Thinking spaghetti for your next meal? Give this ground chicken spaghetti recipe a try. Instead of regular ground beef, we figure lean ground chicken would be a healthy and tasty twist!
And good news for busy bees, this recipe is a breeze to make. You’ll have a luscious meal ready on the plate to fill your tummy in just about 30 minutes.
Ingredients for Ground Chicken Spaghetti
Here’s what you need to make this easy, tasty chicken spaghetti recipe:
- Ground Chicken
For this recipe, we opt for boneless skinless chicken thighs to make into ground chicken, as these cuts have a high moisture content and absorb seasonings well, which yields juicy and flavorful results.
Making ground chicken at home is great for keeping track of the calories and amount of fats that go into your ground chicken.
To make it, simply cut your chicken into small pieces before throwing them into the food processor and pulse for a few times. Remember to go slowly to check for your desired fineness. You don’t want to overdo it and turn it into a paste.
We then give our ground chicken a quick stir-fry in olive oil along with garlic, onion, thyme, pepper, paprika, salt, oregano, and flour. Then, we add tomato paste, tomato sauce, and chicken broth to make the sauce.
- Spaghetti
Ground meat cooked in a tomato sauce always pairs deliciously with spaghetti.
To cook the pasta, simply cook the spaghetti as instructed on the package.
When the spaghetti is done, drain it and transfer it to a warm bowl. Don’t keep your pasta in the same pot that you’ve previously cooked it with or else the residual heat from the pot will continue cooking it.
- Toppings
What’s more classic than cheese and parsley when it comes to topping off spaghetti? That’s right, a sprinkling of freshly chopped parsley and a blend of shredded parmesan and mozzarella cheese perfectly ties everything together.
Is Ground Chicken Spaghetti Healthy?
Yes, our ground chicken spaghetti is relatively healthy.
With boneless skinless chicken thigh as the main ingredient, our dish contains a considerable amount of protein, with 37.7 g for one serving. Sufficient consumption of protein can keep you active all day long, along with some significant health benefits, such as building and maintaining muscle health.
Plus, the nutritional indexes of our dish follow the USDA Dietary Guidelines 2015-2020. There are only about 500 calories and 5.5 g of unsaturated fats in one hearty serving, and the sodium level is less than 600 mg.
What to Serve With Ground Chicken Spaghetti
For a well-rounded meal, check out these refreshing salad dishes to pair with our ground chicken spaghetti:
- Mixed Greens Salad Recipe
- Romaine Salad Recipe
- Salad Mix Recipe
- Asparagus Salad Recipe
- Watercress Salad Recipe
Ground Chicken Spaghetti Recipe
Today’s ground chicken spaghetti recipe is quick and easy to make: In just about 30 minutes, you will have a hearty meal to dig in and enjoy.
- cook TIME 23 mins
- prep TIME 12 mins
- total TIME 35 mins
- COURSE Main Dish
- CUISINE American
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 497 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 18 ozskinless boneless chicken thigh
- 1 tbspgarlic (minced)
- 4 ozonion (diced)
- 1 tspthyme
- 1 tbspolive oil
- 1 tbspHunt's tomato paste
- 0.5 tspground black pepper
- 0.5 tsppaprika
- 0.5 tspsalt
- 0.5 tsporegano
- 1 tbspall-purpose flour
- 0.5 cupunsalted chicken broth
- 1 cuphomemade tomato sauce
- 0.5 ozparmesan cheese (shredded)
- 2 ozmozzarella cheese (shredded)
- 2 tbspparsley (chopped)
- 14 ozcooked spaghetti (from 7 oz uncooked)
INSTRUCTIONS
Prep:
Cut the chicken and grind it: Slice 18 oz skinless boneless chicken thighs into small cubes and grind them in a food processor.
Boil the spaghetti: Bring water to a boil, then add the spaghetti and cook according to the instructions on the package. When done, remove from the heat, discard the pasta water, and transfer to a warm bowl.
Peel and mince the garlic: Cut to remove the root part of each garlic clove and gently mash them down with a knife to remove the peel with ease. Mince the peeled cloves.
Dice the onion: Half the onion lengthwise and peel the skin. Make vertical slices lengthwise, 1/8" apart from each other while leaving about 1/8" away from the root so to keep it intact. Turn the half 90 degrees, and place your hand onto top of the onion to keep it from moving. From the bottom, make horizontal cuts 1/8" apart from each other into the onion while also sparing 1/8" of the root. Slice the onion to have even dice.
Finely chop the parsley.
Cook:
Saute the garlic, onion, and thyme in olive oil: In a skillet over medium heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp garlic, 4 oz onion, and 1 tsp thyme. Stir well for 2 minutes.
Add the tomato paste: Add 1 tbsp Hunt's tomato paste and stir for 30 seconds.
Add the chicken: Add the ground chicken and stir-fry for 5 minutes. (Constantly stirring so that the chicken won’t stick into lumps)
Add the pepper, paprika, salt, oregano, and flour: Add 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp oregano, and 1 tbsp all-purpose flour. Stir well for 1 minute.
Add the chicken broth and tomato sauce: Add 1/2 cup unsalted chicken broth and 1 cup homemade tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, then continue cooking on low heat for 7 minutes.
Add the cheese and parsley: Remove from the heat, then sprinkle 2 tbsp parsley, 0.5 oz parmesan cheese, and 2 oz mozzarella cheese.
Plate and serve over spaghetti.
NUTRITION
Tuyet Pham
Chef, Culinary Consultant
Luna Regina
Writer, Author