Best Chicken Spaghetti Recipe (Lighter Version)
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My lightened-up version of Chicken Spaghetti is one of those rare dishes loved equally by kids and adults. The pasta draws the kids in, and the creamy sauce screams comfort food.
While on the hunt for a meal my entire family would eat, I discovered a recipe for Chicken Spaghetti on The Pioneer Woman’s blog. My intuition was right – it was love at first bite!
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After making this dish countless times over the years, my family still requests it regularly. And that popularity presented a slight problem. If I wanted to serve this Chicken Spaghetti casserole more frequently, I felt compelled to lighten up the recipe.
Ingredients to Prepare this Recipe
Chicken – you’ll need about 2 cups of cooked chicken
Spaghetti – use your favorite brand
Chicken broth
Veggies – onion and green pepper
How to Make Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
- Cook the chicken by boiling in seasoned water for about 20 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and shred with two forks.
- Prepare the pasta according to package directions, cooking until al dente. Drain.
- Combine cooked pasta and chicken with remaining ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. Transfer to a casserole dish.
- Bake until bubbly.
Need a Quicker Version?
Chicken Spaghetti is more of a weekend dish for me because it requires a significant amount of time to prepare. And clean up. While this casserole is certainly worth the effort, it’s just not feasible for me as a weeknight meal.
If you are looking for an easier version of chicken spaghetti for weeknights, check out my Easy Weeknight Chicken Spaghetti recipe. Same great taste in a fraction of the time.
*** Pin the Recipe for Later***
More Family Friendly Recipes You’ll Love:
- Instant Pot Chicken Thighs and Rice
- Classic Green Bean Casserole
- Chicken Cobb Salad {with Homemade Vinaigrette}
- Zesty Italian Pasta Salad
Post and photos updated on 5/15/21.
CHICKEN SPAGHETTI
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, boneless & skinless, or any combination making 2 cups of cooked meat
- 1 pound dry spaghetti, broken in half
- 2 cans cream of mushroom soup, OK to substitute 1 can cream of chicken
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, reserve 1/2 cup for later use
- 1/4 cup green pepper, finely diced
- 1/4 cup onion, finely diced
- 2 cups reserved chicken broth from pot, (you may not need all of this)
- 1 tsp. Lawry’s Season salt
- Dash of cayenne pepper, optional, more or less to taste
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place chicken in large pot and add water (I season the water with a little salt & pepper). Cook over medium heat until done, approximately 20 minutes if using boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
- Remove chicken from pot and shred with 2 forks. Remove 2 cups of broth from the pot, reserving for later use.
- Cook spaghetti in remaining broth until al dente. You want your pasta to have a little “bite” to it, because you will be cooking it again in the oven. Drain spaghetti.
- In a large bowl, combine cooked spaghetti with the remaining ingredients, except for the reserved broth and 1/2 cup reserved cheese. If mixture seems dry, add 1/2 cup increments of broth until desired consistency is reached.
- Transfer mixture to a 13 x 9 casserole dish and top with reserved 1/2 cup cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly (about 45 minutes). Cover with foil if the cheese starts to brown.
Notes
- Feel free to use whatever chicken you have on hand: mixture of white & dark meat or use rotisserie chicken for a quick fix. You will want about 2 cups of cooked chicken.
- If you forget to reserve 2 cups of broth, substitute with bouillon and water to make 2 cups. I forget to reserve the broth almost EVERY time – seriously!
- Refrigerate leftovers.
- This dish can be made the day before – simply cover, store in refrigerator and cook the next day.
- Recipe slightly adapted from The Pioneer Woman.
Nutritional Estimate
Nutritional information is provided as a reference, using an online calculator. We recommend verifying the information independently for accuracy.
Delicious! I changed it up a bit. It was rainy here today and didn’t want to get out! I used 1 can of mushroom soup and 1 cream of celery. I didn’t have green Pepper so used small red, orange and yellow peppers. Also used a can of Rotel. It was a wonderful comfort meal! Thank you for sharing…
Love how you adapted the recipe to what you had on hand Shirley!
This looks so yummy!!!! Thx Lori 🙂
I hope you try it Rae – it’s a winner! Thanks for stopping by!
Hello gorgeous! What an amazing recipe. Oh Yum! Pinned. We hope to see you at our party tonight at 7 pm. It is so fun to party with you!
Happy Monday! Lou Lou Girls
I love chicken spaghetti too, it’s a favorite!! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!
This look so yummy! I’ve pinned it in hopes to add it the meal plan. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Leslie!
Your Chicken Spaghetti looks delicious! Hope you are having a great day and thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with Full Plate Thursday!
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
This sounds so yummy! I absolutely adore pasta! I’m stopping over from the Skip to my Lou linky party…great seeing you there!
Thanks for stopping by, Christie!
Yummy! I have been wanting to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for linking up with me!
Jennie @ The Diary of a Real Housewife
Thanks, Jennie!
Sounds delicious! May try on Friday!
I hope you like it as much as we do, Andrea!