The Best Chicken Spaghetti
The Best Chicken Spaghetti recipe calls for sliced grilled chicken, spaghetti noodles, cream of chicken, salsa, sour cream and cheese. A family favorite!
FAMILY FAVORITE EASY DINNER RECIPE
This recipe is one I’ve been meaning to share for a while but it needed some tweaking. The original recipe I had for it was, well, kinda bland. I know chicken spaghetti usually calls for Rotel but it doesn’t add much flavor in my opinion. So I switched it up for my favorite salsa and I think it made ALL the difference! I also use grilled chicken (store bought or freshly grilled can be used) and that took the flavor up another notch too. I think I have really created the best Chicken Spaghetti we’ve ever had, all while not making it too complicated to toss together!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
I decided I would switch out the can of Rotel (which is basically tomatoes and green chiles that is in most recipes) and replace it with salsa. That really added some yummy flavors. I also think that bit of taco seasoning really creates a super flavorful dish!
Angel hair pasta does not have to be used. You can use thin spaghetti or regular spaghetti or even fettuccine noodles. Although I haven’t personally tried it, I’ve had readers share that they have used spaghetti squash instead of traditional spaghetti and it turned out perfect.
Save yourself some time by using precooked chicken. Whether it be rotisserie chicken or the cooked chicken that is sold in the deli department. This will make this meal come together easily!
I have never tried it in a crock pot to be honest! Pasta can be really weird in a crock pot sometimes – ha! You could MAYBE try it like I do my crock pot spaghetti and meatballs but you have to had a lot of water for the pasta to cook properly and that might really water down the sauce for this. Or you could maybe put it in cooked, but again, the pasta will still want to absorb any liquid around it and it could turn gummy. If you try it, share how it turns out in the comments.
Sure, if you want even more creamy, cheesy, tasty sauce, add a little more sour cream and some of the water from the cooked pasta, just to make it very saucy!
Store them in a covered container in your fridge for up to 3 days.
Yep! It’s just important to cover it well to protect against freezer burn. It will freeze well for up to 3 months.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- angel hair pasta – I tend to like the thinner angel hair pasta for this but you can use your favorite pasta here like regular spaghetti or fettuccine or linguine.
- cooked chicken – a store-bought rotisserie chicken or the fully cooked grilled chicken you find in the refrigerator section all make this so easy to put together and adds flavor!
- cream of chicken soup – you can also use Cream of Mushroom or even make your own homemade cream of chicken soup. You could even use cream of celery soup if that is what you have on hand.
- salsa – my absolute favorite salsa is mild Herdez – it has the perfect flavor for this recipe but you can also use Rotel if that is what you prefer. I think salsa brings much more flavor though.
- sour cream – this is really going to add a lot of creaminess here. You could use plain Greek yogurt as well.
- Mexican cheese blend – I just pick up the store-bought pre shredded cheese but you can shred your own or use a different flavor blend.
- taco seasoning – you can use store-bought or make your own taco seasoning.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN SPAGHETTI:
Preheat oven to 350f degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cook pasta according to package directions (remember, you are only using half the box of pasta.) Once pasta is cooked, drain well. Place pasta back into the pot (with heat turned off).
Add diced chicken and cream of chicken soups.
Stir in salsa and sour cream.
Add 1 cup of Mexican cheese blend and taco seasoning. Stir well to combine (this will take a few minutes.)
Pour combined mixture into your prepared baking dish. Top with remaining cheese and a sprinkling of dried parsley.
Cover with nonstick aluminum foil. Cook in the oven for about 25 minutes. Then enjoy!
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Originally published: June 2016
Updated photos and republished: December 2024
The Best Chicken Spaghetti (+Video)
Ingredients
- 8 ounces angel hair pasta (half of a 16 ounce box)
- 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
- 2 (10.5 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup salsa
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 cup Mexican cheese blend, divided use
- 1 Tablespoon taco seasoning
- 1 cup Mexican cheese blend
- dried parsley (for topping, optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Cook 8 ounces angel hair pasta according to package directions (remember, you are only using half a box of angel hair pasta here.) Once pasta is cooked, drain well.
- Place pasta back into the pot and add 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken, 2 (10.5 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup, 1 cup salsa, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 cup Mexican cheese blend, divided use and 1 Tablespoon taco seasoning.
- Stir well to combine (this will take a few minutes.)
- Pour combined mixture into your prepared baking dish.
- Top with 1 cup Mexican cheese blend .
- Cover with nonstick aluminum foil.
- Cook in the oven for about 25 minutes (until hot and bubbly.) Optional: and a sprinkling of dried parsley
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Wow! This recipe is so delish! Best chicken spaghetti I ever had! I didn’t have Mexican blend cheese, so I used half sharp cheddar and half jalapeño Munster cheese! I will definitely make again and looking forward to making your other recipes. Thanks, Brandie and Happy New Year!
My family loves this recipe I have double it everytime I make it, now they want it for Christmas Dinner so with more family I’ll have to quadruple it
You are so sweet to come back and comment Tabetha! Made my day reading that – thank you!
Your very welcome, my family loves this recipe!! Thanks for sharing!
I was wondering if this dish would be good using Pico instead of salsa or rotel? I, too, think that its a bit bland when using rotel so I was wanting to change it up a bit but not sure if the cilantro and would be good in it or not.
Hey Amy! That’s why I make it with salsa instead of rotel. Salsa has so much more flavor. Plus, you need that additional liquid in the salsa 🙂