Everybody loves chicken with pasta. Here is a great tasting recipe that is weeknight simple but tasty enough for company. Make it ahead and pop it in the oven when you need it.
I have tried baked spaghetti before, but the recipes always had too much pasta that was mushy. They were just wrong. I started with my chicken marinara then added some tomato paste to deepen the taste. I then undercooked 8 oz of spaghetti by 2 minutes. Mixed in some grated Parmesan. I then mixed the sauce a little into the pasta and topped with some mozzarella and more grated parmesan until browned. About 25 minutes.
Rating
A very strong 4 with the potential of being somebodies favorite recipe.
Notes: My garlic marinara has some crushed red pepper and my wife though it should have been left out. It was just a little heat at the wrong time for her, and I understand. I have made it optional in the recipe. I used 2 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes instead of a 28 oz can of crushed just because I happened to have them.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees convection.
Rinse, pat dry and dice two medium chicken breast. About 1-1 1/2 pounds.
Start with two tsp of oil over medium-high heat. Add 2-4 cloves of garlic minced.
After a minute or two add the chicken.
Chop a medium onion and add to the chicken. Cook until chicken is done and cuts easily with a wooden spoon. About 8 to 9 minutes. Break apart any large pieces of chicken.
Add two 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes, and one 6 oz can tomato paste, 2 t dry basil (or 2 T fresh basil), 1 t kosher salt, 1/2 t pepper, 1/2 t crushed red pepper (optional), 1/2 t oregano. Simmer over low heat while you cook the pasta.
Cook 8 oz of pasta according to instructions on the box but decrease time by 2 minutes. I’m a traditionalist so here is standard spaghetti.
Add the spaghetti to a large baking dish. Add 1/2 cup shredded Parisian to the sauce and mixed well.
Add the sauce on top of the pasta.
Mix the sauce into the pasta just a little.
Top with 1/2 cup each of mozzarella and grated Parisian. You may cover and refrigerate at this point.
Bake until sauce is bubbling and top brown. About 25 minutes for me. Longer if you had refrigerated the dish.
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Baked Chicken Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts - medium cut into 1 inch cubes
- 8 oz spaghetti
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 2-4 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 onion - medium diced
- 28 oz diced tomatoes
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 2 teaspoons dry basil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoons crushed pepper - optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees convection. Rinse, pat dry and dice two medium chicken breast. About 1-1 1/2 pounds.
- Start with two tsp of oil over medium-high heat. Add 2-4 cloves of garlic minced. After a minute or two add the chicken.
- Chop a medium onion and add to the chicken. Cook until chicken is done and cuts easily with a wooden spoon. About 8 to 9 minutes. Break apart any large pieces of chicken.
- Add two 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes, and one 6 oz can tomato paste, 2 t dry basil (or 2 T fresh basil), 1 t kosher salt, 1/2 t pepper, 1/2 t crushed red pepper (optional), 1/2 t oregano. Simmer over low heat while you cook the pasta.
- Cook 8 oz of pasta according to instructions on the box but decrease time by 2 minutes. I’m a traditionalist, so I used standard spaghetti.
- Add the spaghetti to a large baking dish. Add 1/2 cup shredded Parisian to the sauce and mixed well.
- Add the sauce on top of the pasta. Mix the sauce into the pasta just a little.
- Top with 1/2 cup each of mozzarella and grated Parisian. You may cover and refrigerate at this point.
- Bake until sauce is bubbling and top brown. About 25 minutes for me. Longer if you had refrigerated the dish.
Have a question or something not clear? Ask in the comments.
If you like this recipe or find it useful, the pleasure of a nice 4 or 5 rating would be greatly appreciated.
Nutrition is for one serving. Number of servings is stated above and is my estimate of normal serving size for this recipe.
All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
Beverly
Do I have to bread my chicken
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Beverly,
Welcome to the blog.
No, not breaded.
Dan
Steve Armistead
What a great dish, thank you! I added a handful of roughly chopped mushrooms, which added another layer of flavor. Wonderful recipe, wow!
Tammy
Was wondering do you cover it when baked. And removed last 5mins, or just baked uncovered?
DrDan
Uncovered until nicely brown which will be 20-25 minutes.
Dan
Marbeli
Hi I have a question how long do I have to refrigerate it before I baked it???
DrDan
There is no refrigeration needed but before going in the oven, if you want to delay cooking you may refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Zainab
Hi, this looks awesome. Can I skip the baking part and just serve plated spaghetti with the sauce poured over?
DrDan
Yep, it would taste good. The baking does give it something extra though.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Angie
I just made this today . It was very good!
I used a rotisserie chicken and I will definitely be making this again.
Thank you!
Georgeann
I cooked just as the recipe called for… so good! My husband’s favorite thing is chickend parmesan but this was just as good and easier to make and store.
DrDan
I always forget about this recipe. I have to do it a bit more.
DrDan
Chris
Baked spaghetti, chicken or otherwise, always makes me happy. Odd thing is my kids don’t care for it (although they love regular spaghetti) so we don’t make it often. Can I just have some of yours? ha ha
Sharon @ Red Poppy | Pink Peony
Hi DrDan: I just came across your blog when searching for slow cooker recipes for 2. I’ve only been on your site a few minutes now, but everything looks great and I will definitely be visiting often and trying these recipes! Thank you!
Dr Dan
Since everything is precooked, you can somewhat cook it like you want. 350 but increase the time by a few minutes. Or 375 and about the same time. If you are not sure your chicken was fully cooked then take it to an internal temp of 165 plus. Mine was 170 with a nicely browned top (350 convection for 25 minutes). Please note ovens can vary so don’t cook by time alone.
ReaderWoman
Loving your recipes – you use a convection oven for this baked spaghetti? What would be the cooking time for a conventional oven?
What's Cookin Stacey??
Sounds so good! Will have to give it a try this week! Love your blog!