What happens when Italy meets Mexico? The answer is this wonderful chicken spaghetti casserole. It’s a heavenly combination of chicken, spaghetti, spinach, ricotta, chicken soup, milk, ranch dressing, Monterey Jack cheese, and crunchy fried onions. The spinach, spaghetti and ricotta are perfectly Italian while the Monterey Jack gives the dish a south-of-the-border touch and the ranch adds some good old United States flavor.
When combined, these ingredients make a fantastic fusion style dish which is great comfort food. It’s creamy, cheesy and full of juicy chicken chunks. The fact it’s a pasta bake makes it all the more enticing because honestly – who can resist a pasta bake! Start from scratch and it can be on the table in less than an hour, and you can easily find all the ingredients at your local market. Kids and grownups alike are going to love this creamy chicken pasta dish.
This creamy spaghetti chicken bake is so good. It’s simple to prepare and one of the tastiest baked pasta recipes. It has hints of both Mexico and Italy in the ingredients and is quick and easy to put together.
Why You’ll Love the Recipe:
This creamy chicken spaghetti recipe is just amazing. In fact, there’s no way to describe how tasty it is, so you’ll just have to make it for yourself! The soft, juicy chicken, creamy cheese sauce and crunchy fried onions on top all come together wonderfully to make one of the best pasta bakes you ever had.
How to Serve It:
Pair this chicken spaghetti bake with some broccoli, green beans or peas, or a side salad if you prefer.
Variations and Substitutions:
Make any switches you like. Fettuccine would work in place of the spaghetti, turkey would work in place of the chicken (as would chicken thighs), you can swap the ricotta for sour cream, or even use a Mexican blend cheese instead of the Monterey Jack. And if you want to increase the Mexican factor, what about adding some sliced jalapenos?
Ingredients:
- Cream of chicken soup
- Evaporated milk
- Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
- Chicken breasts
- Spinach
- Ricotta cheese
- Ranch dressing packet
- Uncooked spaghetti
- French fried onions
Monterey Chicken Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 21 ounces cream of chicken soup
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
- 3 cups chopped cooked chicken breasts
- 9 ounces thawed spinach
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1- ounce ranch dressing packet
- 12 ounces uncooked spaghetti
- 3 ounces crunchy French fried onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 13x9-inch baking dish.
- Snap the spaghetti into thirds, then cook following the instructions on the packaging, stopping when it’s al dente.
- Drain the spaghetti in a colander.
- Squeeze the excess water out of the thawed spinach and drain well.
- Mix the evaporated milk with the ricotta, chicken soup, ranch dressing mix, and cheese in the pot you boiled the spaghetti in.
- Whisk until smooth then stir in the drained spaghetti, chicken, spinach, and shredded cheese.
- Still well.
- Spoon the mixture into the greased baking dish and sprinkle the fried onions on top.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
- Discard the foil and cook for another 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.
Can You Make It Ahead?
Yes, you can assemble it ahead, then cover it with foil and refrigerate. When you’re ready to cook it, put the baking dish in the oven and then heat the oven up. Putting a chilled baking dish into a hot oven might crack it.
Storage Instructions:
Leftovers will be good for up to 3 days if kept covered and refrigerated. You can also freeze portions of this.
