Chicken spaghetti casserole is classic comfort food! The simple dish combines tender pasta with chicken and vegetables in a creamy, cheesy sauce. It’s an easy dinner that you can make in advance, or a delicious meal to bring to a friend in need.
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If you love pasta bake recipes, be sure to try this homemade lasagna, these stuffed shells with meat, this easy baked spaghetti, and this lemon chicken orzo, too!
How to Make Chicken Spaghetti Casserole | 1-Minute Video
Delicious! Creamy with a top crust. Added a little garlic and a tablespoon of Tiger Sauce.
– Hollis
A Few Tips Before You Get Started
- You’ll need 4 cups of cooked chicken for this recipe, and a variety of options will work. For a shortcut, purchase a large rotisserie chicken (or two small chickens) from the grocery store, shred the meat, and use in the recipe as instructed. To cook your own chicken at home, boil about 2 lbs. of boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs until cooked through (about 15-20 minutes). When cool enough to handle, chop or pull the chicken and use in the recipe. You can also buy a package of pulled chicken.
- This recipe calls for a combination of sharp cheddar and Velveeta cheeses. I love the flavor that you get from the cheddar, while the Velveeta has a creamy melting quality that smoothly blends into the sauce and makes the whole dish taste rich, creamy, and cheesy.
- Don’t overcook the pasta. Boil the spaghetti just until it’s al dente (or 1 minute less), so that it still has a firm bite. The noodles will continue to cook in the oven, and you don’t want to end up with mushy spaghetti in your casserole.
Directions
This is a very easy dinner recipe that you can assemble in advance and refrigerate or freeze until needed! There’s no need to saute the ingredients in a large skillet before adding them to the casserole dish, or to make a roux to thicken the sauce. It’s comfort food perfection, and it couldn’t be simpler! As always, the step-by-step detailed instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post, but here’s the overview.
- Cook Spaghetti. Boil the uncooked spaghetti. Add plenty of salt to the boiling water to season the pasta, and don’t cook the spaghetti for too long. Remember, it will continue cooking in the oven! Drain off the water and return the pasta to the pot.
- Add Remaining Ingredients. Add the remaining ingredients to the spaghetti, stirring until everything is well combined. This is a great opportunity to taste the mixture and adjust the seasonings. For instance, jazz it up and make it spicy by adding a dash of cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes to the creamy sauce. You can also add some garlic powder or onion powder, if desired.
- Transfer the Mixture to a Greased Baking Dish. Sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top and the casserole is ready for the oven!
- Bake. Bake the dish uncovered in a 350°F oven for about 45 minutes, or until it’s hot and bubbly and the cheese is melted on top.
- Garnish with chopped fresh parsley, chives, or grated Parmesan cheese if you like.
Serving Suggestions
Pair this creamy spaghetti chicken casserole with a pan of Jiffy cornbread with creamed corn, a basket of flaky biscuits, a green salad with red wine vinegar salad dressing, old-fashioned applesauce, Southern fried apples, okra and tomatoes, vinegar coleslaw, or Southern-style green beans.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Make Ahead: This is the ultimate prep-ahead meal to get dinner on the table quickly and easily — even on busy nights. Assemble the casserole, wrap tightly, and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before baking. When ready to bake, allow the dish to sit on the counter and come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before putting it in the oven.
- How to Freeze: Freeze the chicken spaghetti before baking. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, cover with foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, allow the dish to come to room temperature on the counter for 30 minutes, and then bake according to recipe instructions.
- To bake from frozen, cover the dish with foil for the first 45 minutes, and then continue baking for about 30-45 more minutes (uncovered), or until heated through.
- Storage: Leftover baked chicken spaghetti will last in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat the casserole in a 350°F oven, covered, just until warmed through (about 20-30 minutes). You can also reheat individual portions of leftovers in the microwave for about 1 minute.
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Watch How to Make It
Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Total: 1 hour 15 minutes
This easy, cheesy chicken spaghetti casserole is classic comfort food!
Ingredients
- 16 ounces spaghetti, broken into pieces
- 4 cups cooked and diced or shredded chicken
- ½ cup diced green bell pepper
- ½ cup diced celery
- ½ cup diced onion
- 1 (4 ounce) jar diced pimentos, drained or 1 (10 ounce) can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained
- 2 (10.5 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 cup finely-diced or grated Velveeta cheese
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Cook spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water according to package instructions for al dente (almost tender, but still with a little bite). Drain and return to the pot.
- Add chicken, bell pepper, celery, onion, pimentos or Rotel, condensed soup, broth, ½ cup of the cheddar cheese and all of the Velveeta. Toss to combine; season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Transfer spaghetti mixture to prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese over top.
- Bake (uncovered) for 45 minutes, or until the casserole is hot and bubbly and the cheese is melted on top.
Notes
- Make Ahead: This is the ultimate prep-ahead meal to get dinner on the table quickly and easily — even on busy nights. Assemble the casserole, wrap tightly, and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before baking. When ready to bake, allow the dish to sit on the counter and come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before putting it in the oven.
- How to Freeze: Freeze the chicken spaghetti before baking. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, cover with foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, allow the dish to come to room temperature on the counter for 30 minutes, and then bake according to recipe instructions.
- To bake from frozen, cover the dish with foil for the first 45 minutes, and then continue baking for about 30-45 more minutes (uncovered), or until heated through.
- Storage: Leftover baked chicken spaghetti will last in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat the casserole in a 350°F oven, covered, just until warmed through (about 20-30 minutes). You can also reheat individual portions of leftovers in the microwave for about 1 minute.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/8 of the casseroleCalories: 528kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 42gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 97mgSodium: 1123mgPotassium: 991mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 580IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 414mgIron: 2mg
Recipe Variations
- If you really don’t like the idea of using Velveeta cheese, you can substitute with additional cheddar cheese. You can also try other good melting cheeses in this casserole, such as Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, Colby, Colby-Jack, Mozzarella, or Gruyere. You can even make chicken spaghetti with cream cheese or pimento cheese stirred into the dish instead of the Velveeta.
- Use whole wheat spaghetti noodles instead of regular noodles, or try angel hair pasta, linguine, or other similar long, thin noodles.
- For buttery crunch on top of your casserole, add a Ritz cracker crumb topping. To make the topping, stir together 1 sleeve of coarsely crushed Ritz crackers (about 30 crackers or 1 ½ cups of crumbs) with 4 tablespoons of melted butter. Sprinkle the buttered crumbs over the top of the casserole before baking.
- Swap out the cream of mushroom soup and use different flavors of condensed soup, such as cream of chicken soup or cream of celery soup.
- Cooking Just for Two? Divide the ingredients between two 8-inch square baking dishes. Cook one now, and freeze the other casserole for later. If you prefer just one smaller casserole, you can cut all of the ingredients in half and bake in an 8-inch square dish. You can cut the baking time back to about 30-35 minutes for the smaller casserole.
More Easy Chicken Casserole Recipes
Dump-and-Bake Chicken Alfredo Casserole
45 minutes mins
Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits
30 minutes mins
Chicken and Rice Casserole with Mushroom Soup
55 minutes mins
This recipe was originally published in September, 2020. It was updated in August, 2024.
Hey, Blair. thanks for sharing this awesome recipe. But I have a question before i tried it on my kitchen. Cons muffins or biscuits, which one will be the best option?
Hi, Lila! I think corn muffins are perfect with this casserole…but either option is delicious!
sounds good i think i would add some garlic and possibly pepper flakes to add mor flavor
Thanks, Jean — that sounds perfect!
Can this recipe be frozen?
Hi, Ginger! Absolutely. It’s a great freezer meal. There are freezer instructions in the blog post, but I’ve copied them here as well:
Freeze the chicken spaghetti before baking. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, cover with foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, allow the dish to come to room temperature on the counter for 30 minutes, and then bake according to recipe instructions.
To bake from frozen, cover the dish with foil for the first 45 minutes, and then continue baking for about 30-45 more minutes (uncovered), or until heated through.
Enjoy!
If i have a company of 8 people how much chicken and how much spaghetti
Hi Fay,
The recipe yields 8 servings as is. If you’re expecting a hungry crowd, we would recommend doubling the portions. Hope that helps!
Can this recipe be be cooked in the microwave? Would there be any changes needed if the casserole is cooked n the microwave?
Hi, Debra! I’m sorry that I’m not helpful, but I’ve never cooked a casserole in the microwave. I don’t think there are any specific changes that you would need to make. You’ll just have to keep an eye on it since I don’t know exactly what the cooking time would be.
This was delish! We are trying to up our daily veggie intake so I chopped a bag of fresh baby power greens and some chopped mushrooms. Sautéed all the veggies to soften before combining everything. Also realized at the last minute I only had one can cream of mushroom so subbed 1/2 cup of pasta water and 1/2 cup heavy cream. Also added some crushed red pepper cuz we like a little heat. Used Banza chickpea spaghetti noodles. Turned out wonderfully! My whole family loved it and we had enough for leftovers later in the week. No one complained!
That’s amazing, Beth! I’m so glad that you were able to make it work with the ingredients that you had on hand — and more veggies! Thanks for taking the time to come back here and leave me a note. 🙂
I don’t eat mushroooms. What else can i put in instead?
Hi, Edna! If you don’t care for the cream of mushroom soup, you can substitute with almost any similar condensed soup. You might try cream of chicken soup or cream of celery soup. Hope you enjoy!
Family loved it. I left out green pepper as some can’t have it. I used a can of original rotel. Froze and baked later. Found it a little soupy so next time ime I’ll cut the broth down half a cup. (1 1/2). Also likely up the chicken
Thanks, Rita! I’m so glad that your family approved!
I absolutely love the way you explain your recipes. You provide options, alternatives, substitutes and suggestions. I don’t cook very well so the options and details are very much helpful. Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad that you find it helpful, Rebecca! Thanks for taking the time to leave me a kind note. 🙂
Hi Blair, I’ve been making something similar. I cook brocolli and add it. I make the sauce in a saucepan including a small can of evap. milk. There’s no need for the cheddar. I would never add green peppers. I don’t bake it. Everything is cooked.
Your version sounds great, too!
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
Loved ♥️ this recipe, Blair.
I just substituted a little thickener and Chicken Broth for the Campbells soup; and some soft cheese with broth and thickener in place of the Velveeta Cheese. We are trying not to use the Big Conglomerate processed foods with all the preservatives and chemicals. Also fresh veggies chopped in place of Rotel.
Amazing. Thank you.
Thank you fo the feedback! We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Delicious! Creamy with a top crust. Added a little garlic and a tablespoon of Tiger Sauce.
That sounds great, Hollis! We’re so glad you enjoyed it.
This is horrible I don’t even have words for this. The onions should have been cooked before they were crunchy. The 2 cups broth made it soupy when mixed in and there was just no coming back from it. The raw onions mixed with Velveeta and pimento’s made it smell like feet. It got nope’d right into the trashcan
I’m sorry that you didn’t enjoy it, Lace.
Delicious! Creamy with a top crust. Added a little garlic and a tablespoon of Tiger Sauce.
Excellent recipe especially with it’s own portion calculator!!
I bought the Eco-Foil aluminum pans (19 9/16 X 11 5/8 X 3 3/16) at COSTCO. These were for a men’s shelter to serve 45. Here are the adjustments I made:
– For each pan I sized it for 16 people and made 3 casseroles
– Instead of Velveeta, I used 16 oz. of Palmetto pimento cheese (COSTCO) per casserole which allowed me to forego the use of pimentos separately
– If you cook your own chicken, save the water to be used as broth
– I used the buttered cracker topping in addition to less cheddar cheese
– Although I didn’t attempt to find the best deals on the ingredients, The cost per person worked out to be around $2.50. Savings can be had by using store brand pasta, soup, pimento cheese, and cheddar cheese. I hope to get the cost under $2 on my next attempt.
This is wonderful to hear, Hall. Thank you so much for your helpful review. I’m so glad that the dish was well received!