My chicken spaghetti with Rotel recipe is a zesty, cheesy, and creamy baked spaghetti recipe that the whole family will love!
There are many well-used spaghetti recipes in my house, but my family particularly loves this one! Loaded with noodles, cheese, and juicy chicken, it goes beyond bland chicken spaghetti with that POP-ZING of Rotel! Plus, if you’re in a rush (who isn’t?), you can turn this recipe into an Instant Pot spaghetti dish in a snap.
Quick on time, simple on ingredients, and PACKED with flavor, my chicken spaghetti with Rotel is a dinner knock out!
Let’s make this!
What I Love About This Recipe
Every oven-baked dinner instantly earns a spot in my Favorites list — but what makes this chicken spaghetti with Rotel so special?
- ZEST! Rotel is unbeatable
- Belly-filling and hearty
- Perfect for chilly nights
- Make-ahead magic!
Chicken Spaghetti with Rotel
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How To Make Chicken Spaghetti with Rotel Recipe
Baked spaghetti recipes should be easy and quick — and this recipe is no exception!
Start by preheating your oven and prepping your dish. Cook your pasta, drain and return to pot. Season your chicken, then brown your pieces on a skillet. Saute your onions with seasonings.
In a separate bowl, mix together your Rotel, soup, sour cream, and milk. Combine with the chicken, onions, and pasta. Pour into your baking dish, top with cheese, and bake for thirty minutes.
Done and delicious!
Ingredient Notes
Simple ingredients bring big flavor in all parts of this dish!
- Cream Soup: When I’m in a pinch, I use canned cream of chicken soup — but if I have a few extra minutes, I love whipping up my own! Creamed soups are basically just thickened broth. Make a roux with flour, butter, and milk, then slowly add in chicken broth until you have the desired proportions. Yum!
- Sauces: If you don’t want cream soup at all, you can easily swap it out for a standard roasted tomato sauce — or kick out the chicken and change it up entirely by making a spaghetti meat sauce! Brown some ground beef and swap out the Rotel/cream soup with tomato sauce for an easy alternative.
- Cheese: Couldn’t find Pepper Jack Cheese, or just want to try something new? Pepper jack cheese is just Monterey Jack cheese (the creamy white cheese popular in supermarkets) with chili peppers. Shred some Monterey Jack and toss it in some chili powder or your favorite chopped peppers.
- Coriander: When planted, coriander, the spice known for being tiny brown seeds, grows into cilantro! That’s right — they’re the same plant! That’s why coriander is so often used in Mexican recipes. The flavor profile pairs wonderfully with dishes like my chicken spaghetti with Rotel recipe!
Tools to Make
The tools for this dish should come as no surprise:
- A 9×13 baking dish
- Pasta pot
- Skillet
- Mixing bowls
If you use canned cream of chicken soup, you’ll also want to have a can opener handy!
How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge?
Once baked, your chicken spaghetti with Rotel will keep in an airtight container for up to five days. After that, the pasta will absorb too much of the sauce, and you risk bacterial growth too.
I love dishing out casseroles into pre-portioned sizes so I have grab and go lunches all week!
Can You Freeze This?
While many casseroles are amazing frozen, this recipe is not one of them! The dairy in the sauce will separate in the freezer, leaving you with a lumpy, unappetizing dish.
If you really want to freeze it, I suggest making everything except the cream sauce and freezing it. Then, when you’re ready to bake it, whip up the cream sauce, add it to your thawed goodies, and bake.
Make Ahead Tips
What baked casserole would be complete without some excellent make-ahead tips? My chicken spaghetti comes together in four sections: the chicken, veggies, cream sauce, and pasta. This means you can make each section individually, store them, and combine when you’re ready for your spaghetti casserole!
I recommend making the chicken and veggies and storing them together in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to four days. The cream sauce will last for up to four days as well. The spaghetti is the only part I recommend making fresh, as refrigerated pasta can get stiff and sticky.
Serving Recommendations
There’s nothing more heartwarming than a big scoop of baked spaghetti! So why stop with just one dish? Make a bunch for a full night of baked pasta wonder!
If you loved this dish, you MUST try the original: chicken spaghetti casserole! This dish goes great with a thick slice of garlic bread.
Want more chicken for your bite? Chicken spaghetti bake puts the emphasis on protein!
Dinner, DONE!
More Spaghetti Recipes
For as many noodles as there are in the world, there are recipes to match! Want more spaghetti recipes? Check out these picks:
- Spaghetti Recipe With Ground Beef – Go back to the basics!
- Italian Spaghetti – Mama Mia — try this!
- Baked Spaghetti with Cream Cheese – For extra cheesy flavor, try this one. Is there a dish that cream cheese can’t improve? Nope!
- Spaghetti And Meatballs Recipe – Try not to sing the classic song as you make this recipe!
- TikTok Spaghetti – is meaty, super cheesy, with red sauce, and an Alfredo-like sauce
Chicken Spaghetti With Rotel
Ingredients
- 16 ounces spaghetti
- 4 raw chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
- salt
- black pepper
- vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 3 teaspoons cumin
- 3 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 (10-ounce) can Rotel, drained
- 2 (10.5-ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 cups pepper jack cheese, grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9X13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
- Cook the pasta, in well-salted water according to package instructions. Drain pasta and dry out the pasta pot. Return pasta to pot.
- In a medium mixing bowl, toss chicken with 1 ½ teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper until pieces are evenly coated.
- In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil. When hot, add chicken in batches, allowing pan bottom to be visible between pieces, and brown on all sides. Remove chicken to a plate; set aside. Repeat with the remaining chicken and add more oil if needed.
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil to skillet and saute onions and garlic, over medium-low heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in oregano, cumin, chili powder, and coriander and continue to saute until spices are fragrant about 1 minute.
- In a medium bowl, stir together Rotel, chicken soup, sour cream, and milk until evenly combined.
- Add chicken, onion mixture and soup mixture to pasta and toss well to combine. Pour into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the top with Pepper Jack. Place in preheated oven and cook until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted about 30 minutes.
Hi, do you have to finish off in the oven? Can you just cook it in the pan for a little longer then serve and sprinkle the cheese over once on the plate? Thanks!
Hi Donna. I’m sure that will work too!
Can this be frozen?
Hi, Paula! If you want to freeze it, I suggest making everything except the cream sauce and freezing it. Then, when you’re ready to bake it, whip up the cream sauce, add it to your thawed goodies, and bake.
Good recipe!
Thanks, Erica! 🙂
Delish. Even though I had to cut recipe in half because I am a family of 1.
Hey, Mary! I’m so glad you cut the recipe in half and made it just for YOU! This is such a huge favorite in my family! Glad you got to enjoy it <3
This is a very awesome recipe… the taste is very good.. reheat’s very well…
Thank you so much for your positive feedback, Deborah!
We loved this recipe! We are thinking about adding corn and black beans next time we make it! Thank you!!!!
Hi, Kara! So happy you loved this spaghetti. I’m sure it’s yummier with corn and black beans! 🙂
Can you make this without onions?
Yes, Ma’am!
Can you use shredded chicken instead of cubed? I have that on hand
Yes, you can use shredded. Enjoy! 🙂
I’m making this tomorrow and we love real Creamy Pasta..I’m adding a Half a box of
Cream cheese also. And a little extra sour cream..Adding a small amount of Broth.
Creamy Rotel Oven Pasta..Can’t. Wait.Yum.
Hi, Babe! That sounds perfect! I hope you like it! 🙂
I made this and it was delicious! We have so much left over that we want to have it again for dinner. How do we go about reheating it up after it’s been in the fridge?
Hi Sarah! You can just reheat it in a microwave if you store it in small batches. Otherwise, reheat it inside the oven for 20-30 minutes around 325 degrees. Hope this helps! 😀
Do you cook the chicken and pasta before putting it in crockpot?
Hi Heidi! For the chicken, you brown it first before adding to the crockpot. You put in the pasta an hour before the cooking is done. Check out my Crockpot Spaghetti recipe for some inspo. Happy cooking! ❤️
so yummy. I’ll let you know once I’ve tried this