibilities are really endless.

Ingredients

• Shredded Chicken: Either pick up a rotisserie chicken and shred the meat or smoke your own whole chicken and shred it.
• Fresh Tortellini: You can find this in the refrigerated section of your grocery store. It’s usually near the deli meats. There are a few different filling types. Choose whichever one sounds good to you. I like the spinach and cheese.
• Fresh Spinach
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Alfredo Sauce: This will be located near the fresh pasta. Look for the 15-ounce container.
• Pesto Sauce: This will be near the fresh pasta too. Grab a 7-oz. container.
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Parmesan Cheese

Substitutions: You can leave out the shredded chicken or use other shredded meat or even cooked ground beef. 

See the full recipe card below for servings and a full list of ingredients.

How to smoke a pasta bake

Heat your grill or smoker to 275F degrees with an indirect heat zone.

If you’re using a pellet grill, set it to 275F. If you’re using a Ninja Woodfire Grill, set it to smoker and then 275F.

For a charcoal grill, make sure the coals are pushed to one side. For a gas grill, you’ll need at least one burner turned off for the indirect heat zone. Then, you can use wood chips in a foil pouch for smoky flavor.

1. STEP ONE: In a large mixing bowl, stir together the shredded chicken, fresh tortellini, spinach, tomatoes, alfredo sauce, pesto sauce and 1 cup mozzarella cheese.

2. STEP TWO: Pour the mixture into a large cast iron skillet or baking dish. Spread it out evenly.

3. STEP THREE: Top with 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. 

4. STEP FOUR: Place the skillet on the grill and cook for 45 minutes or until the edges are nice and bubbly and the internal temperature of the pasta is 160F degrees. 

PRO TIP: If you're short on time, you can set your grill to 350F degrees and smoke the pasta bake in about 30 minutes. If you want more smoke flavor, set your grill to 250F degrees. At that temp, it will take about 1 hour. 

How to serve smoked pasta bake

Once the pasta is cooked through and the cheese is melted, transfer the skillet to the table. Spoon up a healthy serving of baked pasta and serve with a fresh salad and crusty garlic bread.

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Just reheat in the microwave.