Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

Creamy chicken spaghetti – thick, creamy tomato sauce and your favourite rotisserie chicken come together in this delicious chicken pasta recipe. It’s so good it’ll give good old regular spaghetti a run for its money!

(Looking for a recipe for spaghetti carbonara? Check out this recipe for Carbonara a la Rossi – it’s easy, delicious and based on the signature dish of a beloved TV show character!)

I remember my mom making us chicken spaghetti all the time when we were kids.

She doesn’t make it as often anymore but I certainly remember the taste very well – thick, creamy, rose-coloured tomato sauce, shredded chicken and lots of cheese.

So for Mother’s Day, as a special shoutout to my amazing mom, I made my version of creamy chicken spaghetti.

I used this sauce as starting point in my experiment and lemme tell you, it tastes so much like my mom’s chicken spaghetti I almost cried. I cannot wait for her to taste it. And for you to try it! 

Easy recipe even if you can’t cook

Most of you know I can’t cook, I can only bake (true story).

Whenever you see me share something savoury, it’s usually Red doing the cooking and me doing the annoying documenting (like for this sweet and salty Filipino spaghetti – did you know this spaghetti sauce has ketchup as a main ingredient? Yum! Try it.)

However, lately I’ve been moving from the oven into Red’s stovetop area more and more. And I’m happy to share the best chicken spaghetti recipe with you – if I can do it so can you!

First, we need to cook the pasta correctly.

How to cook pasta right every time

Cooking pasta is not rocket science but I still do mess it up sometimes. These are the things I always keep in mind:

• Salt your pasta water generously. Not a pinch. Not a shy dash. In fact I’ve read that pasta water should be as salty as the sea!
• Speaking of pasta water, don’t throw it away. You don’t need to save all of it; keeping a cup should be fine. It’s very useful for when you want make your pasta sauce creamier or to thin it out.
• Before dropping the pasta into the pot, make sure your water is boiling rapidly. I know it feels like forever waiting for a pot-full of water to boil so a nice little trick I saw on a cooking show was to boil water in an electric kettle then pour that water in your pot. Should speed things up.
• Stir your pasta immediately after dropping it in your pot and occasionally while cooking. You don’t want the pasta sticking together.
• Check the package for the suggested cooking time but test about 2 minutes before time’s up. You want it al dente – tender but firm. If you’re adding it to your sauce and cooking it a bit more, you can get away with firmer more than tender.

How to make creamy chicken pasta sauce

Now that we’re al dente pasta ninjas, let’s make the sauce.

Using the same pot that you used to cook the pasta, stir olive oil and butter over medium heat until the butter has melted. Add onions and garlic and cook until the onions are soft and translucent (and smelling so good!).

Pour the tomato sauce, and add sugar, salt and pepper. Lower the heat and cook for 30 minutes or until the sauce thickens considerably. Stir occasionally.

Remove from heat and add heavy cream and your shredded rotisserie chicken. Stir to combine. Taste and season again if necessary.

Serve with a generous helping of parmesan cheese and top with fresh basil.

Great recipe for leftover rotisserie chicken

This creamy chicken spaghetti recipe is a great way to use up leftover rotisserie chicken (this rotisserie chicken salad recipe is a delicious option too!)

Red and I love to shop at Costco and we usually grab one of their cooked chickens. We almost never finish the whole thing though so we’ve got to be creative in using up the rest.

I used rotisserie chicken here. It took a good third of the chicken so if you’re a family of four and you only usually have a tiny bit left, best to plan ahead so you have enough chicken left.

This Mexican shredded chicken casserole uses shredded chicken breast, if that’s what you have on hand.

(Related: What to do with Leftover Cooked Chicken)

What side dishes go well with chicken spaghetti?

This dish is so easy to make (I mean, if I can make it right?). And the star of the show here is the sauce.

It is thick and creamy, sweet and salty, and just have the prettiest colour! Top it with basil and some cheese and you’ve got yourself a dish that will make your momma proud. This is comfort food at its best.

Serve with socca flatbread and Italian side salad for a truly delightful meal.

If you’re looking for other dishes to go with this creamy chicken spaghetti, you can start with this super fresh and refreshing peach caprese salad. It’s drizzled with thick and delicious balsamic reduction.

Shirazi salad (Persian cucumber salad) is delicious too!

As a side, you can serve homemade pandesal. It’s traditional Filipino bread rolls and so good!

Buttery baby dutch yellow potatoes will be great too!

To end the meal on a high note, serve everyone’s favourite tiramisu. This version is eggless and so easy to make! You can make it ahead and you don’t even have to turn the oven on.

Happy cooking!

Did you make creamy chicken spaghetti? I’d love to hear all about it! Leave a comment or a star rating below. You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook. I’d love to see your creations!

You can also find me on Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube.

Have more leftover chicken? Captain Rodney’s Boucan Chicken Quiche is another delicious recipe to try.