Holy cow, it’s September.
If life has gotten more hectic (or you just live for easy meals 365 days a year like I do) then this post is a must read. I initially made this meal for my sister and her family a couple of months ago. I put it together in a disposable pan and froze it. All she needed to do was to defrost it and pop it in the oven. Before I froze it, my husband and I sneaked a bite (we had to make sure it wasn’t poisonous) and oh my it was so tasty. My husband said that we needed to make it again for us.
Fast forward to now and I’ve finally gotten around to making it again. This time I baked it right away and we dug into it. It was just as good (if not better) than we remembered it being. It makes a ton of food so my husband portioned it into containers to enjoy for lunch during the week. This meal heats up really well as leftovers, which is a good thing for my poor husband eating it day after day after day.
I cooked the chicken, but feel free to use pre-cooked chicken if you’re really tight on time. Feel free to add extra cheese to the top before you bake it. We discovered that even more cheese on top would work very well (so add more if you want), but extra cheese in the pasta isn’t really very useful thanks to all the delicious soupy creaminess.
Be careful when you break up the spaghetti. If you haven’t done this before, dry spaghetti likes to explode into little pieces that go flying all over the kitchen when you break it. I gave this task to my husband because he’s better at containing the spaghetti to the bowl and counter. Hey, when you’re good at something then be prepared to be volunteered for the task. 😉 By the way, he hates this part. Maybe it’s worth trying this recipe with a small pasta instead of broken pieces of spaghetti next time?
Fall is my favorite time of the year. This is the kind of meal that’s perfect as we head into the Fall season because it’s comfort food all the way.
Chicken Spaghetti Casserole Recipe
(about 6 to 8 servings)
Ingredients:
- 1 pound chicken, cut into cubes (I used chicken breast tenders.)
- 1 pound spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pieces (It doesn’t have to be exactly 2 inches.)
- 3 cups chicken broth (I used low sodium.), divided per the directions
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided per the directions
- 1/4 cup finely diced green bell pepper
- 1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup finely diced onion
- 2 cans (10 and 1/2 ounces each) cream of mushroom soup
- 2 teaspoons salt, divided per the directions
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a skillet cook, on medium heat, cook the chicken until it’s cooked all the way.
- In a big pot, add water and 1 cup of chicken broth. Bring it to a boil and then cook the spaghetti pieces according to the directions on the box to aldente. Drain the spaghetti once it’s done cooking.
- In a huge bowl, add 1 and 1/2 cups of the shredded cheddar cheese, finely diced green and red bell peppers, finely diced onion, 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup, 1 teaspoon of salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, the cooked chicken, the cooked spaghetti, and the remaining 2 cups of chicken broth. Mix everything together.
- Taste it. If it needs more salt (especially if you used low sodium chicken broth), then add more salt at this point. I added the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt.
- Pour everything into a 13 x 9 inch dish.
- Sprinkle the remaining 1 and 1/2 cups of shredded cheese on top. (Extra cheese goes here if you want it.)
- Bake it for 45 minutes or until it’s bubbly and the cheese has slightly browned.
Adapted from: The Pioneer Woman
Tina this looks so delicious it made my mouth water. This is definitely going on my rotation list. This meal could even be great to make for a big crowd. Give us more like this!
Thank you so much! I’ll try to look for more recipes like this one. 🙂
Fixed this last night with a few adjustments. Really good. We don’t care for peppers, so I put green pea, corn & carrot sticks. Plus didn’t have mushroom soup, so used cream of mushroom & garlic and cream of celery. It makes a lot. I was shocked. I took the leftovers for lunch. It is really better the next day, just like you said. Thanks for something new to add to our menu.
Could you let me know how much water goes in to the pot with the chicken broth please? Looking forward to making this casserole .
Hi Margaret. Add as much water as you would normally use to cook the spaghetti, the broth is to add a little flavor.
I hope you love it!
Sounds So Good! Easy to put together I’m trying it tonight can’t wait ?
Yay! Hope you love it as much as we do!
This is a new favorite! Thank you for sharing. Also, a random tip… put the spaghetti noodles in a gallon-sized ziplock and seal so you can break them up while catching the explosion.
I’m doubling this and making three casseroles. I’ll probably add smoked Gouda and Swiss with the Cheddar.
I will also sauté a package of mushrooms and add some garlic lightly sautéed.
I’ll add some Panko and freshly grated Parmesan to the top. Your recipe is great, but I know what the folks I take food to like.
Mary, that sounds delicious & I love that you are modifying it to adapt for your people! I hope they love it. I appreciate you stopping by & wish you happy holidays!
Could this be adopted for the crockpot? For potluck
Donna, I’ve never tried this recipe in the crockpot.
Noodles just mush up in a crock pot! But the chicken can be cooked the crock pot. This is just my experience!!
Linda, I appreciate the feedback, as I know some people were wondering if this could be done in a crock pot!
Can this be frozen?
Yes, absolutely. I’ve frozen it & it still tastes amazing.
Do the onions, red, and green bell peppers need to be sautéed?
Hi. I do not sautee the onions & peppers.
I cooked this tonight and everyone absolutely loved it. I halved the recipe and used pimentos in place of the red bell pepper. I’ll be adding this to our favorite list.
Yay, I am so glad it was a hit! 🙂
I would substitute the raw onion for Durkee’s fried onions-mixed in and on top.
WOW, WONDERFUL AND EASY PEASY MY PARTY GUESTS LOVE LOVE IT… Thank you for this new and easy chicken dish making it now for my family
Joanne, I am so glad that you love this casserole! 🙂
I look forward to trying this and feel it will have great flavor due to the peppers, onions and cayenne.
I hope you love it! Thank you for stopping by!