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Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

Say hello to your new favorite weeknight meal - creamy chicken spaghetti! This is a delicious cheesy chicken spaghetti recipe that the whole family will love! It comes together in no time with rotisserie chicken and can be made ahead of time, even into a freezer meal!

This week my sister-in-law and I got together for our yearly freezer meal prep day and once again, it was a true success. We made some of our tried-and-true favorites, like my Tortellini Meatball Soup and Turkey Bolognese, and tried some new recipes - like this Creamy Chicken Spaghetti recipe!

While many of our freezer meals have been the kind that you dump all of the ingredients into a freezer bag uncooked and then freeze, this time we did a few casserole-type freezer meals. That's exactly what this creamy chicken spaghetti recipe is. It's one of my absolute favorite chicken freezer meals. While there's a little more preparation upfront than dump and freeze meals, once it comes time to cook dinner, you simply put the pan in the oven and let it do the work!

Looking for a slow cooker chicken recipe? Check out my Slow Cooker French Onion Chicken!

Ingredients in Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

The ingredients in this creamy spaghetti recipe are wholesome and full of fresh produce and some simple pantry ingredients. This is not a recipe that uses cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom soup. Instead, the creamy sauce is made from scratch. I promise - it's not hard!

Spaghetti - I use spaghetti in this chicken spaghetti recipe! I love spaghetti noodles, but you can certainly substitute a different type of pasta noodle if that's what you have on hand or prefer.

Onion - white onion or yellow onion will both work for this recipe.

Bell Peppers - this recipe has both a green pepper and red pepper in it.

Spices - fresh garlic and dried Italian seasoning give this casserole a ton of flavor!

Chicken Broth - chicken broth, chicken stock, and vegetable broth all work.

Butter, Flour, Half and Half - these ingredients are the base of the creamy pasta sauce.

Parmesan Cheese and Italian Diced Tomatoes - salty Parmesan cheese and diced tomatoes are also in the creamy sauce.

Cheddar Cheese - sharp cheddar cheese is also in this casserole, making it super cheesy and cozy!

Rotisserie Chicken - I love using pre-shredded rotisserie chicken (I get mine at Target!) and this would also be a great use for leftover chicken.

Baby Spinach - fresh spinach is stirred into the warm casserole until it has wilted.

Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

How to Make Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

Cook the spaghetti. To start, you'll cook the spaghetti in a large pot to al dente according to package directions.

Add the vegetables. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, onion, and bell peppers until they are softened. Then add the garlic and Italian seasoning.

Make the cream sauce. To the vegetables, you'll add butter and flour, which will thicken up the vegetable mixture. This helps make cream sauce super creamy.

Add the broth. Once the flour is slightly cooked, you'll slowly (seriously - SLOWLY!) add the chicken broth, followed by the half and half, stirring continuously. The mixture will be thick if you add it slowly.

Add remaining sauce ingredients. To the mixture, add the Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, and some of the Cheddar cheese, followed by the chicken, spinach, and cooked spaghetti noodles.

Transfer. Pour the entire mixture to a casserole dish that has been greased with nonstick cooking spray. At this point, you can either bake immediately, place in the refrigerator to bake later in the day or the next day, or place in the freezer for a true freezer meal.

Bake. Of course, the cook times will differ quite a bit depending on if you freeze/refrigerate it first or not. If baking immediately, you'll only need to bake it for about 20-25 minutes. If baking from the refrigerator, you'll need closer to 45 minutes. When baking from the freezer, it will take over an hour to completely bake the casserole.

I recommend if you make this chicken spaghetti casserole a freezer meal, take it out of the freezer at least a day in advance and then set it out on the counter to thaw for about 30-45 minutes prior to baking.

This dinner is the ultimate comfort food definitely a family favorite in our household! Soren, my feisty two year old who usually needs some encouragement to try dinner, dove right in and asked for seconds! This easy recipe is surely going to be made over and over in our house.

Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

Creamy Chicken Spaghetti Tips and Variations

Time Saver Tip - If you want to skip dicing the peppers, you could add some jarred roasted red peppers that you've drained and chopped, instead.

Freezer Tip - Wrap the casserole dish in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil to ensure this stays as fresh as possible in the freezer.

Meat Swap - this creamy chicken spaghetti casserole will also work well with ground chicken or ground turkey. Even ground beef or ground Italian sausage would work, too!
Serving Suggestion - we love serving this chicken spaghetti bake with some garlic bread and a simple fresh green salad.

Like this recipe? Check these out, too:

Weeknight One Pot Spaghetti

Spaghetti Meatball Casserole

Million Dollar Baked Spaghetti

Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

An easy weeknight dinner recipe for creamy spaghetti with chicken. It can be prepped ahead of time and made into a freezer meal!
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 596kcal

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces spaghetti cooked to al dente
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 white onion diced
  • ½ red bell pepper diced
  • ½ green bell pepper diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 3 tablespoon butter
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 cup half and half
  • 14 ounce canned Italian diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
  • 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
  • 4 cups chopped baby spinach
  • 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Grease 9" baking dish with cooking spray.
  • In a large skillet or pot, add the olive oil over medium-high heat.
  • Add the onion, red bell pepper, and green bell pepper, and cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes.
  • Add the garlic and Italian seasoning, and cook one more minute.
  • Add the butter and cook until it has melted.
  • Add the flour and stir well to combine. Continue to cook for 1 minute.
  • Slowly add the chicken broth, followed by the half and half, stirring continuously to create a creamy sauce.
  • Stir in the diced tomatoes, Parmesan, and ½ cup Cheddar cheese, and stir to combine.
  • Stir in the shredded chicken and spinach, and stir until spinach has wilted.
  • Lastly, stir in the al dente spaghetti to combine.
  • Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish and top with remaining Cheddar cheese.
  • At this point you can cover with plastic wrap and freeze, refrigerate until ready to bake, or bake immediately.
  • If baking immediately, place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbling.
  • If baking from refrigerator, bake for 40-45 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbling.
  • If baking from the freezer, bake 45 minutes covered with foil, and then an additional 20-30 minutes with foil removed, until cheese is melted and bubbling.
  • Serve and enjoy!

Notes

  • Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. 

Nutrition

Calories: 596kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 116mg | Sodium: 922mg | Potassium: 539mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 3253IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 505mg | Iron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @greensnchocolate to let me know!
Need more ideas?Find all of my recipe pins @greenschocolate

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