Our basic chicken spaghetti recipe is made with fresh cherry tomatoes, chicken breasts, and cheddar cheese. This recipe is quick to make and doesn’t require any hard-to-find ingredients, making it a perfect option for those busy weekdays.
Best of all, you have many nutritious elements such as grain, meat, and vegetables in one pot for a healthy meal yet easy prepping. The result is a rich, chewy, and satisfying dish. This chicken spaghetti is the definition of comfort food!
Is This Chicken Spaghetti Healthy?
The short answer is yes, our chicken spaghetti recipe makes a healthy meal.
Though the recipe includes some calorie-dense ingredients such as cheese and pasta, we portion the meal so that each serving contains approximately 500 calories, 9.3g of saturated fat, 584 mg of sodium, and 5.2 g of sugar. These numbers indicate that this recipe complies with our healthy guidelines and the USDA’s dietary guidelines.
These nutritional values were calculated using data from the USDA’s food database. Because ingredient types and quality vary, there will always be some variation, but you can trust our calculations as reliable approximations.
Ingredients for Chicken Spaghetti
Our chicken spaghetti makes a quick dinner out of basic ingredients and it’s also easily customizable to what you have in the kitchen.
- Chicken Breast: This leaner cut of chicken is rich in protein and easy to prepare, making it our favorite type of protein. If you prefer other cuts, chicken thighs or thigh filets work just as well in this pasta recipe. In fact, it’s a great way to use up leftover meat in your fridge.
- Dairy: Milk helps deglaze the pan while cheese adds an extra creaminess. Note that you shouldn’t add cheese to the hot sauce since the dairy will separate, making the base grainy and less appetizing.
- Cherry Tomatoes: For a pop of color and freshness that pairs perfectly with the creamy cheese sauce.
- Pasta: We prefer thin spaghetti for this creamy sauce, but you can go with angel hair, fettuccine, or other types of noodles if that’s all you have in the pantry.
- Seasoning: Besides salt, pepper, pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning, we added a bit of Cajun seasoning for a flavorful complexity and a touch of heat.
How Long to Boil Spaghetti
Cooking spaghetti is simple, but it’s important to master the timing. The time it takes to cook a spaghetti depends on its size, shape, thickness, and ingredients.
It’s best to follow the instructions and suggested duration on the packaging.
If that’s not an option, boil your spaghetti for around 8 – 12 minutes. If you have thin, long pasta like angel hair, you should aim for something in the lower time range. On the contrary, for thicker types such as spaghettoni, we recommend a longer boiling time to reach al dente.
Also, be sure to have a kitchen or smartphone timer around so that you can keep track of time.
How to Make Chicken Spaghetti
Nothing could be more straightforward than this chicken spaghetti recipe. Combine all the ingredients in one skillet and your favorite meal is ready in just the blink of an eye. Here’s how we made the dish:
Brown the bacon.
Sauté the onion and garlic.
Sear the chicken in the same skillet and add the seasoning.
Stir in the tomatoes.
Using forks, shred the chicken in the skillet.
Add the flour, chicken broth, and cream.
Bring the sauce to a boil and stir in the cooked pasta.
Garnish with cheese and parsley and serve warm.
If you’re in love with Italian cuisine and looking for other healthy pasta recipes, check out our Chicken Spiedini and Chicken Alfredo. They are easy to make yet ensure a filling and satisfying meal.
Storage and Reheating The Leftover
Our chicken spaghetti is incredibly easy to make, flavorful, and freezer-friendly.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container or a bowl covered with plastic wrap for 2 days in the refrigerator. When ready to use, reheat the dish in the skillet with 1 – 2 teaspoons of olive oil, or simply microwave the dish until warm through.
To freeze the chicken spaghetti, cover it with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, or place it in a freezer container and freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw the dish overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in the skillet.
What to Serve with Chicken Spaghetti
To round out the meal, we served this chicken spaghetti with a fresh salad and homemade juice. Our beet and feta cheese salad recipe turns some seasonal veggies, fruits, and cheese into a restaurant-quality side dish with an elegant olive oil dressing.
Lemonade is another great easy-to-make drink that can be whipped up in just minutes. It may seem simple, but we guarantee this side combo will become your go-to pairing.
Chicken Spaghetti Recipe
Looking for a new way to jazz up your pasta dinner? Our simple yet elegant chicken spaghetti recipe is all you need.
- cook TIME 10 mins
- prep TIME 15 mins
- total TIME 25 mins
- COURSE Main Course
- CUISINE American, Italian
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 487 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 12 ozskinless boneless chicken breast (sliced)
- 2 ozraw cured bacon (cubed)
- 1 tbspgarlic (chopped)
- 4 ozonion (diced)
- 0.5 tspsalt
- 0.5 tspblack pepper
- 0.3 tsppepper flakes
- 2 tspItalian seasoning
- 0.5 tspCajun seasoning
- 6 ozcherry tomatoes
- 2 tbspall-purpose flour
- 0.5 cupunsalted chicken broth
- 0.5 cupmilk
- 4 tbspheavy cream
- 14 ozcooked spaghetti
- 2 ozcheddar cheese (shredded)
- 2 tbspparsley (chopped)
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in 2 oz bacon and cook for 1 minute.
Add 1 tbsp garlic and 4 oz onion to the skillet. Sauté the mixture for an extra 2 minutes or until the spices are fragrant.
Increase the heat to medium, add 12 oz chicken breast, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp pepper flakes, 2 tsp Italian seasoning, and 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning. Stir and cook for 3 minutes.
Add 6 oz cherry tomatoes to the skillet and gently stir the mixture.
Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces using 2 forks.
Add 2 tbsp all-purpose flour and stir until combined. Pour in 1/2 cup unsalted chicken broth, 1/2 cup milk, and 4 tbsp heavy cream.
Bring the mixture to a boil and stir in 14 oz cooked spaghetti. Cook the pasta for another 1 minute.
Take off the heat. Sprinkle 2 oz shredded cheddar cheese and 2 tbsp chopped parsley. Serve hot.
NUTRITION
Luna Regina
Founder
Natalie Butler, RD, LD
Nutrition Reviewer