Easy Baked Chicken Spaghetti

You don’t have to boil the pasta, cook the chicken, or sauté a single vegetable for this baked chicken spaghetti! Everything goes into the dish raw, stirs together in about 10 minutes, and bakes into a creamy, cheesy supper that my boys have never once left on the plate.

Before You Get Started

This is about as forgiving as a casserole gets, but three things make the difference between creamy and gummy. Read these before you start stirring:

• Don’t panic about the liquid: The pasta keeps absorbing it right up until the end, and the sauce thickens more as the dish rests.
• Use raw or cooked chicken: Raw diced chicken or fully-cooked leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken both work well here.
• Stir at the halfway mark: Stirring keeps the noodles from clumping together and helps the chicken cook through at the same rate.

How to Make Baked Chicken Spaghetti

Everything goes into one baking dish, so there is no skillet to wash and no pasta pot to drain. Here’s how it comes together:

Step 1: Whisk the Sauce Right in the Baking Dish

Grease a 2 to 3 quart baking dish, then whisk the chicken broth and condensed soup together in it until smooth. Doing this first, before anything else goes in, is the easiest way to avoid lumps of soup hiding in the finished casserole.

⇢ Use low-sodium broth if you have it. Condensed soup and cheese both bring salt, so a low-sodium broth keeps you in control of the seasoning at the end.

Step 2: Add Everything Else Raw and Stir

Add the broken spaghetti, the diced raw chicken (or fully cooked chicken if that’s your preference), the drained tomatoes, the onion, the bell pepper, the garlic, and a bit of the cheese. 

Stir or use tongs to work it all together, then press the noodles down so they’re submerged. Anything sticking up above the liquid will dry out instead of cooking.

⇢ Cream of chicken works just as well: Swap it in for the cream of mushroom if that’s what’s in the pantry. A few readers prefer it, and the bake time doesn’t change.

Step 3: Cover Tightly and Bake at 425°F for 40 Minutes

Cover the dish with foil, sealing the edges well, and bake for 40 minutes. 

Covered baking is what steams the dry pasta tender, so don’t leave the foil off at this stage. Stir once about halfway through.

Step 4: Uncover, Stir Again, and Check the Pasta

Pull off the foil, give everything a good stir, and taste a noodle. You’re looking for almost al dente, firm but nearly finished. 

If it still has real bite, cover the dish and return it to the oven for a few more minutes before moving on. There will still be a fair amount of liquid at this point, and that’s exactly right.

Step 5: Top with Cheese and Finish Uncovered

Scatter the remaining cheese over the top and bake uncovered for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the cheese melts, the pasta is tender, and the chicken is no longer pink in the center (165°F on an instant-read thermometer). 

Let the dish rest a few minutes before serving so the sauce can set up.

Ways to Change It Up

The base recipe is deliberately mild and kid-friendly, which also makes it easy to jazz up if you like.

• Cheese: Mozzarella or a shredded Italian blend melt beautifully here. Sharp cheddar or cubed Velveeta give you more richness, and a little grated Parmesan on top never hurts.
• Heat: Swap the diced tomatoes for a can of Rotel tomatoes and green chilies, add crushed red pepper, or a few dashes of hot sauce. You can also season individual bowls if only some of you want the kick.
• Extra creaminess: A few ounces of cream cheese or a scoop of sour cream stirred in with the soup makes the sauce noticeably richer.
• Vegetables: A big handful of fresh spinach stirred in before the cheese topping wilts right down and disappears into the sauce.

What to Serve Alongside

This is a full meal in one dish, so all it really needs is something to mop up the sauce. Homemade garlic bread or a pan of cornbread with corn is the pairing I go to most.

If you want to round out the table a little more, here’s what works:

• Easy Homemade Dinner Rolls
• No Knead Bread
• Southern Caesar Salad
• Garlic Roasted Broccoli
• Southern Style Green Beans

Storage

Leftovers reheat better than most baked pasta, since the sauce keeps things from drying out.

To Make Ahead: Stir everything together except the dry spaghetti, transfer to a freezer-safe container, and freeze. When you’re ready, thaw the mixture, stir in the broken spaghetti, and bake as directed.

To Store: Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 5 days.

To Freeze: Baked chicken spaghetti freezes well for up to 3 months. Cool it completely, then portion into airtight containers and thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

To Reheat: Warm individual portions in the microwave with a splash of broth or milk stirred in, which loosens the sauce back up. For a full dish, cover with foil and bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes, until heated through.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use rotisserie or leftover cooked chicken instead of raw?

Yes, and it’s a great shortcut. Use about 1 cup of diced or shredded cooked chicken in place of the raw. The bake time stays the same, and the creamy sauce keeps already-cooked chicken from drying out. Canned chicken works too if that’s what you have on hand.

Can I use cream of chicken soup instead of cream of mushroom?

Absolutely. Cream of chicken is a straight swap and gives you a slightly milder, more classic chicken-and-noodles flavor. If you want the sauce even richer, stir a few ounces of softened cream cheese or a scoop of sour cream in with the soup.

Why did my chicken spaghetti turn out watery or gummy?

Watery usually means it came out of the oven too soon or didn’t rest. The sauce thickens noticeably in the first few minutes off the heat, so give it that time before serving. 

Gummy usually means the pasta went past al dente or didn’t get stirred, which lets the noodles clump and cook unevenly. Check the pasta when you uncover the dish rather than waiting for the timer.

Can I make this without the chicken?

Yes. A drained, rinsed can of white beans or chickpeas keeps it hearty, or you can bulk it up with vegetables instead. Sliced mushrooms and diced eggplant are both good choices, though it’s worth sautéing them in a little olive oil first so they release some liquid before they go in.

More Dump-and-Bake Dinners

• Dump and Bake Meatball Casserole
• Dump-and-Bake Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
• Dump-and-Bake Chicken Parmesan Casserole
• No Boil Easy Mac and Cheese {Overnight!}
• Dump-and-Bake 3-Cheese Baked Ziti
• Pizza Pasta Casserole {Dump-and-Bake}