When I made this chicken spaghetti recipe for the first time last week, my husband ate it for about 5 meals in a row and proceeded to ask me to make it again the next week.
My kids eagerly scarfed it down as well. Tonight’s batch ended up on about every area of exposed skin on my 18 month old, but I take that as a sign he liked it.
Needless to say, this recipe is a keeper!
I snagged it from The Pioneer Woman’s cookbook but tweaked it to make it a bit more healthy. I promise that my tweaks did not compromise the taste AT ALL.
Be warned, this recipe makes a TON of chicken spaghetti. You can either make a big ol’ batch in a 9×13 or split it between two 8×8 dishes and freeze one for later.
Ready to get started?
A few things to clarify/add…
You can chop veggies and chicken by hand but I chose to throw them into the food processor. I like this approach because you can sneak in some more veggies without a huge change in texture. Oh, I threw some parsley in for good measure. It was a fine choice, I might add.
Chop chop chop. 
Here it is all mixed up. Yum. Or yuck. Not sure. 
Topped with cheese and ready to pop in the oven! OR you could cover this with foil and freeze it for a future meal. I did both. 
Done and done. 
Prep Time:
Yield:
Print
PinIngredients
- 1 whole raw chicken, cut into 8 pieces
- 1 pound whole wheat linguini broken into 2-inch pieces
- 2 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar
- 1/2 cup finely diced green bell pepper
- 1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Two 10 and 3/4-ounce cans cream of organic mushroom soup
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the chicken pieces to the boiling water and boil for a few minutes. Then turn the heat to medium-low and simmer, 30 to 45 minutes.
- Remove the chicken and 2 cups of the chicken cooking broth from the pot. When the chicken is cool, remove the skin and pick out the meat (a mix of dark and white) to make 2 generous cups. Discard the bones and skin.
- *** If you want to save a little time, you can cheat and just bake some chicken. About 2-3 chicken breasts will do. I used leftover roasted chicken that we had the night before. Lots of options!
- Cook the spaghetti in the chicken cooking broth until al dente (slightly undercooked). When the spaghetti is cooked, drain it and combine with the chicken, 1 1/2 cups of the cheese, the green peppers, red peppers, seasoned salt, cayenne, soup and onions. Sprinkle it all with salt and pepper.
- Stir in 1 cup of the reserved chicken cooking broth, adding an additional cup if needed.
- Place the mixture in a 9- by 13-inch casserole pan OR 2 8×8 cooking pans and top with the remaining cheese.
- Bake immediately until bubbly, about 35-45 minutes. (If the cheese on top starts to get too dark, cover with foil.)
Notes
Freezer Meal Directions:
To Freeze:
Put recipe together as stated in the directions, but freeze before cooking. Place in a freezer safe container for up to 2 months.
To Prepare:
When you’re ready to cook it, let it thaw in the fridge over night. If it’s still slightly frozen in the middle, you’ll just have to cook it longer than the recipe calls for or defrost a bit in the microwave before baking. Cover it with foil if the top gets too brown in the oven.
Husband said this was the best meal ! Thank you!
★★★★★
My husband likes it too!
Have you ever tried this with pork? (I’ve made it a few times with chicken and love it, but have to make a meal for a family with a chicken allergy).
I’m sorry to say that we haven’t tried that.
If I were to freeze this which part would I not cook, or just not cook the whole thing?
Never mind found the answer in the comments above 🙂
At point in the process can you freeze?
Follow all of the steps right up until you bake it. Cover it and freeze it at that point.
If you freeze it do you put the cheese on top before you freeze?
I think that would be just fine!
I am also cooking for some students:) Two questions: How much does the big batch feed? I need to make on Friday for Sunday-would it keep in the fridge alright or would I be better cooking and reheating? Thanks.
I’m guessing the batch will feed 12 people easily. Probably more depending on how big of servings you dish out. Yes you can for sure make it ahead of time. I did this a few weeks ago. Just make sure to undercook the noodles a tad.
Can I use bone-in chicken breasts. If so how many? We are not fans of dark meat.
Nevermind, I found my answer in your printed recipe. Looking forward to trying this one.
This sounds great, thanks! Are there other veggies you would suggest for the casserole? Unfortunately, I can’t eat bell peppers.
Chopped broccoli would be fantastic in here!