Creamy, cheesy and absolutely flavorful, this Chicken Spaghetti will be your new go-to dinnertime meal the whole family will enjoy.
I have to admit that I absolutely love chicken everything. I probably make chicken 2 or more times a week.
We love getting creative and this Chicken Spaghetti is one of our favorite dinnertime meals that everyone in our house enjoys.
Full of bacon, cheese, seasonings, onions, peppers and more, this chicken recipe is not lacking on flavor at all.
With every single bite you will get the amazingness of this creamy delicious meal. Plus it’s really easy to make and is done in under an hour.
Pasta is also really high on our list of favorites so combining the two is a no brainer and trust me when I say that you will want to make this over and over again.
If you’ve been looking for a fun chicken recipe, then you have to run to the kitchen and make this Chicken Spaghetti ASAP!
Some of our other favorite pasta recipes that we have on our site include: Bacon Pasta, Garlic Butter Pasta and Tortellini Carbonara!
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- With a variety of ingredients, this does not lack on flavor!
- This serves about 6 but you can double it to serve more people.
- It is creamy, crunchy and the textures go really well together.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST):
Bacon
Onion
Yellow or orange bell pepper
Garlic
Unsalted butter
All-purpose flour
Chicken broth
Italian seasoning
Salt
Pepper
Milk
Heavy whipping cream
Cream cheese
Diced tomatoes with green chilies (like Rotel)
Thin spaghetti
Cooked chicken, shredded
Mozzarella cheese
Fresh parsley (optional)
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN SPAGHETTI, STEP BY STEP:
- Preheat the oven and cook the pasta to al dente or a minute shy of al dente while you make the sauce. The noodles will cook a bit more in the oven later so don’t overcook your pasta.
- Cook the bacon in a large pot or a tall-sided skillet until the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate and set aside.
- Add the onion and bell pepper to the bacon grease and cook for about 5 minutes until they’re soft and the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and 1 tablespoon of butter and cook for 1 more minute.
- Sprinkle the flour over the onions/peppers and toss to coat. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Pour the chicken broth in slowly while whisking. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with a rubber or silicon spatula if you have any stuck pieces. This adds good flavor.
- Add in the Italian seasoning and salt and pepper
- Next, add the milk and cream and whisk till combined and smooth. In Tablespoon-sized pieces add the softened cream cheese and whisk till smooth. This will be hard to do unless your cream cheese is extra soft.
- Drain the tomatoes with green chilies, add them to the sauce, and stir. Add ½ cup of the mozzarella cheese and stir till melted.
- Add in the shredded chicken, half the crumbled bacon, and the pasta. Use tongs to toss together, for the easiest mixing. The sauce will thicken a bit more in the oven and as it cools.
- If you’re not using an oven-safe pot, transfer to a 10×10 casserole dish and top with the rest of the crumbled bacon followed by the remaining ¾ cup mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes till cheese is melted.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle chopped parsley on top, if desired.
CAN I USE ANOTHER TYPE OF PASTA?
Yes, I think most types of pasta will work (penne, rotini, bowtie, ect), but thin spaghetti is my favorite. I would not use angel hair or the pasta will overcook in the oven.
WHAT OTHER CHEESE CAN I USE?
While we feel that mozzarella works best for this Chicken Spaghetti Recipe, you can switch it up to your favorite or what you have on hand. Some other ideas include:
- Monterey Jack
- Colby Jack
- Pepper Jack
- Mozzarella
- Gouda
- Cheddar
You will want to use freshly shredded cheese for this, this always melts easier and better than packaged.
DO I HAVE TO USE DICED TOMATOES WITH GREEN CHILES?
If you are not a favorite of diced tomatoes with green chiles you can swap then with regular petite diced tomatoes.
Petite diced tomatoes come in a larger can, you can choose to use only about 10 ounces of that can or the whole thing and just have more tomatoes in your finished Chicken Spaghetti.
WHY WON’T MY CREAM CHEESE MELT COMPLETELY?
You likely haven’t softened it enough. It should be room temperature by the time you use it or you may have tiny bits of un-melted cream cheese in your final dish.
So make sure that it is really soft, even if you have to microwave it a little bit just to ensure that it melts fully.
HOW TO STORE:
This can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator where it will keep for up to 4-5 days.
You can freeze this recipe, but we suggest freezing it before baking. So this makes a great freezer meal.
Prepare the dish like you would for baking and then place in a freezer safe baking dish and it will keep for up to 3 months.
To defrost, remove to the refrigerator until fully thawed and then bake according to directions.
To reheat from the refrigerator, place in the microwave until warmed through. This will be thicker after you rewarm it and not as saucy.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- Use any of your favorite cooked chicken, even a rotisserie chicken will work great for this.
- This can be frozen, but see our tips above on the best way to do that.
- Use other cheeses in your dish such as Monterey Jack, Colby Jack, Gouda, etc.
- Other pastas will work, see above on ideas.
- If you do not want to use diced tomatoes with green chiles you can swap them for regular petite diced tomatoes.
- Easily double this recipe to serve a larger crowd.
- Make sure that your cream cheese is very soft before using it in the recipe so it melts fully.
- If you are not a fan of bell peppers, you can leave them out.
Want that creamy and delicious weeknight meal that everyone will fall in love with? Then you cannot go wrong with this Chicken Spaghetti Recipe!
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If you’ve tried this CHICKEN SPAGHETTI or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Chicken Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 8 ounces bacon chopped in about ½-1-inch pieces.
- ½ small onion diced
- ½ yellow or orange bell pepper diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup cream
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 10 ounces diced tomatoes with green chilies like Rotel
- 8 ounces thin spaghetti
- 1 ½ cups cooked chicken shredded
- 1 ¼ cup mozzarella cheese shredded, divided
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven and cook the pasta to al dente or a minute shy of al dente while you make the sauce. The noodles will cook a bit more in the oven later so don’t overcook your pasta.
- Cook the bacon in a large pot or a tall-sided skillet until the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate and set aside.
- Add the onion and bell pepper to the bacon grease and cook for about 5 minutes until they’re soft and the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and 1 tablespoon of butter and cook for 1 more minute.
- Sprinkle the flour over the onions/peppers and toss to coat. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Pour the chicken broth in slowly while whisking. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with a rubber or silicon spatula if you have any stuck pieces. This adds good flavor.
- Add in the Italian seasoning and salt and pepper
- Next, add the milk and cream and whisk till combined and smooth. In Tablespoon-sized pieces add the softened cream cheese and whisk till smooth. This will be hard to do unless your cream cheese is extra soft.
- Drain the tomatoes with green chilies, add them to the sauce, and stir. Add ½ cup of the mozzarella cheese and stir till melted.
- Add in the shredded chicken, half the crumbled bacon, and the pasta. Use tongs to toss together, for the easiest mixing. The sauce will thicken a bit more in the oven and as it cools.
- If you’re not using an oven-safe pot, transfer to a 10×10 casserole dish and top with the rest of the crumbled bacon followed by the remaining ¾ cup mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes till cheese is melted.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle chopped parsley on top, if desired.
Notes
- Use any of your favorite cooked chicken, even a rotisserie chicken will work great for this.
- This can be frozen, but see our tips above on the best way to do that.
- Use other cheeses in your dish such as Monterey Jack, Colby Jack, Gouda, etc.
- Other pastas will work, see above on ideas.
- If you do not want to use diced tomatoes with green chiles you can swap them for regular petite diced tomatoes.
- Easily double this recipe to serve a larger crowd.
- Make sure that your cream cheese is very soft before using it in the recipe so it melts fully.
- If you are not a fan of bell peppers, you can leave them out.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Brianna
This recipe is so perfect for my family! All my kids loved this and definitely will make again.