label spaghetti with chicken It's hearty, creamy, cheesy, with a bit of a kick. It's Southern comfort food at its best!
What don't I like about this dish?
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First, it's incredibly delicious. You can't go wrong with pasta, cream sauce, chicken and cheese.
Secondly, it is easy to do. Thanks to roasted chicken and Rotel tomatoes, hardly any effort is required!
Third, one recipe can feed a crowd. Minimum effort, maximum results.
Fourth, it's super affordable! The ingredients are inexpensive and most likely already available in your pantry.
So if what you are looking for is delicious, simple and economical, you know what to do.
Rotel Chicken Spaghetti with Velveeta
Rotel Chicken Spaghetti is a Southern dish consisting of pasta and a cream sauce. It has Rotel tomatoes and chiles, chicken and a lot of Velveeta on top.
While the cream and cheese make the dish super rich and decadent, the addition of tomatoes and green chiles balances it out nicely.
Loaded with carbs, protein, fat, and veggies (tomatoes and chiles count, right), this dish is a complete meal on its own.
Ingredients
- Cream of mushroom soup – Serves as a base for pasta sauce. I like to use cream of mushroom soup because it adds a meaty, woodsy flavor to the dish. However, any type of condensed soup will also work.
- Chicken soup – To saturate the sauce and add an extra layer of chicken flavor.
- Can of Rotel Tomatoes with Green Chiles – Why slice and dice tomatoes and peppers when you can open a can of Rotel? Choose from mild, regular, or hot, depending on the level of heat your taste buds can handle.
- Spaghetti – Any type of pasta, cooked al dente.
- Pollo – The grill is ideal, but you can also cook raw chicken if you wish.
- Velveeta cheese – Not the healthiest of cheeses, but I love how creamy and melty it gets!
- Salt and pepper - Try out.
How to make spaghetti with Rotel chicken
Step 1: Cook pasta according to package directions, but cook for 1-2 minutes. Please note that it will continue to cook while baking.
Use a large cooking pot and salt the water generously.
Step 2: Prepare the chicken. If raw, season with fajita seasoning salt and pepper and grill or fry in butter.
Chop or mash it once it is cool enough to the touch.
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Step 3: Make the sauce. Combine mushroom soup, chicken broth and Rotel tomatoes.
Step 4: Assemble the layers. To a greased plate, add the cooked spaghetti. Next, layer the chicken, followed by the sauce. Top with Velveeta cubes.
Step 5: Bake the dish for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling. You can serve as is or stir until the noodles are coated with sauce and cheese.
Tips for the best chicken spaghetti
- Some like to cut the pasta into 2 or 3 before cooking, but I prefer not to. This part is up to you!
- If you want al dente noodles, cook the pasta for 1-2 minutes. It will continue to cook as it bakes.
- If you accidentally overcook the noodles, rinse them under cold water to prevent further cooking.
- Generously salt the pasta water, about 1-2 teaspoons per 1 liter of water. The pasta will absorb some water, giving it a nice, subtle flavor.
- This dish is ideal if you have leftover roast chicken. Simply discard the bones, grind them or cut them into small pieces and you're done.
- If you are going to cook the chicken yourself, do not boil it. Grilling or frying will make the meat tastier. Season with a little salt and pepper or fajita seasoning for flavor.
- If you want extra moist and juicy chicken, use boneless or tender chicken thighs.
- Instead of layering, you can also mix the components and bake. It'll all end up the same way in your belly, anyway!
- Preparation instructions: Assemble layers and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to two days. Bake as directed but with an additional 3-5 minutes added to the baking time.
Variaciones
This is not a fixed recipe that you have to follow to the letter. The fact that it's impossible to mess up gives a lot of room for customization! Let those creative juices flow!
- Do you have a lot of Thanksgiving leftovers? Swap the chicken for turkey.
- Fill it with more protein by adding bacon, ham, and other deli meats you have on hand.
- Instead of Velveeta, use any other melted cheese. Cheddar, mild cheddar, Pepper Jack, take your pick. Grate the cheese yourself so that it melts as much as possible.
- Use your preferred variation of Rotel tomatoes. You can make this dish as fiery or as mild as you like.
- Raid the fridge and look for anything else you can add to the mix. Ingredients like black beans, green chiles, and corn will give the pasta more personality.
- Instead of mushroom soup, you can also use cream of chicken or vegetable soup.
- It doesn't have to be spaghetti! Any type of pasta works, here.
How to store chicken spaghetti
Let the chicken spaghetti cool completely.
Store in an airtight container or cover the dish with plastic wrap. Refrigerate it for up to 3 days.
Reheat small portions in microwave for 1 minute or until heated through.
To reheat an entire casserole, do so in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
Can Rotel chicken spaghetti be frozen?
Certainly! In fact, this dish freezes beautifully.
Let the spaghetti cool completely. Cover the dish (be sure to use a freezer-safe dish) with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes.
In case the dish dries out, add heavy cream to re-moisten it.
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