This One-Pot Spicy Chicken Spaghetti Recipe combines tender chicken and spaghetti in a rich and creamy cheese sauce with Ro-Tel diced tomatoes for additional warmth and spice. Shredded mozzarella cheese tops the casserole as it bakes for a truly cheesy experience!
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- You only need to spare 15 minutes of your time to make this incredibly flavorful and comforting chicken spaghetti. The oven does the rest of the work for you!
- Spicy Chicken Spaghetti is a family-favorite recipe that will get everyone excited to join you at the table.
- Make easy adjustments to this casserole to suit personal preferences or change things up for variety.
Spicy Chicken Spaghetti is comfort-food at its best. Tender chicken, soft spaghetti, creamy sauce with spicy tomatoes, and melted cheese - it’s just so good!
🛒 Ingredients
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Note: The full list of this recipe ingredients with their amounts and options are listed in the recipe card below.
- boneless skinless chicken breast
- use our Tuscan seasoning or Italian seasoning
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- butter - salted or unsalted
- small yellow onion
- fresh garlic
- all-purpose flour
- chicken stock - may substitute chicken broth
- milk - we used whole milk
- cream cheese
- cheddar cheese
- Ro-tel tomatoes - or use similar
- thin spaghetti
- mozzarella cheese
- red pepper flakes
- fresh Italian parsley
🗒 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- While the oven preheats, slice the chicken breasts in half, lengthwise, pat dry, and season.
- Add the chicken to an oiled Dutch oven and sear it over medium-high heat (about 3-4 minutes per side).
- Remove the chicken and set it aside. Start the sauce by sauteing onions until softened in melted butter and garlic over medium-low heat in the same Dutch oven.
- Sprinkle flour over the onion mixture.
- Cook for 2 minutes until it smells toasty and is medium blonde in color.
- Whisk in the stock a little at a time, followed by the milk. Whisk until the mixture is smooth.
- While the pasta is cooking separately, allow the sauce to simmer and reduce. Add the cubes of cream cheese and stir until melted and smooth.
- Reduce the heat to low and allow the sauce to cool a little bit before sprinkling in the shredded cheddar cheese.
- Stir well to combine.
- Add the canned diced tomatoes along with the cubed chicken into the sauce.
- Stir to combine.
- Add in the drained spaghetti.
- Gently fold in the spaghetti in the sauce making sure to coat it well.
- Top the chicken spaghetti with shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 15 minutes.
- Garnish the spicy chicken spaghetti with red pepper flakes and fresh parsley and serve with soft breadsticks or garlic bread with cheese.
🔪 Equipment
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You’ll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
- deep oven proof Dutch Oven or skillet
- pasta pot
- wooden mixing spoon
- liquid measuring cup
- dry measuring cups
- measuring spoons
🤔 FAQs
These are the questions we are most frequently asked about making One Pan Chicken Pasta Recipe.
Chicken spaghetti is made with tender cubes of chicken breast, a creamy sauce, melted shredded cheddar, and al dente spaghetti. The dish is topped with shredded mozzarella and baked until bubbly and golden brown.
Spaghetti, like many types of pasta, is a great option to pair with an animal protein such as chicken. Spaghetti, however, is not good to feed to chickens!!
Spaghetti is famous for pairing with meaty bolognese sauce, but nowadays, you can enjoy spaghetti in various recipes, including casseroles such as this spicy chicken spaghetti recipe. Spaghetti can also be used as a replacement for Tagliolini pasta in a dish like Tagliolini Al Limone.
Chicken spaghetti can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- Make sure the cream cheese is soft when adding it to the sauce in the Dutch oven. Cold cream cheese is harder to incorporate into the sauce.
- For a thinner sauce, add a little bit of the juice from the canned diced tomatoes when making the sauce. If you prefer a thicker sauce, simply drain the juice from the diced tomatoes before adding the tomatoes along with the cubed chicken.
- If you don’t own an oven-safe pot, transfer the saucy chicken and spaghetti into a lightly greased 9X13-inch casserole dish before topping with cheese and baking.
- For a delicious browning to the top of the casserole, place the Dutch oven under the broiler for a few minutes at 475℉ towards the end of the baking time but just watch closely so that you don’t end up burning the cheese topping.
- Adding salt to the pasta water will help to flavor the pasta. Only cook the pasta until it’s al dente as it will continue to cook while baking in the oven.
- Make extra chicken one day of the week and set about 2 cups aside so that you can whip up this spicy chicken spaghetti in no time for another midweek family meal!
- Always grate the cheese from a block instead of buying pre-shredded cheese. The freshly grated cheese will taste better and will melt better too.
- It’s always a good idea to reserve some pasta water in case you need to add it to the sauce to loosen it or thin it out.
- Reheating leftovers may require a splash of water to loosen the sauce.
- You can make this casserole 2 days in advance and stored in the fridge, covered. Sprinkle freshly grated mozzarella cheese over the casserole just before baking. You will also need to add extra time to the baking since the casserole will be cold from storage.
📚 Variations
- I’ve used regular spaghetti in this recipe, but you could use other pasta shapes too.
- Make this dish gluten-free by using gluten-free pasta and gluten-free flour.
- Instead of cubed chicken breast, consider using shredded chicken from leftover chicken in your fridge or freezer or rotisserie chicken for added convenience. You could even use ground chicken!
- Use other meat in this recipe, such as cubed or shredded turkey, ground beef, or pork.
- I’ve used sharp cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese in this recipe, but Parmesan cheese also works well in this dish. Consider using all three kinds of cheese for an extra cheesy chicken spaghetti casserole!
- Add in cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, or chili powder for an extra heat kick.
- Use regular diced tomatoes instead of Ro-tel tomatoes if you don’t want the added chilies.
- For a slight variation use diced green bell pepper or pimentos to the dish.
🥫 Storage
Store the Spicy Chicken Spaghetti in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw any frozen leftovers in the fridge overnight and reheat in the oven or microwave.
📗 Related Recipes
If you’re a spaghetti lover, then be sure to try my Baked Spaghetti Pie and Classic Roman Spaghetti Alla Carbonara! And nothing could be better than layers of pasta spread with juicy chicken bits in an besciamella sauce like you find in our Creamy White Chicken Lasagna with Spinach and Artichoke Hearts.
🍽 Serve with
Since this chicken spaghetti is protein and carb-rich, consider serving a side of roasted vegetables with this dish or a leafy green salad. For added indulgence, enjoy some soft breadsticks and garlic cheese bread with your spicy chicken spaghetti!
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
Spaghetti is the kind of pasta that needs no introduction. Even those unfamiliar with the intricacies of Italian cooking know that spaghetti is a classic Italian ingredient in many dishes.
Spaghetti is commonly known as the pasta to enjoy with a meaty bolognese. But I know from growing up in rich Italian culture that its use is far more diverse, which is why I’m excited to share this spicy chicken spaghetti with you today!
Tutti a tavolo, è pronto!
What's new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy.
📝 Recipe Card
Spicy Chicken Spaghetti is a comforting casserole with tender cubed chicken breast, a rich and cheesy cream sauce, Ro-Tel diced tomatoes, and al dente spaghetti. Top this casserole with shredded mozzarella and bake until bubbly and golden brown!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
📖 Recipe
Creamy Spicy Chicken Spaghetti With Ro-Tel Tomatoes
Equipment Needed
- Dutch oven braiser
Ingredients
- 12 ounces Chicken breasts 2 boneless skinless breast (about 6 ounces each)
- 2 teaspoons Tuscan seasoning may use Italian seasoning
- Kosher salt and Black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 4 Tablespoons Butter salted or unsalted
- 1 Yellow onion small - dices
- 3 Garlic cloves minced
- 4 Tablespoons All-purpose flour
- 1½ cups Chicken Stock may use chicken broth
- ¾ cup Milk
- 4 ounces Cream cheese softened
- 1 cup Cheddar Cheese shredded
- 10 ounces Ro-Tel Tomatoes may use another brand of diced tomatoes and green chiles
- 8 ounces Thin spaghetti
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese shredded
- ⅛ teaspoon Red pepper flakes
- Chopped Parsley garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉.
Make the chicken:
- Slice the chicken in half lengthwise to create 2 thinner slices. Pat dry and season lightly with salt and pepper and Tuscan seasoning. *see notes
- In a Brasier or Dutch oven heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and sear the chicken on each side for 3-4 minutes. Remove and set aside. Once cool enough to handle, dice the chicken breast into bite-sized pieces.
Make the sauce:
- Reduce the heat to medium low. Melt the butter in the same pot and use a silicone spatula to scrape up the chicken bits or tasty fond from the bottom.
- Add the diced onions and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
- Sprinkle the flour over the aromatic onion and garlic and toss to coat. Cook for 2 minutes, until it starts to smell toasty and it's medium blonde in color.
- Whisk in the stock a little at a time. Add the milk next, also a little bit at a time. Mix until well combined and smooth.
- Now is a good time to heat the water to boiling for the pasta. Cook it one minute less that the package instructions. The pasta will continue to cook in the sauce. Drain the pasta.
- While the water is heating, let the sauce simmer and reduce. Add the softened cream cheese and stir continuously until melted and smooth. Make sure the cream cheese is soft because if it's cold it is more difficult to incorporate it in the sauce.
- Reduce heat to low and let the base cool a bit. Sprinkle in the shredded cheddar and stir to combine. Take care NOT to add the cheese when the base is very hot, it may cause the sauce to be grainy.
- If you'd like a thinner sauce, add a little bit of the juice from the diced tomatoes. If you like the sauce as is, drain the juice and add the tomatoes along with the chicken. Stir to combine.
- Stir in the drained spaghetti. If you're not using an oven-safe pot, transfer to a lightly greased 9X13-inch casserole dish.
Bake the chicken pasta:
- Top with mozzarella cheese and bake uncovered for 15 minutes. If desired, place the pan under the broiler for a few minutes at 475℉ at the end. Watch closely so you don't burn the cheese.
- Remove from the oven. Garnish with red pepper flakes and fresh parsley.
- Serve with a side of Soft Bread Sticks or Garlic Bread with Cheese.
Notes
- Make sure the cream cheese is soft when adding it to the sauce in the Dutch oven. Cold cream cheese is harder to incorporate into the sauce.
- For a thinner sauce, add a little bit of the juice from the canned diced tomatoes when making the sauce. If you prefer a thicker sauce, simply drain the juice from the diced tomatoes before adding the tomatoes along with the cubed chicken.
- If you don’t own an oven-safe pot, transfer the saucy chicken and spaghetti into a lightly greased 9X13-inch casserole dish before topping with cheese and baking.
- For a delicious browning to the top of the casserole, place the Dutch oven under the broiler for a few minutes at 475℉ towards the end of the baking time but just watch closely so that you don’t end up burning the cheese topping.
- Adding salt to the pasta water will help to flavor the pasta. Only cook the pasta until it’s al dente as it will continue to cook while baking in the oven.
- Make extra chicken one day of the week and set about 2 cups aside so that you can whip up this spicy chicken spaghetti in no time for another midweek family meal!
- Always grate the cheese from a block instead of buying pre-shredded cheese. The freshly grated cheese will taste better and will melt better too.
- It’s always a good idea to reserve some pasta water in case you need to add it to the sauce to loosen it or thin it out.
- Reheating leftovers may require a splash of water to loosen the sauce.
- You can make this casserole 2 days in advance and stored in the fridge, covered. Sprinkle freshly grated mozzarella cheese over the casserole just before baking. You will also need to add extra time to the baking since the casserole will be cold from storage.
Nutrition
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