Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Baked Chicken Spaghetti
Baked chicken spaghetti gives you a creamy tomato sauce beneath a generous cheese topping. The long noodles catch the shredded chicken as you lift a serving from the dish. Add a little parsley and enjoy the soft pasta with some of the melted mozzarella from the top.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 60 min
- Original yield
- Serves 8
- Ingredients
- 14 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Dinner · Main course
- Primary protein
- Chicken
- Cuisine
- American · Italian · Italian American
- Cooking method
- Baking · Baked & roasted
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 16–30 minutes · Total: 31–60 minutes
- Dish type
- Pasta
A few quick notes
1. Rinse cooked spaghetti briefly
Cook pasta al dente, drain and rinse with cool water for the short period given to stop further cooking.
2. Add cream off the heat
Heat the marinara first, then switch off the heat before stirring cream into the sauce and seasoning to taste.
3. Combine before transferring
Mix drained spaghetti through the sauce, add shredded chicken and combine before moving to the baking dish.
Get to know the ingredients
Cooked shredded chicken
Have chicken cooked and shredded before it joins the sauced spaghetti; the oven stage heats the assembled pasta dish.
Marinara choice
Store-bought or homemade marinara are both listed for heating with the softened onion mixture before adding cream.
Two cheese topping
Keep shredded mozzarella and Parmesan for sprinkling over the combined pasta once it's in the baking dish.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 8. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 8 steps completeMake room for Baked Chicken Spaghetti
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Parsley over the melted topping
Bake until cheese melts and pasta is hot, optionally brown under the broiler, then garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
A little more help as you go
Keep first baking covered
Cover the dish with foil for its initial oven stage, removing it only if choosing the browned finish.
Cook aromatics gently
Use medium-low heat for onion, minced garlic and Italian seasoning, sauteing until the onion is translucent.
A few questions you might have
Does the pasta go into the dish uncooked?
Cook spaghetti separately to al dente, drain and rinse before mixing it with the sauce and cooked chicken.
Can I leave the cheese pale?
Yes, broiling is optional for more browning; the main covered bake melts the cheese and heats the pasta.
When do I season the creamy sauce?
After switching off the heat and stirring in cream, add salt and pepper to taste before the pasta joins.
Does Parmesan go into the saucepan?
The directions sprinkle Parmesan over the assembled pasta with mozzarella, rather than melting it into the saucepan sauce.
Where should the oven rack be?
Set the rack in the middle before preheating, ready for the covered casserole baking stage.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: therecipecritic.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
