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!
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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 recipe is very easy and quick to make. Its so flavorful and my family totally loved it.
Delicious! Thank you for sharing!
Best chicken spaghetti recipe that I’ve tried & I have tried several! My husband & even my 2 year old absolutely devoured it. This will be go to recipe for chicken spaghetti from now on!
Yay!! Thanks so much Nikki! I especially love hearing when kids love a recipe!
This sounds delicious and the comments are really great. Can this be mixed up, refrigerated, and baked the next day?
You could certainly do that. You may just need to add on a few additional minutes of cooking time since you’re heating up from a cold state 🙂
I love making this meal. My family loves it! My husband will get seconds which is rare for him! It’s delicious
Oh my – what a wonderful comment!! Thanks so very much Natalie!!
I didn’t have salsa or Mexican cheese blend. Used sharp chedder and tajin spice for seasoning. Still came out amazing. Also very simple family recipe.
Has anyone tried this with beef? I’ve made and loved this recipe for a long time but I’m curious to switch it up!
Thanks 🙂
I know you said this could be frozen. Can it frozen before it’s baked? Or baked then frozen? TIA
Either way. If you freeze before you bake it, just remember you will have to add extra cooking time since you’re cooking from frozen.
Wow, this was absolutely delicious! I was looking for a chicken spaghetti recipe that didn’t call for Velveeta (because what is even in that stuff!?) and stumbled upon this hidden gem! Oh my goodness, so delicious! We will definitely be making this a staple in our house for dinner!
I made this today for my husband and I for lunch. So good! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Before I make it, what would be good to serve along side it?
I usually just do a side salad and some garlic bread 🙂
One of the best recipes I’ve tried!
My family and I really enjoyed this recipe. It was so good! I only had one can of cream of chicken soup available so improvised. I used that one can, 3/4-1 cup of sour cream and a few pinches of powdered chicken bullion to substitute that chicken flavor. Absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing your recipe!!
Thank you SO much Therese!! I really appreciate you coming back to comment!!
I made this dish exactly like recipe turned out so good!! Recommend it’s a must try!!
Thanks so very much Abby!
This is truly the best chicken spaghetti ever! Every other recipe uses rotel and in my opinion, it adds no flavor – it’s just tomatoes. The salsa really makes this! I used the same brand you recommended. I had never had it before and it is our new favorite. So my recommendation to anyone is make sure you are using a salsa that you really enjoy. Thank you Brandie!
Absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe to a T, except we love spicy things so I added 2 small cans of hot green chilies. Yum!
Thanks so very much Mary! Great idea with the green chilies!
My family loves this! I use a can of rotel instead of salsa and it’s delicious!!
Thanks so very much Dana!! I really appreciate it and thanks so much for coming back to comment!
Brandie – this was absolutely fantastic! I took your suggestion of the Herdez salsa and WOW that was WAY better than just plain ole Rotel. Made all the difference I think. As always, I love and trust all your recipes. Thank you for another winner!!
I have this meal on rotation for our Family Dinner Nights.
It’s one that all of us love and it’s so easy to make.
I make it as per recipe but add a little more sour cream and some of the water from the cooked pasta, just to make it very saucy.
Thank you so much Nique! You are so sweet to come back and comment! I love hear how recipes turned out and to know folks are enjoying them!
I cooked this dish for me my husband. My husband is very fussy. I only had most of the ingredients and had no cream of chicken soup, so made a creamy chicken broth.
He said to me that was absolutely beautiful. 5 Star for me,
This is our go to chicken spaghetti recipe and everyone loves it every time I make it.
OMG this was DELICIOUS!!!!! I see why it’s called the BEST chicken spaghetti because it definitely is that. Made me do the happy food dance as I was eating it!! Thank you for sharing all this goodness…YUM
Exactly it was very good!!
I found this recipe the other night after making spagetti and had way too much pasta to throw out. Whipped this together and sent home with my son. He LOVED it! Now I can’t wait to make again and try it out myself. FYI – I used taco seasoned chicken that we had made for burritos, so I didn’t add the taco seasoning. It worked well.
Hi, I found your blog on Google. Well, I am not familiar with this recipe. However, I am willing to give it a try. So, I only have rotisserie chicken and canned chicken breast. Do you think that it would still taste the same with either of those? Also, is there any way I could just make it on the stovetop versus baking? I do have an oven, but rarely bake my main dishes there.
Thank you for sharing!
I think the rotisserie chicken would work great!
Hands down the best chicken spaghetti recipe out there. Every other recipe has Rotel in it and it just doesn’t add any flavor but this one is perfect!! Our family favorite. I won’t make it any other way now
would this be freezer friendly?
Yep!
delicious and one of our favorites!
All time favorite chicken spaghetti recipe! I’ve been making this for my husband and myself for years and it has become one of our go to meals. I’ve made the recipe as written and it is fantastic, saucy, cheesy, but most of all delicious. I’ve also added a few tweaks for personal taste and a few substitutions when needed, like using cream of mushroom instead of chicken or adding a can of drained diced tomatoes along with the salsa for some extra bursts of flavor. I’ve also made this using regular instead of angle hair pasta and a full 16 oz instead of the stated 8 oz and it comes out just as good. This recipe also freezes really well! Just freeze wrapped in foil and plastic then thaw completely and bake as directed or until warmed through and bubbly. This is a life saver since we became parents to our first little one! I have also found it easier to mix if you breast the pasta in half before cooking. All in all fantastic recipe and I will continue to use it for years to come!!!
This makes my day Lauren! Love hearing that!! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and comment!!
This looks amazing!!! Can it be done in a crock pot? If so, How?
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. https://www.thecountrycook.net/crock-pot-spaghetti-and-meatballs-all-in-one/
my hubby is very allergic to toatoes of any kind, could you recommend a replacement for the salsa or could I just add a little extra taco seasoning. Thanks in advance
Oh no! Hmmm…I’ll be honest, that’s a new one on me. Is it all tomatoes or just red tomatoes? Can he eat tomatillo sauce or maybe a green enchilada sauce?
You can leave it out but it does obviously lose a bit of flavor. Try giving it a taste test & play it by ear with the taco seasoning. If you feel like it definitely needs more pop of flavor then add a bit more. 🙂
hatch green chillies!! to just replace tomatoes….and a small can of Verde (green) enchilada sauce. Best chicken spaghetti ever!! tastes like chicken enchiladas!!
This recipe was awesome and so easy to make. Next time I was wondering about adding a little bit of bacon to it. What do you think?
Hi Dana! Personally I’m not a fan of bacon flavors with taco flavors but if you think you would enjoy it then go for it!
I added at the end a ¼ C. Of chicken broth to keep it moist. An amazing recipe. I will pass this on down the family recipes.
I saw the photo of this at the bottom of one of your other recipes (Fresh Peach Cobbler) and it looked very inviting so I saved it and I am going to try it this weekend or next week. I don’t have to make it to tell you that it’s going to be good, just looking at the ingredients tells me that it’s good. Might switch one of the soups with cream of celery. I think that even cream of cheddar soup would taste great! Thanks Brandie!
Very delicious recipe. I changed it up by using a can of cream of jalapeno soup instead of 2 cans of cream of chicken & was awesome. Also have replaced one can of cream of chicken with can of cream of poblano also very good. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
FABULOUS and EASY!! I used 1 can of cream of chicken & substituted spaghetti squash for noodles. WONDERFUL!! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!!
Thank you so much for mentioning spaghetti squash! I actually had someone ask me if they thought it would turn out good using that instead of pasta and I wasn’t sure if it would work. Now I know! 🙂
This was so easy to make, we loved it!!!
Yay! Thank you so very much Brigid!
Sounds delicious
so delicious!!!
Used crockpot salsa chicken, let’s see how this turns out:)
Hi, wondering how crock pot turned out?
Anyone ever top it with Panko bread crumbs?
I love this recipe. Tried it last week and fell in love with it.
So happy to hear that! Thanks so much Jackie
The use of salsa and taco seasoning is the secret to making the chicken richly flavorful. This would make a perfect potluck dish. I shredded my chicken. Would not make it too often simply ‘cause the pasta, cream soup, cheese and sour cream make it an overindulgence I can only afford once in a blue moon. I changed nothing and wouldn’t alter in the future.
I would lighten up by using Campbells 98% fat free soup, lite sour cream and low fat cheese. Still yummy with half the calories.
A family favorite, easy, not as spicy as other recipes. Kids love it. Thought about adding black beans next time. Always serve with guacamole, fresh tomatoes, and cucumbers.
I made this last night. It was delicious! Changes I would make though is, add MORE spaghetti and use less cheese. And maybe even add more salsa! Great meal!!
This is absolutely AMAZING. I haven’t cooked on a regular basis for about 10 years (I know crazy right). Since I found this website I have been cooking about 3 nights a week, which my husband is excited about.
I was reluctant to make this recipe because I don’t like anything spicy, even old is too spicy for me. Sooooo I made a few little changes…I used the Herdez mild salsa, for those of you who have nothing tried this salsa the mild is truly mild, no spicy flavor at all. I also used the Kroger brand mild taco seasoning and linguine instead of angle hair pasta. It was AMAZING!!! My husband even wanted to take some to work to share with a coworker. He has also requested that I maje it again this week.
I’m making the beef stew tonight for dinner and the chicken noodle soup either tomorrow or Monday.
Thank you so much for getting me back to making nice dinners for the man I love. I’ll comment on those pages after we’ve eaten! 🙂
Awwww Trina – thank you so much! I can’t tell you how much it meant to read your sweet note. You are the exact reason that I keep doing this blog. I hope I can continue to bring you lots more recipes that you love!
Could this be made with spaghetti squash for a healthier dish?
I don’t see why not! I haven’t personally tried it but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work!
HEY BRANDI LOVE YOUR DISHES LIKE THE CREAMY CHEESY CHICKEN SPAGHETTI MY BOYS LOVE IT SO MUCH.
That makes me so happy to hear Pamela!
Hi Brandi,
Just made this for dinner tonight .. Everyone LOVED it .. I made it with Rontini (spiral) pasta and it worked prefect!
Thank you for the AWESOME recipe!
Lyslee
P.S. I added a dollop of sour cream and a slice of avocado.
Thanks so much Lyslee! You are so very sweet to come back and leave a review. I really do appreciate it!
It tasted amazing and just zesty enough. My family liked it. I ended up adjusting temp to 425 degrees and time to 45 min at first it was not done at suggested settings and time.
I LOVE this recipe! I use a little more taco seasoning to give it an extra kick. Also I take a rotisserie chicken and shred it! Before I put it in the oven I sprinkle a little bit more of the taco seasoning on top. When it’s done I broil the top uncovered for about 2-3 minutes to give it a nice cheesy crust!
I make this recipe all the time and I love it! But today I’m going to try something different. I’m going to use my leftover taco meat in place of the chicken and see how it turns out!