Chicken Spaghetti
This recipe for the best Chicken Spaghetti calls for sliced chicken, spaghetti that gets lathered in a delicious creamy sauce! A family favorite!
An Easy Family Favorite 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!
The best chicken spaghetti!! So much more flavor than the Rotel kind. Loved it, thank you!
– Diana
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!
Craving More Recipes?
Originally published: June 2016
Updated photos and republished: March 2026
The Best Chicken Spaghetti
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.
This dish was so good. I had planned for leftovers but that didn’t happen! I love this twist on chicken spaghetti. The salsa and taco seasoning are the stars in this recipe. We will definitely be having this dish again.
Do you think rotini noodles would be good with this recipe?
Hi Cathy, I haven’t tried it but it should work!
I may have overlooked this but I need to make this on Saturday and then put it in the oven for Sunday lunch. Will this work?
It was amazing! I tried this recipe, but I did dairy-free items
I’m about to make this recipe and just realized I only have cheddar and mozzarella cheese. Which one would be better?
I will leave a review later tonight after we try it!
Hi Candace! I’d say a mix of both! 😉 Hope you all loved it!
I needed a quick & easy dinner that I could make for my hubby and 3 1/2 year old son. This recipe is easy to follow and easy to make. The casserole was absolutely delicious! I’ll keep this in my “dishes to make again” pile! Thank you!
Thank you Jenny! I am always so, so happy when I hear the little ones like a recipe!! The big ones too 😉 Thank you for taking the time to come back & leave feedback!
I made this tonight and made a few adjustments. I used rotisserie chicken because I forgot to thaw my chicken. It was good. No complaints. Unfortunately, I am allergic to tomatoes so I couldn’t use salsa or even Rotel. I used roasted red bell peppers instead. I don’t think it was a good adjustment. It wasn’t awful but I’m not completely convinced it was the best option. Any suggestions on salsa replacement?
I will saw my picky eater loved it (after I removed the red pepper bits).
Hi Jennifer! That is a good question about the salsa. Honestly, I am not really sure. I’ll have to think on that. Is it all tomatoes you are allergic to or just the red kind? I was thinking a tomatillo salsa. Or maybe a green enchilada sauce perhaps….
It’s, unfortunately, all tomatoes. And rice, fish, peanuts, tree nuts, and strawberries. It’s just a blast with adult-onset food allergies. 🙁
Ugh!! I’m so sorry!!! I know that must be so hard!! Especially if you actually enjoy eating those things! 🙁
Thoughts on substitutes for the cream of chicken? We don’t eat meat and I saw cream of mushroom or cheese soups at the store.
Wow, what an awesome casserole! Had group of girls over and it went over big. Everyone wanted the recipe. Making again for more company tomorrow. A great and easy dish to make. Thanks, Also, didn’t change a thing in the recipe!
My husband like it too, said to keep that recipe, it’s a keeper!!!!!
Woo Hoo!! That is so great to hear Kathy! Thanks so much for coming back to leave a comment!
Enjoy chicken spaghetti. I use this same recipe and I added bacon to ours. It’s so good and delicious
Sounds wonderful to me!
This is so good. You can taste all of the ingredients. Definitely a must make again!
Yay!! Love hearing that. Thank you Angie!!
I wanted something different for dinner and came across this. My family loved it!
I did substitute the salsa with fresh jalapeños.
I plan to make this more often, and would be a great dish to bring to a potluck
Hi Francine! Woo hoo!! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. It truly makes my day to get feedback on recipes. This is one of my personal faves and I’m thrilled that you love it too!
I love everything about this recipe! The others I’ve seen that copy this with a few tweeks just aren’t as good! Thanks for sharing this with us!
Thanks so much Mandy!!! So appreciated!! 🙂
Love it!
Best meal ever
Thanks so much Traci!
Love this recipe! I had some yellow squash that needed eating so I sliced and quartered it and added it to the mixture. I baked it for an extra 5 minutes and it was amazing!!! Both kiddos gobbled it up! I will definitely be making this again.
Love, love, love that you added some squash! Great idea! Thanks so much Amanda!!
This was very good , my very picky 7 year old gobbled it up! Added a side salad … perfect weeknight meal with plenty of leftovers for me and the little.
Thank you Angela! I always love hearing when a picky eater loves a recipe! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave feedback!
I going to try this , what the pros and cons on the salsa or rotel I like both just wondering thanks
Can’t wait to give this a try. Do you have any suggestions for substitutions if you have picky eaters who wouldn’t like the salsa or the Rotel?
Hmmmm…honestly, I have only ever tried it with those. The salsa is not strong at all. If you like, you can put the mild salsa in a food processor so there aren’t any chunks in it. Maybe that would help? Just use a very mild salsa (I Love Herdes mild salsas.)
I made this with spaghetti squash instead of pasta, and the entire dish was gone! The family loved it! Thank you for the amazing recipe!
My family loved this recipe. I found it a little too salty. I’d definitely make it again, but I would use a lower sodium soup.
Hi! Can this be made a few hours a head of time and refrigerated until baking?
Hi Holly! Yes, it sure can! Just cover it up well. 🙂
I am making this tonight. However we are cutting back on our carb intake. so I will be substituting the angel hair pasta with Zucchini! Wish me luck!
I’m interested to know how it goes! I think spaghetti squash might be a fun alternative too!
I made this for supper tonight and it was amazing. My toddler ate 2 helpings!
This is so awesome Brittany! I absolutely love hearing when kids love a recipe. This is so great to hear!
Great! I changed it up a bit though and use rotisserie chicken and rotel instead of salsa.
So happy you enjoyed it! Be sure to try the salsa next time. I think it is SO much better than the Rotel! 🙂
How much is a serving size?
About a cup. 🙂 However, if you are using this for nutritional purposes, I definitely recommend you use your own trusted nutritional app. These nutrition conversion tools are not always 100% correct. It’s just a general guideline.
Hi country cook have you tried this as a freezer mail? How did it turn out?
Hi Melanie! I personally have not tried to freeze this one. However, it should freeze okay. I think the key is making sure you have it wrapped really well so it doesn’t get any kind of freezer burn. 🙂
I want to make this recipe, but I’m unsure of the measurements of each ingredient. Not sure if I’m just skipping over it or if they just aren’t listed
Hi Keaira, just scroll down towards the bottom of the post. You’ll see a printable recipe card where it’s all on one page for you. Hope that helps! 🙂
Has anyone tried this recipe with thin, rather than angel hair spaghetti? It’s no problem to buy angel hair but I thought it would get mushy from being boiled and then baked. No one said it did but then again some people like very soft pasta in casseroles and some don’t. I was glad to see someone used a whole pound of spaghetti and it came out fine.
Hi Lynn! The angel hair pasta doesn’t get mushy. Just don’t overlook it (like most pasta noodles.) But you can absolutely use spaghetti noodles if you prefer. ????
Looks easy and very tasty
Hope you love it Andy!
My friend had me over for a birthday dinner last Saturday and I was shocked! This was the best bite of food I have put in my mouth in a long time. I was completely suprised because I don’t like chicken or spaghetti! This was very good mainly because you can’t taste the individual ingredients because they all blend together.
Hi Kathi! Oh wow!! I love hearing that!! Thank you SO much!!
So i did a little tweaking myself. Instead of sour cream I used cream cheese and instead of taco seasoning I used dry ranch seasoning. I seasoned with black pepper onion and garlic powder. I boiled 5 chicken breast in salt water and then after shredding I browned the meat with butter in a skillet with pepper onion and garlic powder. Its in the oven now. Pre test tasting says YUMM-O!
Sounds good to me!
Just made this and it’s delicious! My husband and I both loved it! I used a spicy taco seasoning and pulled chicken breast instead of cubed (you get chicken with every bite!), and it was super easy to make. I’m wondering if you could make this ahead and freeze it? This would be a great dish to give to somebody in need or just for fun!
I am so thrilled y’all enjoyed this one! To be honest, I haven’t actually tried freezing it yet. But theoretically it should work. If you give it a try, please let me know! ????
Just to clarify, is it 8 oz, or 1/2 a box of 8 oz? Sounds like 1/2 of an 8 oz box, but confused why it isn’t listed as 4 oz of pasta.
Thank you for the update! We had it last night and it was delicious!
Hi Kim! I thought I had responded to your first comment. I guess I didn’t. Ha! I updated the recipe post to make it a little clearer and then meant to reply to you. Sorry about that but glad you saw the update! 🙂
This is a GREAT recipe!!! I have made this twice in the past week! Followed this recipe to the letter the first time and was blown away! The second time, since im a fan of garlic, I added six cloves of chopped garlic…absolutely unbelievable! This will definitely be a mainstay in my home! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Family is picky with food however they loved this dish. Will definitely be making it again.
We tried this tonight and it was delicious! I changed up the recipe a bit and chose to cut the chicken in strips on a bias. I also used egg noodles instead of angel hair pasta. It was delicious!
I love this recipe! The first time I ever made this type of spaghetti I followed The Pioneer Woman’s recipe which is very similar but uses chopped veggies instead of salsa, and has a few different variations. This recipe has the exact changes I would have made myself, but saved me the time of trying to figure out just what it needed! The flavors are incredible. Instead of using two cans of cream of chicken, I use one can of cream of chicken and one can of cheddar cheese from the soup aisle. I also add extra shredded cheese…. but who doesn’t? Anyway, This is one of my FAVORITE recipes out there, it’s so easy and it reheats well…. I look forward to having it for lunch all week!!!
Hi I know I’m late to the show, but I wanted to tell you what I did with your delicious recipe. My nephews have been visiting us in TX from VA and we’ve done an early Thanksgiving and loads of Tex-Mex. so I used the remaining turkey went in this, but since they were a little burnt out in the taco flavor, I subbed Parmesan, real bacon bits and garlic salt. Topped it with Monterrey Jack and cheddar. So both your original and the adaptation are now in my recipe box. Thanks for an amazing and versatile recipe!
This was an easy delicious meal my friend and girlfriend loved it. Thanks.
Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment!
Made this for tonight’s dinner, along with some fueata fried corn. Delicious! Will make it again!
That sounds heavenly!!
WOW, WOW, and just WOW!
Just found and made this recipe exactly as it is written and loved it!! Thank you!
Woo hoo!! Yay!!????????????
I made this and it is now my favorite recipe! Loved it, tasted delicious and even made it for our church monthly fellowship meal and they loved it too. Thank you!!!
Can you use canned chicken?
I don’t see why not. If that’s what works for you!????
Last night was my first time making chicken spaghetti. I made it a night earlier for dinner the next day. It looked so good coming out of the oven. I have been waiting since lunch time today, to get home for dinner to see what it tastes like. DIVINE!!!! Definitely making sure to print the recipe in the event I cant access the recipe on my phone. We LOVED it!
I’m so, so happy to hear this!! It really was so wonderful to read!! Yay!!
I made made this tonight. I used a whole box of pasta, 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (it’s what I had on hand), and I added diced green peppers. My family LOVED this and it even smelled divine!! I’m putting this into regular rotation. It is THAT good!!
My 13 year old daughter cooked this tonight and it was awesome. Definitely a keeper.
Where did you find the southwestern style chicken breast strips? I’m not finding them in any of our local grocery stores
I found it in the refrig. section where packaged mashed potatoes, pulled pork, etc. is. Along the area where cheese, bacon etc. is.
This is the best chicken dish I have made in years. Sooo easy and taste soooo good!
I made this dish tonight it was very good plan to make it again . Somehow when I looked at the picture it didn’t look like a Mexican dish.
I see some others have copied your recipe but we all know this one is the original! It is hands-down our favorite. Thank you for all the recipe testing you do for us to make it come out perfect!!
Made this for dinner last evening. I didn’t have salsa so I used diced tomatoes and added Cajun seasoning. this was a huge hit. I will be making this again.
Glad you enjoyed it.