Chicken Spaghetti

Article by Layla Khoury-Hanold

Chicken spaghetti, a baked chicken and pasta dish, is one of Ree Drummond’s family-favorite casseroles. With its combination of light and dark meat chicken, bell peppers, a creamy mushroom sauce and sharp cheddar, it’s easy to see why this baked chicken pasta dish is a beloved American comfort food classic. With Ree’s simple, homemade chicken spaghetti recipe, you’ll learn how to boil chicken until it’s falling-off-the-bone tender, the secret for infusing spaghetti with extra flavor, Ree’s preferred seasonings and the key technique for creating a perfectly creamy sauce.

How to Make Chicken Spaghetti Like a Pro

Boil a whole chicken until falling-off-the-bone tender. Ree brings a whole, cut-up chicken to a boil, then lowers the heat and allows it to simmer until it’s tender and falls off the bone, about 25 minutes. A combination of white and dark meat adds extra flavor to the casserole.

Save the chicken cooking liquid. Ree reserves 2 cups of the chicken cooking broth which she’ll use to combine the casserole ingredients together into a cohesive mixture. The remaining broth in the pot will be used to cook the spaghetti to infuse it with extra flavor.

Shred the chicken by hand for consistent results. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the chicken over a large bowl using your hands, removing and discarding the skin as you go.

Add flavorful aromatics and secret seasonings to the casserole mixture. Ree adds finely diced onion and green and red bell peppers, along with canned cream of mushroom soup (the one ingredient she says she can’t reproduce!), a little bit of seasoned salt, and cayenne pepper to give it a little kick.

Prep and cook the spaghetti. To make the casserole easy to eat, Ree breaks a pound of spaghetti into pieces. Then she cooks the spaghetti in the chicken cooking broth for extra flavor until just al dente. It’s important not to overcook the spaghetti as it will continue to soften once the casserole goes in the oven.

Gradually add broth to create a creamy casserole cheese sauce. Once the spaghetti is combined with the chicken mixture, Ree stirs in 1 cup of the reserved broth to start. Then she adds flavorful sharp cheddar cheese which helps thicken the sauce so it coats each piece of chicken. She checks the consistency before adding a little more broth; the casserole should be a little liquid-y so that when it bakes it won’t get thick and gloppy.

Finish the casserole with more cheese and bake until bubbly. Pour the chicken spaghetti mixture into a casserole dish and top with more shredded cheddar, then bake until bubbly, about 45 minutes. If the cheese starts to get too brown, cover with foil so it doesn’t overcook.

What is Chicken Spaghetti?

Chicken spaghetti is a baked casserole dish made with tender shredded chicken, cooked spaghetti, Rotel (canned diced tomatoes and green chilies) and a creamy sauce made with canned cream of mushroom soup, Velveeta and shredded cheddar cheese. Instead of Rotel, Ree opts for diced onions and bell peppers to sneak some fresh veggies into her chicken spaghetti, and she swaps in sharp cheddar for the Velveeta.

Sauce for Chicken Spaghetti

A combination of Velveeta and canned cream of mushroom soup is used to make a sauce for chicken spaghetti. In Ree’s recipe, she swaps out the Velveeta and combines flavorful grated sharp cheddar with chicken broth to thicken the sauce and create a creamy consistency that evenly coats the chicken mixture.

Can You Freeze Chicken Spaghetti?

If you want to make chicken spaghetti ahead of time, you can cover and freeze the unbaked casserole for up to six months. Allow the casserole to thaw in the fridge overnight, bring up to room temperature, then bake as directed. You can also cover and store the unbaked casserole in the refrigerator for up to two days. Allow the casserole to come up to room temperature before baking, about 30 minutes.

What to Serve with Chicken Spaghetti

Serve chicken spaghetti with garlic bread, like Ree’s Garlic Bread Pinwheels or Garlic Cheese Bread, and a side salad, like Ree’s Apple, Pecan and Blue Cheese Salad or Killer Kale Salad.