The Best Chicken Spaghetti (+Video)
The Best Chicken Spaghetti recipe calls for sliced grilled chicken, spaghetti noodles, cream of chicken, salsa, sour cream and cheese. No Rotel!
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 kept thinking that it needed a little more kick of flavor but I still wanted it simple to make. This recipe makes enough to feed your family and still have enough for leftovers
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.
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!
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.
- 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, cream of chicken soups, salsa, sour cream, 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 and republished: April 2019
The Best Chicken Spaghetti (+Video)
Ingredients
- 8 ounce angel hair pasta (half of a 16 ounce box)
- 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
- 2 (10 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 ounce 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 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup, 1 cup salsa, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 cup Mexican cheese blend, 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 and a sprinkling of dried parsley
- Cover with nonstick aluminum foil.
- Cook in the oven for about 25 minutes (until hot and bubbly.)
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- You can purchase the pre-cooked or pre-grilled chicken in the refrigerated section and freezer sections of your grocery store to cut down on time.
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.
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.