This Chicken Spaghetti has a creamy 3-cheese blend of cream cheese, cheddar, and mozzarella! Rotel tomatoes give this dish a pop of color and added flavor that pairs perfectly with this creamy cheese sauce. (PLUS: No canned soup!)
Chicken Spaghetti
If you’re looking for a way to jazz up your next spaghetti dinner, OR possibly looking for a creative way to use up some leftover or rotisserie chicken, you’ve come to the right place.
This creamy, cheesy, chicken spaghetti is so incredibly flavorful, make-ahead and freezer-friendly, and your family will love it.
Take a look at how to make it, read through my pro tips, storage information, and more below.
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Optional: Season chicken with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Sear in olive oil for 5 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through. Dice and set aside. (Leftover or Rotisserie chicken may also be used.)
Add butter and sauté onions and garlic. Add flour and cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and milk, a splash at a time, stirring to combine. Let the sauce simmer and reduce while you begin boiling pasta water.
Cook pasta according to package instructions and drain when finished.
Add cream cheese to the sauce and stir to combine. Reduce heat, add shredded cheese. Then add Rotel tomatoes, cooked chicken, and drained spaghetti.
Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Broil at 475° at the end for a few minutes if desired.
Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and fresh parsley. Serve with a side of Garlic Bread with Cheese.
Pro Tips
This recipe includes instructions for using fresh chicken, but this is a great recipe to make with leftover or rotisserie chicken.
Shred your own cheese from a block, it will melt better and give you much creamier results. Bagged shredded cheese contains cellulose which prevents it from melting as well in soups and sauces.
Don’t add the cheddar cheese when the base is very hot, or the dairy will separate and the consistency will be grainy. (This is outlined in the instructions as well.)
I prefer to use thin spaghetti for this recipe but you can use regular, angel hair, or other types of pasta noodles if that’s all you have.
This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 192!
Assemble the casserole as outlined and place it in a casserole dish. Let it cool first, then cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake for 10-15 more minutes. Broil at 475° for a few minutes at the end if desired.
Storage
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Note that the consistency of the sauce won’t be exactly the same when reheated from frozen.
Tools For This Recipe
A 14-inch oven safe skillet is perfect for this recipe.
Box Cheese Grater– Always shred cheese from a block for creamy/melty results. Bagged shredded cheese contains cellulose and prevents it from melting as well in soups/sauces.
9 x 13 baking dish The perfect size for almost any casserole recipe
Silicone Spatula– Easy for tossing the chicken as it cooks and for stirring in the sauce ingredients.
Measuring spoons I love that these are magnetic. They keep my drawer neat.
Chicken Spaghetti
prep time: 15 MINUTEScook time: 40 MINUTEStotal time: 55 MINUTES
SERVINGS: 6 PEOPLE tap or hover to scale
This Chicken Spaghetti has a creamy 3-cheese blend of cream cheese, cheddar, and mozzarella! Rotel tomatoes pair perfectly with this creamy cheese sauce that’s made from scratch!
Ingredients
US CUSTOMARY – METRIC
2 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
Salt/Pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 Tablespoons butter
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tablespoons flour
1 ½ cups chicken broth
¾ cup milk
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
10 oz. diced tomatoes & green chilies
8 oz. Thin Spaghetti
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
red pepper flakes & chopped parsley, to garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cook the Chicken (Optional. You may also use cooked chicken.)
Slice the chicken in half lengthwise to create 2 thinner slices. Pat dry and season lightly with salt/pepper and Italian seasoning.
Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and sear the chicken on each side for 5-6 minutes. Remove and set aside. Dice into bite-sized pieces once cool enough to handle.
Make the Sauce
Reduce heat to medium low. Melt the butter in the same pot and use a silicone spatula to clean the chicken bits from the bottom. This is called “fond” and it gives the sauce a nice flavor.
Add the onions and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Sprinkle flour over the onions and toss to coat. Cook for 2 minutes, until you can no longer smell flour.
Add the chicken broth in splashes to maintain the thickness of the roux. Stir in between each splash. Add the milk next, a little bit at a time. Whisk until combined and smooth.
(Now is a good time to start boiling the water for the pasta. Cook it according to package instructions and drain once finished.)
Meanwhile, let the sauce simmer and reduce while the pasta water heats up. Add the softened cream cheese and stir continuously until melted and smooth. This is more difficult if the cream cheese is cold.
Reduce heat to low and let the base cool a bit. Sprinkle in the shredded cheddar and stir to combine.
If you’d like to thin the sauce out at all, add a little bit of the juice from the diced tomatoes, otherwise, drain the juice and add the tomatoes along with the chicken. Stir to combine.
Stir in the spaghetti. If you’re not using an oven-safe pot, transfer to a lightly greased 9×13 casserole dish.
Bake
Top with mozzarella cheese and bake uncovered for 15 minutes.
To brown the top slightly, broil it for 1-2 minutes at 475°, watch it closely during this time.
Remove from the oven. Garnish with red pepper flakes and fresh Parsley. Serve with a side of Garlic Bread with Cheese.
Notes
PRO Tips:
You can also use 2 cups of cooked chicken in this recipe, either leftover chicken or rotisserie. The benefit of cooking fresh chicken in the pot is that it transfers more flavor into the sauce.
Shred your own cheese from a block, it will melt better and give you much creamier results. Bagged shredded cheese contains cellulose which prevents it from melting as well in soups and sauces.
Don’t add the cheddar cheese when the base is very hot, or the dairy will separate and the consistency will be grainy. (This is outlined in the instructions as well.)
I prefer to use thin spaghetti for this recipe but you can use regular, angel hair, or other types of pasta noodles if that’s all you have.
This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 192!
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Note that the consistency of the sauce won’t be exactly the same when reheated from frozen.
The nutrition information provide is an estimate and is per serving. There are 6 servings in this recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 547kcal, Carbohydrates: 40g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 32g, Saturated Fat: 16g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 103mg, Sodium: 641mg, Potassium: 507mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 931IU, Vitamin C: 11mg, Calcium: 332mg, Iron: 2mg
