This Chicken Spaghetti Casserole recipe is the best comfort food casserole recipe! It’s a good dinner recipe for cozy winter nights, and it’s one that the whole family typically enjoys too. Watch the video showing you how to make this Chicken Spaghetti Casserole, then scroll to the bottom of this post and print out the recipe so you can make it at home.
When I asked Facebook fans the other day about the possibility of me posting a new casserole recipe, I received an overwhelming response. It seems that there are a lot of casserole-lovers out there! I live in San Diego – not really the Casserole Capital of America. People here eat grilled chicken, tofu hot dogs and salad with no dressing. Casseroles are among the evils that aren’t spoken here in SoCal.
Whatever. I eat casseroles. Must be because all of my distant Swedish relatives live in Minnesota, where comfort food is more welcome. It’s in my genes. And probably my jeans too. The good news is that I lightened up this Chicken Spaghetti Casserole recipe as much as I thought I could.
This is quite the cheesy casserole, and I mean that in a good way. It’s hard to lighten up on cheese since low fat cheeses do not tend to melt nicely, so I charged straight ahead and used full-fat cheese for this recipe.
Don’t worry, you’ll see the calorie count in the end (which is actually not too terribly bad). And you can always use low fat cheese, if you prefer.
What ingredients do you need for Chicken Spaghetti Casserole?
Here’s what you’ll need for this recipe. Yep, we’re doing something I rarely do on my recipe site: using Cream of Mushroom Soup. If that scares you, grab my homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe to use instead. If you use my homemade soup, you may not need to add much milk since it’s not a “condensed” version of cream of mushroom.
How to Make Chicken Spaghetti Casserole:
Boil the pasta, just so it’s kinda al dente (still has a slight bite to it).
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan. Just a tablespoon. We don’t need a whole stick or anything like that since we’re just going to sauté the veggies in it.
Cook the veggies in that melted butter, just until they’re a little bit softened up. Here’s where you can get creative. If you don’t like my choice of veggies (or more importantly, if your family refuses to eat certain veggies), change it up and add in what you’d like.
Mix nonfat milk with fat-free cream of mushroom soup.
Pour that sauce into the veggies.
Mix it up.
Add cheese. I use extra sharp cheddar because I like that it gives a little extra bang of flavor.
It melts into the sauce nicely.
Mix in chopped, cooked chicken and the pasta.
Add some tabasco for flavor. And salt and pepper…
Pour it into a greased baking dish.
It looks pretty, doesn’t it?
More cheese. I chose Monterey Jack.
Sprinkle it on the top.
Bake it for a half hour or so, and it comes out all bubbly and hot and melty.
Dish it up and eat!
If you happen to be following the Weight Watchers WW plan, you’ll find a link to the WW Points on the recipe card below. It’s definitely not “really” a weight watcher kind of recipe, but if you’re on that sort of a diet and you feel like splurging, at least you know the details and can plan for it. I’m a firm believer in eating what you want on a diet (normal stuff in moderation). That’s what I did with this recipe. I like to have my one serving, and that’s it! Big side salad to go with. Perfect, and it is filling and satisfying too!
The Best Casserole Recipes:
- Cauliflower Pizza Casserole
- Baked Spaghetti Casserole
- Cheeseburger Casserole
- Beef Burrito Casserole
- Puffed Up Pizza Casserole
- Cheesy Beef and Pasta Casserole
Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
Ingredients
- 7 ounces thin spaghetti
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- ½ cup chopped celery
- ½ cup chopped green bell peppers
- Two 10.75-ounce cans 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
- 1 cup nonfat milk
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese (can sub reduced fat)
- 2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
- 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- salt and pepper, to taste
- ½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (san sub reduced fat)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with nonstick spray.
- Cook pasta according to package directions, but only cook it until it's al dente (you still want a little bite to it). Drain the pasta and set it aside.
- Melt butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onion, celery and bell peppers. Cook until the vegetables have softened, 4 to 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, mix milk and soup until smooth. Add this mixture to the vegetables in the pan. Stir in cheddar cheese. Continue to heat the mixture until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth. Add in chicken, pasta and tabasco, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle Jack cheese on top.
- Bake for 35 minutes, or until the casserole is hot and bubbly and golden brown.
Notes
- *If you are counting WW points, prepare this recipe with reduced-fat cheeses.
- *If you're trying to figure out a serving size for this casserole, simply use a knife to divide the pan into 6 equal servings. There's your serving size (it's pretty substantial)!
- *Leftovers of this casserole are great for a couple of days after making it.
- *Turn this casserole into a day-after- holiday meal by adding leftover turkey instead of chicken.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe is amazing and was a hit with my family!!!!!
This dish is super yummy and quick! We usually use rotel (you know the tomato mix in a can right) and it’s even more quickly put together! However I like the idea of mixing up the veggies. Thanks
I’m chucking because I”m one of those ex-Californians that doesn’t eat casseroles. However, this grabbed my eye and I’m sure I could be convinced to enjoy.
I love this recipe! It looks amazing and lends itself to have various things added or omitted if necessary. What a great weeknight meal. I also like your idea of using turkey and making this an after Thanksgiving day meal; wonderful!
mmm that looks really good!
That looks wonderful, a quick, easy week nigh meal. My neighbor is from Minnesota, he also said casseroles are a bit hit there, and they call them hot dish!
This looks creamy and delicious! I was born in MN and lived there for 10 years – casserole is King there! This would fit right in. Hubby isn’t a big casserole fan, but if I told him it was baked pasta, he would be all over this one!
I love this recipe, but I add a can of Rotel to it! Yumm with a little kick
Great idea!
I like a nice casserole as the weather gets cooler (which it is now!), although I don’t make them often. This one looks like something that could cover the comfort food craving easily!
Great meal for a cold night!