This cheesy chicken spaghetti with Rotel is a family favorite, loaded with gooey cheese, tender chicken, and Rotel tomatoes for a kick of flavor.
Table of Contents
🎥 Video: How to make chicken spaghetti
Watch how it comes together in just 30 minutes - perfect for busy weeknights or back-to-school chaos. It even freezes like a dream-just check the storage section for tips.
🧾 Ingredients notes
Cooked, boneless chicken thighs work as well as boneless chicken breasts if you prefer them, or you can shred the meat from a rotisserie chicken. I've even used leftover turkey in place of the chicken during the holidays.
If you don't have cream of chicken soup you can use cream of mushroom soup, cream of celery soup, or cream of asparagus soup - they all work well. Or, make a homemade white sauce.
📖 Recipe
Southern Chicken Spaghetti with RoTel
Print Pin Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 1.5 pounds chicken breast, or more if desired - boneless, cooked and shredded
- 16 ounces spaghetti, broken in 2-inch pieces
- 21.5 ounces cream of chicken soup, 2 10.75-ounce cans condensed soup
- 10 ounces diced tomatoes & green chilies
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- 3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded - divided use (12 ounces)
- ¼ cup heavy cream, you can use milk if you prefer
- 1 cup frozen peppers and onions mixed, or use diced fresh
Instructions
- Cook the chicken breast, dice or shred it, and set aside.
- If using fresh onions and peppers saute them until soft in a skillet with a little olive oil or butter.
- Break the spaghetti into 2-inch pieces and cook until tender in boiling, salted water.
- Drain and set aside.
- Mix the soup, RoTel, and cream cheese in a microwave safe dish.
- Heat, stirring every minute, until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Stir in 2 cups of the shredded cheese.
- Stir until smooth. You may need to add some milk or cream to thin it down if it seems too thick.
- Stir the chicken into the cheese mixture.
- Stir the pasta, onions, and peppers into the chicken and cheese mixture. Make sure all the ingredients are covered with the cheesy sauce.
- Spoon into a greased 13x9-inch casserole dish.
- Top with remaining 1 cup shredded cheese.
- You may stop here, cover with plastic wrap then aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 3 months or refrigerate for 2 days before baking.
- Bake at 350F 20 minutes or until heated through and the cheese has melted.
- Let stand for 5 minutes or so before serving.
Notes
- Put plastic wrap, parchment, or waxed paper over the top before sealing with aluminum foil or the acids from the tomatoes will react with the aluminum and it will taste awful.
- You can skip the baking and just mix it all up in a skillet if you like.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
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🍽️ Perfect pairings: what to serve with chicken spaghetti
Keep it easy by choosing a few of these great side dishes for chicken spaghetti and some classic southern fried pies for dessert.
Dinner plans solved!
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🍲 Southern casserole culture
Homemade chicken spaghetti casserole is one of my favorites. It's creamy, rich, gooey, and cheesy - everything the ultimate comfort food should be.
This wasn't one of those things that my mom made, though.
This is a recipe that came from one of my neighbors when my kids were growing up -- I guess she took pity on me and my nightly dinners for 10 people or more.
A large family requires lots of food!
She brought a foil covered pan of this comforting casserole to my door one afternoon when I was SO exhausted, SO ready to quit, and SO full of "woe is me" that I was ready to bust.
It changed my entire day.
It's that simple. One dish of comfort food, one knock at the door at the right time, and someone suddenly has the energy to go on with life. Someone feels cared about.
Isn't that what makes life worth living?
Sue Turcsany says
I usually make this when I have store bought rotisserie chickens because it's easy to assemble. I can make it earlier in the day or even the day before and just reheat. The next time we have a spur of the moment family get together with my children, spouses, grandkids I am going to triple the recipe (but I am going to buy a few store bought rotisserie chickens and shred the white meat) so I don't have to do much preparation. I'll have a lot of dark meat left so maybe I'll use it to make a family sized chicken potpie (using ready made piecrust and frozen vegetables to bring along as well.
Betty Willman says
Oh my goodness! We love this recipe. My family practically lick the casserole dish clean. I get requests to bring it to every church gathering. If I’m making it for the grandkids, I substitute the Rotel with a can of diced stewed tomatoes. It’s so simple to make. It is a recipe I hand out frequently with Marye’s name written across the top!
Leslie Stevenson says
My grandchildren are very picky eaters. One does not like hamburger. If I leave out the "green things" and put the tomatoes and onions in the blender this will do the trick. It would be nice to have this in the freezer to pull out on a busy day. Thank you for sharing it.
John Genduso says
The chicken spaghetti recipe looks delicious! Can I substitute canned chicken breast? If so, what other modifications do you suggest?
Marye says
I wouldn't substitute canned chicken breast unless you have to. It's overly salty and the texture is off. A quick substitute for the chicken breast would be rotisserie chicken from the deli.
Charles Colley says
I tried this recipe with chicken thighs instead, and it turned out delicious. Thanks for the recipe.