This Baked Chicken Spaghetti is creamy, delicious, and incredibly family-friendly! Picture tender shredded chicken and pasta tossed with a delightful homemade cheese sauce, and then topped with more shredded cheese and buttery, crispy bread crumbs.
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This recipe is…
Chicken spaghetti, for a lot of people, is pure nostalgia. I remember going to friends’ houses as a kid and eating this classic, baked noodle casserole dish quite often – I always gobbled it up! I mean, it’s a creamy, cheesy pasta bake topped with MORE cheese and delicious, golden bread crumbs …it’s what family-friendly dinner dreams are made of.
This recipe swaps canned cream-of-something soup (most recipes call for cream of mushroom) for cream cheese, totally leveling it up, in my opinion. It’s also easily adapted to be gluten free – in fact, every photo you see on this page was made with 100% gluten free ingredients, so rest assured that there is no sacrificing flavor or presentation with the adaptation.
If you’re looking for more family-friendly dinner recipes, we’ve got you. This baked chicken and rice is a weeknight dinner home-run, you can’t go wrong with these crispy ground beef tacos, and my kids gobble up this chicken marinara every single time I make it.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s family-friendly – this casserole is noodle-y, cheesy, and delicious. It’s almost like leveled-up mac and cheese!
- It’s made with better ingredients – a lot of chicken spaghetti recipes are made with cream of mushroom soup (or some other cream-of variation), but this recipe isn’t. It’s got a cream cheese base, making for a less mysterious ingredient list.
Recipe Ingredients
You’ll need a handful of ingredients for this recipe. The list may seem long, but everything on it is easy to find at any local grocery store (and there may even be a few of the ingredients hanging out in your fridge/pantry already). Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Shredded chicken – you’ve got options when it comes to your chicken. You can buy pre-cooked and shredded chicken at the store or shred your own in either the slow cooker (slow cooker shredded chicken) or Instant Pot (Instant Pot shredded chicken). Either way, you’ll want to have it cooked and shredded before starting your chicken spaghetti.
- Shredded cheese – this recipe calls for both shredded cheddar and shredded Monterey jack cheese. These two work beautifully together – the cheddar adds some bite to the cheese sauce (it has a sharper, more distinct flavor than Monterey jack) and the Monterey jack ups the creamy factor. That said, you can absolutely use all cheddar or all Monterey jack, if you’d like.
- Panko bread crumbs – when it comes to bread crumbs, we usually opt for gluten free panko, but any bread crumbs will do the trick here. You can even crush up your favorite crackers and use those!
- Rotel – feel free to use canned Rotel or, if you’re sensitive to spice, canned diced tomatoes here.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Make it gluten free – this recipe is really simple to make gluten free! Use a gluten free pasta (we used Barilla’s gluten free spaghetti noodles) and gluten free panko bread crumbs (or crushed gluten free crackers). Keep in mind that if you’re using gluten free noodles, they do take a little bit more babysitting than conventional wheat noodles. You’ll want to toss them with olive oil as soon as you strain them, and continue to toss them around every couple of minutes before adding the cheese sauce to them in the casserole dish.
- Use garlic powder and onion powder – if you don’t have fresh onion or garlic (or just don’t want to go through the trouble of chopping and mincing it), feel free to use onion and garlic powder instead. You’ll need 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder and a 1/2 tablespoon of onion powder and will add them in with the cream cheese, milk, and other cheese sauce ingredients.
- Use a different kind of pasta – while this recipe does have “spaghetti” in the title, know that you can absolutely use any type of pasta that you love/have on hand. Both short and long noodles will work great.
How to Make Baked Chicken Spaghetti
We wouldn’t be touting this as a family-friendly, weeknight recipe if it wasn’t easy to pull together. Follow along below for the full how-to.
Step 1: Add 2 tablespoons of the butter to a large pot over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion and garlic and saute until translucent. While you’re sauting the garlic and onion, cook your spaghetti noodles al dente (to do this, subtract 3 minutes from the package instructions).
Step 2: Add the chicken broth, milk, cream cheese, Rotel, half of the shredded Monterey jack cheese, half of the shredded cheddar cheese, and 1 teaspoon of salt to the pot with the garlic and onion. Stir until everything is melted.
Step 3: Sprinkle the flour on top of the melted cheese sauce and whisk until smooth. Let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom every minute or so. Once the sauce has thickened, stir in the chicken.
Step 4: Toss the bread crumbs with 1/4 cup of melted butter and a 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Place the al dente noodles in the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish, pour the chicken and cheese sauce over top and toss to combine. Spread the cheesy noodles out in an even layer, top with an even layer of the rest of the shredded cheese, and then an even layer of the buttery bread crumbs.
Step 5: Bake at 375°F for 25 minutes and then broil for 3-4 minutes, until the bread crumbs are golden brown. Garnish with parsley, serve, and enjoy!
Recipe Tip
You’ve got several options when it comes to the chicken you use. You can either…
- Use rotisserie chicken – this is the easiest option! You’ll need 3 cups of shredded chicken.
- Shred from fresh – grab about 1 1/4 pounds of fresh chicken and cook/shred it either using our slow cooker shredded chicken method or our Instant Pot shredded chicken method.
- Shred from frozen – if you’ve got frozen chicken hanging out in your freezer, grab it (you’ll need 1 1/4 pounds) and follow our guide on how to make perfectly cooked shredded chicken from frozen.
How to Serve
Serve your baked chicken spaghetti all on its own or alongside a green veggie – steamed green beans, steamed broccoli, or a simple arugula salad are all delicious options.
How to Store and Reheat
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To reheat your chicken spaghetti, either pop it in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or place it in an oven-safe dish and reheat it in the oven for 12-15 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can! This recipe freezes really well, actually. If you plan on going this route, assemble the casserole, freeze it, and then bake it from frozen (if you’re using an aluminum casserole dish) or let it thaw overnight and then bake (if you’re using a regular casserole dish, as most can’t go from the freezer to the oven without breaking) when you’re ready.
Absolutely! We chose a mix of cheddar cheese and Monterey jack, but you can use all of one of those or go with a completely different cheese – colby jack would be a great pick!
More Favorite Pasta Bake Recipes
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Baked Chicken Spaghetti Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 ounces spaghetti
- 6 tablespoons butter, divided
- ½ yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 10 ounces Rotel (canned tomatoes and chiles), drained
- 1½ cups Monterey jack cheese, shredded, divided
- 1½ cups cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
- 1½ teaspoons salt, divided
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups cooked and shredded chicken
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter to a large pot over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion and garlic and sauté until translucent.
- While you're sautéing the garlic and onion, cook your spaghetti noodles al dente (to do this, subtract 3 minutes from the package instructions).
- Add the chicken broth, milk, cream cheese, Rotel, half of the shredded Monterey jack cheese, half of the shredded cheddar cheese, and 1 teaspoon of salt to the pot with the garlic and onion. Stir until everything is melted.
- Sprinkle the flour on top of the melted cheese sauce and whisk until smooth. Let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom every minute or so.
- Once the sauce has thickened, stir in the chicken.
- Toss the bread crumbs with ¼ cup of melted butter and a ½ teaspoon of the salt.
- Place the al dente noodles in the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish, pour the chicken and cheese sauce over top and toss to combine. Spread the cheesy noodles out in an even layer, top with an even layer of the rest of the shredded cheese, and then an even layer of the buttery bread crumbs.
- Bake at 375°F for 25 minutes and then broil for 3-4 minutes, until the bread crumbs are golden brown. Garnish with parsley, serve, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Make it gluten free – this recipe is really simple to make gluten free! Use a gluten free pasta (we used Barilla’s gluten free spaghetti noodles) and gluten free panko bread crumbs (or crushed gluten free crackers). Keep in mind that if you’re using gluten free noodles, they do take a little bit more babysitting than conventional wheat noodles. You’ll want to toss them with olive oil as soon as you strain them, and continue to toss them around every couple of minutes before adding the cheese sauce to them in the casserole dish.
- Use garlic powder and onion powder – if you don’t have fresh onion or garlic (or just don’t want to go through the trouble of chopping and mincing it), feel free to use onion and garlic powder instead. You’ll need 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder and a 1/2 tablespoon of onion powder and will add them in with the cream cheese, milk, and other cheese sauce ingredients.
- Use a different kind of pasta – while this recipe does have “spaghetti” in the title, know that you can absolutely use any type of pasta that you love/have on hand. Both short and long noodles will work great.
Nutrition
Oh my goodness. What a yummy treat. This dish is as advertised: creamy, delicious, and family-friendly! 🙂
I think next time I will use some kind of short noodle instead of spaghetti just so it will mix in a little bit easier.
I think I need someone to explain casseroles to me, though. It seems like in a lot of casserole recipes, ingredients are cooked twice. For instance, when this dish goes into the oven, the pasta is cooked, the chicken is cooked, the onions and garlic are cooked, the sauce is thickened, and the whole thing is hot because the sauce has just finished bubbling on the stove. So why does it need 25 minutes in the oven? It seems like it would work just fine to broil it for 3 minutes alone. I just want to know why. Somebody tell me. 🙂
I see it’s noted to add Rotel twice, but only one can is listed. It says to add it in step 3 and again in 5. Does it matter when? Thanks!
Great question, Julia! So sorry about that. I just fixed the directions – you’ll add the Rotel in step 3!
Easy, comforting and delicious! Even my picky eater enjoyed it. I used regular diced tomatoes instead of the Rotel, and the two breasts from a rotisserie chicken. Great family meal that will be on the weeknight rotation!
That is so exciting, Lauren! We are so happy y’all enjoyed it!
Hi, this sounds great… I’m not seeing how much flour to use?
Also I usually make a roux for cheese sauce, so butter, flour then liquid and cheese…I’m curious, why is the flour added later in this method? Avoids Lumps? Taste?
Thanks!
Hi Ra! Good catch! You will use 2 tablespoons of flour! And you are right!… To avoid lumps!