Baked Chicken Spaghetti

Homemade chicken spaghetti casserole is a great, cheesy casserole that will become a family favorite. Tender chicken with tasty homemade marinara sauce mixed with spaghetti then baked until bubbly and golden brown.

Jump to:

• 🐓Chicken
• 🍝Pasta
• 🥣Sauce
• 📖Italian Casseroles
• 🖼️Photo Instructions
• 📖 Recipe
• Pro Tips:

Introduction and My Rating

I have tried other baked spaghetti recipes before, but the recipes always had too much pasta that was mushy. And most of them used a jar of sauce or cream sauce. They were just wrong.

I started with my wonderful chicken marinara with few changes. I then undercooked 8 oz of spaghetti a bit. Mixed in some grated Parmesan and topped with some mozzarella and more grated parmesan.

It is then baked until browned. It came out perfect in about 25 minutes.

My Rating

A very strong 4 with the potential of being somebody's favorite recipe.

🐓Chicken

The recipe as written has you cooking your own chicken using skinless boneless chicken breasts, but you can you other chicken. Pre-cooked shredded rotisserie chicken is fine. You need 2-3 cups.

🍝Pasta

I like my pasta to have a bit of "body." read that as not overcooked and mushy. Even cooked to al denta, it can turn mushy when baked in sauce. I suggest cooking a little short of the al denta instructions for the pasta you use.

You don't have to use spaghetti. Use the pasta you want. I do not suggest using whole wheat or gluten-free pasta since they tend to fall apart in recipes like this.

🥣Sauce

You need about 4 cups of marinara sauce for this recipe as written. If you have a jar or other sauce, feel free to use it, but you will love mine, and it is not that much work.

My normal garlic marinara has some crushed red pepper, but it is optional here.

I like to add some cheese to the sauce in casseroles so it will hold together better and add a bit of taste.

📖Italian Casseroles

Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage
Chicken Baked Ziti
30 Minute Spicy Sausage Pasta
Spicy Parmesan Chicken Alfredo

🖼️Photo Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees convection or 375 conventional.

Trim, pat dry, and dice two medium chicken breast. About 1-1 1/2 pounds. You can use pre-cooked chicken, and you will need 2-3 cups.

Chop a medium onion.

When the oil is hot,  add 2-3 cloves of garlic, the chicken and the onion.  Cook until chicken is done and cuts easily with a wooden spoon. About 8 to 9 minutes. Break apart any large pieces of chicken. If using precooked chicken, then don't add the chicken until the onion is translucent.

Add two 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes, and one 6 oz can tomato paste, 2 teaspoons dry basil (or 2 tablespoons fresh basil), 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional), 1/2 teaspoon oregano. Simmer over low heat while you cook the pasta.

Cook 8 oz of pasta according to instructions on the box for al denta or a bit less.

Add 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese to the sauce and mixed well. Mix the sauce into the pasta and move to the casserole dish.

This fits nicely in a 2 1/2 quart size, which is about 8X12 inches. Top with 1/2 cup each of mozzarella and grated Parmesan cheese. 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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📖 Recipe

Baked Chicken Spaghetti

From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

Homemade chicken spaghetti casserole is a great, cheesy casserole that will become a family favorite. Tender chicken with tasty homemade marinara sauce mixed with spaghetti then baked until bubbly and golden brown.

4 from 43 votes

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Prep Time 25 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Total Time 50 mins

Servings #/Adjust if desired 8 servings

Ingredients

US CustomaryConvert to Metric

• 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 the oven to 350 degrees convection or 375 degrees conventional.
• Pat dry, trim, and dice two medium chicken breast. About 1-1 1/2 pounds. You can use pre-cooked chicken, and you will need 2-3 cups.
• Chop a medium onion.
• When the oil is hot,  add 2-3 cloves of garlic, the chicken and the onion.  Cook until chicken is done and cuts easily with a wooden spoon. About 8 to 9 minutes. Break apart any large pieces of chicken. If using precooked chicken, then don't add the chicken until the onion is translucent.
• Add two 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes, and one 6 oz can tomato paste, 2 teaspoons dry basil (or 2 tablespoons fresh basil), 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional), 1/2 teaspoon oregano. Simmer over low heat while you cook the pasta.
• Cook 8 oz of pasta according to instructions on the box for al denta or a bit less.
• Add 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese to the sauce and mixed well. Mix the sauce into the pasta and move to the casserole dish.
• This fits nicely in a 2 1/2 quart size, which is about 8X12 inches. Top with 1/2 cup each of mozzarella and grated Parmesan cheese. 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.

Recipe Notes

Pro Tips:

1. You can use pre-cooked chicken. You will need 2-3 cups and add it to the sauce when you add the tomatos.
2. You can decrease your work and use pre-made sauce. You need about 4 cups. But you will love my sauce.
3. Vary the cheese any way you want.
4. An easy recipe to cut in half and bake in a 1 1/2 quart dish.
5. You can refrigerate for a couple of days before cooking if you want. It will take a few minutes longer to cook since it is going in cold.
6. Good refrigerated for 3-4 days and can be frozen for 3-4 months.

Have More Questions?Make it Perfect First Time and Every Time. Don't miss out, check the full post above. Almost every recipe includes easy step by step photo instructions so you can visualize yourself cooking this recipe along with helpful tips and options.

TO ADJUST THE RECIPE SIZE:You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Nutrition

Calories : 216kcalCarbohydrates : 33gProtein : 17gFat : 2gSaturated Fat : 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat : 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat : 1gCholesterol : 35mgSodium : 465mgPotassium : 494mgFiber : 4gSugar : 7gVitamin A : 250IUVitamin C : 5mgCalcium : 10mgIron : 2.2mg

Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

Course :Main Course

Cuisine :Italian

Originally Published September 29, 2019. Updated with expanded discussion and options along with refreshed photos.