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Chicken Spaghetti Recipe

5 from 4 votes
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posted: 02/08/20

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This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy

This Chicken Spaghetti Recipe is a delicious red sauce, complimented perfectly with chicken and served over spaghetti – a family favorite!

a large white serving bowl with chicken spaghetti, garnished with parsley and parmesan cheese with a block of fresh parmesan in the background

I’m trilled to be giving this post a face lift with new photos because it is one of my family’s very favorites! This recipe, originally named French Spaghetti, comes from my good friend Trish’s cookbook: 100 Creative Ways to use Rotisserie Chicken. To this day, it remains one of my favorite books that I’ve reviewed. The recipes in it are both delicious and kid friendly.

Trish, the author of the amazing blog Mom On Timeout, truly is a good friend of mine. She has made me laugh so hard I cried. She’s shared in really difficult and hard times with me.

Not only that, but she is an amazing coworker and has given me countless pieces of amazing advice over the years. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her support. And she makes incredible dinner recipes.

This Chicken Spaghetti is one of my family’s very favorites.

We make it all the time, and I have so many pictures of my kids dangling spaghetti over their mouths, forks high in the air, as they devour this.

How to Make Chicken Spaghetti

There are lots of great chicken spaghetti recipes out there, but this one is different; I dare say way better. It comes together on the stovetop with a rich and delicious red sauce.

This recipe comes from Trish’s French grandmother, and is a treasure. She revamped it into this amazing fast weeknight dinner.

(As always, this is just a brief overview. Head to the bottom of the post for all the instructions and quantities.)

  1. Start your water to cook your spaghetti.
  2. While the water is coming to a boil, heat oil in a large skillet, melt in some butter and sauté your onion and garlic.
  3. Stir in the tomato sauce, herbs, and spaghetti seasoning (homemade or store bought).
  4. Stir in wine (or chicken stock), bay leaves, and shredded chicken.
  5. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
  6. Mix with the cooked spaghetti and serve with parmesan.
an overhead view of a white bowl full of spaghetti with red sauce on a gray background with a bowl of parmesan cheese and breadsticks next to it

HOMEMADE SPAGEHTTI SEASONING

As this post has been published for years, I have had so many people ask me where to find spaghetti seasoning and what to replace it with. It adds both thickness and flavor to this recipe, so please don’t skip it.

It’s a small seasoning packet often found with other packets in American grocery stores, for example a packet to create pulled BBQ pork in your slow cooker. Look there.

Or make this replacement recipe. It tastes almost exactly the same, makes the same amount and works perfectly in this recipe. (Nathan said he liked it better than the store-bought!)

  • 2 tablespoons corn starch
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
a large white serving bowl full of chicken spaghetti - a spaghetti with red sauce and shredded chicken garnished with parsley and fresh parmesan

Freezing Rotisserie Chicken

This recipe, and all the others in Trish’s book, call for shredded rotisserie chicken. I love freezing mine so that I always have it on hand, it’s simple to do. (A great tip I got from Cheryl at Tidy Mom.)

  1. Buy as many rotisserie chickens as your freezer can handle.
  2. Shred them when they are cool enough to handle, discarding the skin and bones.
  3. Line rimmed baking sheets with wax paper and spread the chicken out over it.
  4. Put it in the freezer on the tray for 1 hour to flash freeze it.
  5. Transfer the partially frozen chicken to airtight containers and put in your freezer for up to three months.

By doing it this way you end up with chicken that is easy to separate, even frozen. Meaning you can pull out 1 cup of chicken at a time.

When I reshot this recipe, we used frozen rotisserie chicken and it worked perfectly. It wasn’t even 100% thawed when we put it in, and it still turned out great.

overhead view of a small white plate that has spaghetti with a red sauce made with shredded chicken and a fork twisted in it

Side Dishes

Since I am sure that this will become part of your family’s monthly rotation, here are some great side dish recipes to serve with it.

They are all of the veggie variety to get some greens in the tiny bellies that live in my house.

two hands tossing chicken spaghetti in a white serving bowl

More Pasta Please

If you are looking for other great pasta dishes, check out:

My meat sauce recipe! It is delicious, hearty, and when added to spaghetti, a meal of it’s own.

People always ask me for this One Pot Creamy Shrimp Pasta recipe when I make it for them.

Finally, my Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta is a meal everyone will love.

If you make this chicken spaghetti recipe or any of the other recipes I have listed, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

overhead view of a white serving bowl full of French spaghetti with antique serving utensils in it on a gray background with parsley and parmesan around
a large white serving bowl full of chicken spaghetti - a spaghetti with red sauce and shredded chicken garnished with parsley and fresh parmesan
5 from 4 votes

Chicken Spaghetti

Serves: 6 people
(tap # to scale)
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
This Chicken Spaghetti Recipe is a delicious red sauce, complimented perfectly with chicken and served over spaghetti – a family favorite!

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces thin spaghetti cooked per package instructions
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 28 ounces tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup red wine (or chicken stock – see note)
  • 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
  • 2 bay leaves
  • fresh parmesan and parsley for topping

Homemade Spaghetti Seasoning (or the 1.5 ounce store bought packet)

  • 2 tablespoons corn starch
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon paprika

Instructions

  • Gather all of your ingredients together before starting this recipe.
  • Boil the water for your pasta, add the spaghetti once the water comes to a roaring boil, drain and set aside.
  • While your water is coming to boil, heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Melt the butter and add the diced onion, cooking for 4 to 5 minutes or until it is translucent.
  • Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds being careful not to burn it.
  • Stir in the tomato sauce, wine, the herbs, and the spaghetti seasoning. Whisk to fully combine.
  • Stir in the bay leaves and shredded chicken.
  • Bring the sauce to a simmer and then reduce the heat. YOu should still be able to see some gentle bubbles. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.
  • When the sauce is finished either add the spaghetti to the sauce and toss to combine, or serve the spaghetti in a large serving bowl with the sauce poured over the top. Top with fresh parsley and parmesan.

Notes

If you or your family does not drink alcohol, you can exchange the red wine for chicken stock, though the flavor won’t be as deep or rich. I do make it with red wine and I do serve it to my children.
Calories: 561kcal (28%) Carbohydrates: 76g (25%) Protein: 24g (48%) Fat: 13g (20%) Saturated Fat: 6g (38%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g Monounsaturated Fat: 6g Trans Fat: 13g Cholesterol: 80mg (27%) Sodium: 662mg (29%) Potassium: 896mg (26%) Fiber: 6g (25%) Sugar: 12g (13%) Vitamin A: 10IU Vitamin C: 2mg (2%) Calcium: 7mg (1%) Iron: 20mg (111%)
Author: Lisa Longley
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: French
a large white serving bowl full of chicken spaghetti - a spaghetti with red sauce and shredded chicken garnished with parsley and fresh parmesan

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Chicken Spaghetti

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Hi! I'm Lisa Longley, and I am committed to giving you simple dinner ideas and recipes that are easy to make; recipes that will fill your home with joy. I am the owner and author of SimpleJoy.com and I'm so glad that you are here.

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  1. Amanda says

    Do you mix in the corn starch with the other components of the seasoning or do you make a slurry?

    • Lisa Longley says

      Hi Amanda, no need to make a slurry. Just mix it with the other seasoning ingredients.

  2. Kate Ellis says

    This looks delicious. Will soon try it for my family.

    • Lisa Longley says

      I hope your family loves it, Kate!

  3. Start Goins’s says

    What kind of red wine is best for this recipe?

    • Lisa Longley says

      I always use a red wine blend or a cabernet. You should use whatever you enjoy the taste of most!

  4. Starr Goins says

    Thank you very much for responding and suggestion. I will definitely try one of those.

  5. Lynn says

    5 stars
    My mom used to make Chicken Spaghetti but I haven’t been able to find a red sauce chicken spaghetti recipe like hers. This one is really close. The only thing I changed is I added a can of diced tomatoes. It tastes amazing and I love the flavor the red wine gives it.

    • Lisa Longley says

      I’m so glad you liked it!

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