Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
A while back, I was watching the Food Network and I happened to catch an episode of the Pioneer Women. She made this fabulous looking Chicken Spaghetti. It takes a little bit of time to put together, but other than that it was really simple to make. I just knew I had to give it a try! I tweaked the recipe just a little bit and it was absolutely delicious!
What I really love about this recipe is that it can be made ahead and baked later on. So you can make it the night before or in the morning, refrigerate it and then bake it right before dinner. You can also freeze it to have on hand for one of those days where you just have no time to cook. I think it would also be perfect for a potluck or to bring to a friend or relative who’s sick or maybe just had a baby.
Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
- 1 whole raw chicken, about 5 lbs, cut into pieces
- 1/2 red pepper, diced small
- 1/2 green pepper, diced small
- 1/2 medium zucchini, diced small
- 1 medium red onion, diced small
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pound spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pieces
- 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
- 3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 tsp season salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
Put chicken pieces into a LARGE pot, fill with cold water.
Bring water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer at a low bubble for about 30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool. Once chicken is cool enough to handle, shred enough chicken for a 2 generous cups.
Remove 2 cups of the cooking liquid from the pot and reserve for later.
Bring the remaining liquid in the pot back to a boil. Cook pasta for about 8 minutes, until al dente. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add green and red pepper, zucchini, onion and garlic. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes until veggies are softened.
In a large mixing bowl, combine, veggies, chicken, pasta, cream of mushroom soup, 1 1/2 cups of the cheese, season salt and cayenne pepper. Mix until combined. Stir in 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid until well combined. Stir in as much of the remaining liquid as needed to make the sauce creamy. You don’t want it to be too dry. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Spoon mixture into either 1 – 9×13 baking dish (that’s been coated with cooking spray) or 2 – 8×8 baking dishes. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups of cheese over the top.
Bake for 30 to 45 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees, until bubbly and cheese is golden brown. Or you can cover with foil and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 6 months. If you bake this immediately, it will probably take closer to 30 minutes to bake. If the casserole is cold when you bake it, it will probably take closer to 45 minutes to bake.
Serve immediately.
ENJOY!
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I love speghettie casserole. You are making me hungry with these wonderful pictures.
I would like to know how I can print this. Print friendly is not working.
Me too!!!!!
Did you try just to print it that shows on the top of the computer (print)
Did you figure out how to print it? I tried, & it is sp small & light, it cannot be read.
this is the same chicken or turkey tettrazinni just a different name. delicious just the same and a family favorite!
Quick question…. I assume freezing before you bake is the way to do it….. just wanted to be sure. So if freezing… do you bake first or wait til when you are ready to use?
I would freeze it before I bake it and then defrost first so that it doesn’t take as long to bake.
I have made a recipe like this for years. Can’t remember where I got the recipe, but it was called “Three Sisters Chicken Spaghetti”
Won a church cooking contest with it one time
Sounds YUMMERS! Could I shred deli counter chicken instead of cutting up and boiling a raw one before shredding?
I have a deli closeby that makes the best rotisserie roasted chicken EVER at a reasonable price. I could then use packaged chicken broth (I love Knorr’s brand) to replace the
required amout of liquid. Just a thought, because I sometimes don’t like the use of the chicken in the poultry case, Might even add to the flavor of the casserole. What do
you think?
I think a rotisserie chicken would work just fine in this recipe, Ruthie!
At my house, we call this chi-ghetti. It is an awesome dish served with a salad and garlic bread.
You can also substitute veggies, using celery and cream of chix and cream of celery soup.
One other thing about this is I have never been able to fit it in one 9×13 pan. I use two and eat one and freeze one. I also use 2lb of veelveta cheeese
l am going to try chicken spaghetti casserole.
Thanks for the recipe.
I hope you like it, Anna! My family loves it! 🙂
This sounds like the grossest chicken spaghetti recipe I have ever heard!!! YUCK!! ZUCCINNI??? Nasty, who puts that in chicken spaghetti? And no cheese IN the recipe except on the top? GROSS!!
Wow, Mindy, you have some strong opinions about this recipe. This is actually one of the most popular recipes on my blog.
I add the zucchini to the recipe because my family actually loves it and it’s a great way to add a little more veg to our diet. If you don’t like zucchini, you certainly could omit it from the recipe. As far as the cheese, if you go back and take another look at the recipe, you’ll see that there actually is 1 1/2 cups of cheese in the pasta mixture as well as the cheese on top. So it turns out quite cheesy and good.
Have a nice day, Mindy.
Sounds good, especially being able to freeze well. And we LOVE zucchini in casseroles, soup, quiche, stuffed, etc etc. You’re so correct about the more veggies, the better — and so many are basically interchangeable. The “bonus” ingredients like cheese can be adapted or eliminated to personal tastes. Most real cooks know that…
Thanks for the recipe!
I do for one. The more veggies you put in here as Lisa has done, the healthier the recipe is. I LOVE Zucchini in casseroles and have even been known to eat it by itself as a side to my meat main course. If you don’t want to use an entire box of spaghetti, try using a Q&Q brand box of vermicelli — it is already broken up for you and usually a cheaper source of spaghetti pieces. But it is made with soft wheat for Mexican dishes so you have to lightly brown it in a LITTLE oil first. Sort of like what you do to Rice-a-Roni. Then, dump it into the casserole. In Spanish it is called a “fideo” and you can add canned diced carrots with peas to it, broccoli, whatever you want. Fideo is a nice side that has a LITTLE pasta mixed with vegetables.
Wow, Mindy, that was extremely rude. Haven’t you ever heard “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything”? Where are your manners? I think that looks delicious Lisa! Ignore the rude people 🙂
Thank you Lauren, I appreciate the support! My family loves this recipe, it’s great comfort food! 🙂
Wow Mindy, how rude! If you don’t like zucchini move on … I’m sure there are plenty of other pages out there for you to like. That said, Lisa, I think this looks totally yummy! In fact, I am sharing to my page, All Things Food – Cooking With Mary and Friends!
You are so sweet, Mary! Thank you for sharing this on your page! 🙂
Wow, really Mindy?? So childish. If you don’t like zucchini omit it or MOVE ALONG. No need for rude comments, this looks and sounds absolutely wonderful!!!! Try using spell check next time. Some people just need drama in their lives!!! Keep up the good work, Lisa 🙂
Thank you Rachel! You’re very kind, I appreciate the support! 🙂
Hi Lisa! This recipe is right up my ally! I actually make something similar using elbow macaroni, my kids love zucchini! Will have to try your version, looks great! ~Donika
Thanks, Donika! I hope your family likes this version as much as much as we do!!
This recipe looked so delicious I had to make it right away! Unbelievable! We all loved it, my family went back for seconds! Thank you for the yummy recipe! Nettie
Oh Nettie! I’m so glad to hear you loved this!! Thanks so much!
This sounds great, next time I go grocery shopping I have to get the ingredients to make this! Don’t listen to rude people like Mindy, she literally sounds like a spoiled teenager. Sounds like a really tasty dish to me, can’t wait to try!
I think I would get already shredded chicken at the market and maybe use a can of chicken broth where needed.
What a delicious dish! My family loves vegetables, so I went a little ‘heavier’ on the veggies. I also added some finely diced carrots, mushrooms, and some sliced black olives. Also, I used whole wheat linguini instead of spaghetti, This recipe is truly a keeper!
Glad to hear you enjoyed this, Angela! I love that you added all the extra veggies. I would love to add black olives to this, too, but, sadly, no one else in my family likes olives. lol 🙂
This sounds and looks good, I, m going to try it.I love all veggies and I was thinking of adding asparagus along with everything else. I was looking for recipes that are filling and heathy as to having more veggies.
I think asparagus would be delicious in this, Latasha!
Oh boy! I just happen to have ALL the ingredients on hand and company coming in a couple of days! Perfect timing…I am definitely going to prepare this dish. I love being able to prepare a meal in advance so that I can enjoy a good visit with my friends! In this case, they all share my lpassion for pasta,so it’s going to be a happy gathering! Thanks!!
Dear Lisa,
I tried to save this recipe for later use but the message comes up “Infrigement of copyright must have permission to use pictures. I would never do anything to do harm to you or anybody. I think its a wonderful idea you included pictures to show us the way it is done and how it comes out. I thank you for showing with your pictures and for sharing your recipe and I can’t wait to serve it to my family. May I have permission for my own use? I do not plan to show the pictures only to me. Thanks, again and I can’t wait to read more of your recipes. Sincerely, Melody Duke
Melody, if you click on the green, Print Friendly button at the bottum of the post, a new page will pop up. You will the have the option to print, email or save the recipe to a pdf. You also will have the option to keep or remove the photos by clicking the remove images box. I hope this helps and I hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
June 23, 2014, Monday
Dear Lisa,
Thank you so very much for your response and for allowing me to keep your pictures as a backup to what my Chicken Spaghetti Casserole should look like. I can’t wait to try my new recipe. Again, thank you so very much and I am looking forward to more of your recipes. Happy Cooking to BOTH of us.
Sincerely,
Melody Duke
This sounds like a great recipe! BUT I can’t print it either…
Laura,
If you click on the green “print friendly” button, you should be able to print the recipes, with or without the images. If you don’t want the images, just click the remove image box at the top of the printable page. If you continue to have problems, just let me know.
Lisa
I fell in love with Chicken Spagetti since I tried it form Pioneer Womans recipe but never would have thought to add zucchini to it. What a great idea. The recipe is most certainly a keeper as it is delicious and colorful and easy to prepare.
Lisa,
Thanks for the delicious sounding recipe. We eat a lot of chicken and I’m always looking for new ways to serve it. Would it be okay to substitute mushrooms in place of zucchini? I’m new to this site and know it’s going to be a great help in planning meals for two when I can freeze the leftovers for another time.Thanks again.
Hi June,
I definitely think that mushrooms would be delicious in this recipe! I just made this dish again last weekend and I was thinking that mushrooms would taste great in it. And by all means, omit the zucchini if it’s not to your liking!
Thanks for stopping by,
Lisa
What can I use instead of mushroom soup-I have a dinner party coming up and a guest doesn’t like mushrooms?
Tara, Cream of chicken would work equally well!
Thank you – I can’t wait to try this no doubt delicious recipe!:)
print friendly button is not working.
Melissa – I just tried printing this and I had no issues. I’m not sure what problem you’re having, but I would first check at the top of the print friendly page and make sure everything is set the way you want it. If that’s not an issue, maybe it’s a problem with your computer or printer? If you can give me some more detail, I can try and help you trouble shoot.
I love this recipe. One of my “go to favorites”
Sometimes I add a can of mild Rotel including the liquid and crunch up corn chips on top.
You are a very gracious lady Lisa. Shame on you Mindy.
Thanks Vicki! I love your Mexican twist on this, I bet it’s delicious!
I think that I can agree with everyone else this is the best sauce that I have had…I made it last night for supper and froze the rest to make some lasagna. THANK you very much for posting this and for taking the time to perfect it you did a very good job.