Easy baked chicken spaghetti is a cheesy casserole with spaghetti noodles, juicy chicken pieces and a creamy, delicious sauce! Easy to make and sure to satisfy, this is perfect for a hearty, comforting family dinner!
Welcome to a new week friends!
We had a fun weekend with several birthday parties, some football watching and some gardening.
Also, Friday was install day for some new furniture and decor for two rooms in our house. They both look amazing and I've been happily walking through and sitting in them all day every day!
But let's get to the food!
Today’s recipe for this easy baked chicken spaghetti is perfect for a family-friendly dinner that’s creamy and comforting.
It’s on the regular rotation at our house and it always comes out so delicious! The tender spaghetti noodles, juicy chicken pieces, the amazing sauce and the cheesy layer on top… swoon!
Our entire family, including my kids (ages 6 and 8) ADORE this easy chicken spaghetti!
It’s creamy, rich, flavorful, hearty and smells as heavenly as it tastes.
(We also love this chicken and veggie spaghetti pie for a hearty family dinner night! And this healthy chicken tetrazzini is lightened up a bit and such good comfort food!)
Last time I made it, my daughter was “sooooo hungry” and sat watching this casserole from right in front of the oven, waiting for it to be done.
I tried to tell her that wasn’t helping her hunger, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t wait to dive it - and I can’t blame her! It’s SO good!
And not to worry, this is also easy to make!
So let's get cooking.
Now I've got some notes, tips and substitutions coming up on how to make baked chicken spaghetti. Just tryin' to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Ingredient Notes:
- Noodles: I use whole grain spaghetti noodles, but regular are fine too. You could also use a thin spaghetti noodle; just adjust the cooking time when you’re making the pasta.
- Chicken: I use a rotisserie chicken to make this easy. However, you could use leftover grilled or baked chicken or read on below for how to make this using boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
- Cream cheese: Full fat or the ⅓ reduced fat cream cheese are both fine here. I don’t recommend using fat-free cream cheese.
- Cheese: We have always made this with cheddar cheese (white cheddar cheese to be exact), but you could try it with mozzarella cheese if you prefer.
- Tomatoes: This recipe has just a sprinkling of tomatoes throughout. It’s just the right amount for us, but feel free to add another can of diced tomatoes if you’d like more.
As mentioned, you can definitely substitute boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe if that’s what you have on hand to use.
Here’s what to do:
You’ll need about 1.5 pounds of chicken (probably 2-3 breasts). You can cook them in one of three ways.
Option 1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat then add your raw chicken breasts. Reduce heat to medium high and cook for 25-30 minutes, until cooked through. Chop or shred the chicken and you’re ready to go.
Option 2. Preheat your oven to 375. Place your chicken breasts on a foil lined baking dish or baking sheet. Rub with a little olive oil then sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes, until cooked through. Chop the chicken and you are set.
Option 3. Chop up your raw chicken breasts into about ½-inch pieces and season with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Heat a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through. Reserve the chicken in a bowl, wipe out the pan and use it to make the creamy sauce.
OK, let’s talk planning.
If you are looking to make this ahead, you absolutely can. Here’s the run-down.
Make Ahead Tips:
- Cook the spaghetti, make the sauce and prep the chicken.
- If you are going to be baking the casserole later that day or the next day, go ahead and combine everything and put it in your casserole dish. Top with the cheeses, then cover with foil or plastic wrap and put it in the fridge.
- Pull the casserole out of the fridge as you preheat the oven so it can start to come to room temperature. Bake as directed, adding an additional 5 minutes if needed to get it nice and bubbly.
- Or, if you are prepping this a few days ahead, I’d suggest storing the noodles separately from the chicken and sauce (which you can go ahead and combine.) That way they won’t get soggy or start to fall apart.
- Bring everything to room temperature, combine the noodles with the sauce and then place in your casserole dish and top with the cheeses before baking.
Last make-ahead tip: Make sure your sauce doesn’t thicken up too much if you’re making this ahead, as it will thicken as it cools.
You may want to add an extra ¼ cup of broth to keep it at a good consistency.
And yes, this makes a lot!
Our family of 4 can easily get 2 entire meals out of this, so I wanted to share some storage tips for any leftovers.
Storing Leftovers:
- You can keep leftovers in the fridge, in a covered container, for up to 5 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave, staring with 1 minute and adding additional time as needed.
- You can also freeze the leftovers. Portion into freezer-safe ziptop bags — that are labelled — and keep in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Defrost in the refrigerator overnight then reheat in the microwave as above.
And now, let’s round out this meal so we can bring it to the table!
Sides for chicken spaghetti:
- We love this with a big green salad. (And by big I don’t mean complicated or filled with a ton of ingredients. Usually I just mean my super simple spinach salad. Done and done.)
- It also goes great with steamed green beans or steamed broccoli.
- Roasted asparagus would be yummy here too.
- You can also serve this with a loaf of crusty bread to eat along with your spaghetti.
Now you are hopefully more than prepared and completely all set.
All that’s left to do is get to the kitchen and get cooking so you can feast on this chicken spaghetti casserole!
I know you’re going to love it.
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Easy Baked Chicken Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 10 oz. spaghetti (whole grain or regular)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth (or milk for extra richness)
- 4 oz. plain cream cheese (reduced fat is OK)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
- 2 cups shredded or chopped rotisserie chicken (see notes)
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup chopped parsley, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Cook spaghetti until just al dente, then drain.
- Meanwhile, heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the flour and stir to combine.
- Slowly add the chicken broth, stirring as you add. Next add the cream cheese and 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese. Stir well to get them completely melted and mixed in.
- Turn off the heat then add the diced tomatoes and stir to combine.
- Add the cooked spaghetti and rotisserie chicken to the pan with the cheesy mixture and stir well to combine. (Or, if your pan isn’t large enough, mix everything together in a. Separate bowl.)
- Add the chicken spaghetti to the prepared casserole dish. Top with the remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese and the Parmesan cheese.
- Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, until the casserole is hot and bubbly.
- Serve hot, with chopped parsley, if desired.
Notes
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat then add your raw chicken breasts. Reduce heat to medium high and cook for 25-30 minutes, until cooked through. Chop or shred the chicken and you’re ready to go.
- Preheat your oven to 375. Place your chicken breasts on a foil lined baking dish or baking sheet. Rub with a little olive oil then sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes, until cooked through. Chop the chicken and you are set.
- Chop up your raw chicken breasts into about ½-inch pieces. Heat a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through. Reserve the chicken in a bowl, wipe out the pan and use it to make the creamy sauce.
- Cook the spaghetti, make the sauce and prep the chicken.
- If you are going to be baking the casserole later that day or the next day, go ahead and combine everything and put it in your casserole dish. Top with the cheeses, then cover with foil or plastic wrap and put it in the fridge.
- Pull the casserole out of the fridge as you preheat the oven so it can start to come to room temperature. Bake as directed, adding an additional 5 minutes if needed to get it nice and bubbly.
- Or, if you are prepping this a few days ahead, I’d suggest storing the noodles separately from the chicken and sauce (which you can go ahead and combine.) That way they won’t get soggy or start to fall apart.
- Bring everything to room temperature, combine the noodles with the sauce and then place in your casserole dish and top with the cheeses before baking.
- You can keep leftovers in the fridge, in a covered container, for up to 5 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave, staring with 1 minute and adding additional time as needed.
- You can also freeze the leftovers. Portion into freezer-safe ziptop bags — that are labelled — and keep in the freezer for up to 6 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight then reheat in the microwave as above.
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