Chicken Spaghetti {comfort food recipe}
A few weeks ago I posted a picture of some chicken spaghetti that I made to use one of our whole pasture raised chickens that was a bit on the small side. I’ve never made chicken spaghetti before, but it turned out creamy, dreamy, and delicious. My sister-in-law graciously tested the recipe for me (since I had to go back and write down what I did in the first place) and clarified a few points, so I know that you’ll be successful with this recipe too! If you want to check out her cooking adventures and be inspired to make beautiful meals, check out her blog at https://laurathegastronaut.com/.
This chicken spaghetti would work great with leftover turkey as well, especially if you bought one of our huge pasture raised turkeys and froze some leftovers! It’s also a great recipe to make ahead, freeze, and pull out later to feed a hungry holiday crowd at your home. Let me know if you make it - and how you make it your own! Quick note - please read through the recipe because, as always, I tend to ramble my way through it ;-)
INGREDIENTS
Meat from one whole chicken (cook in pressure cooker or roasted, I used a 2.5 lb chicken) – shredded and cut up to bite-size pieces. If you use leftovers – it should amount to about 4 cups of cut-up meat. Leftover turkey is a great choice!
12 – 16 oz pasta of choice
2.5 c. cream of chicken soup (I made mine from bone broth, instructions below. You’ll need 1/8 c. cold water, 2 - 3 TBS corn starch, and ¼ c. heavy cream)
1 TBS butter
8oz mushrooms, diced
Small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic (pressed or minced)
¼ c. roasted red peppers, cut-up
1/3 c. sour cream
1 c. shredded white cheese mix (I used the H-E-B Italian mix)
½ c. + ¼ c. shredded cheddar
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ - ½ tsp nutmeg
**if you use 16 oz of pasta, be generous with the sour cream and cheese measurements**
NOTE ON USING A WHOLE CHICKEN
For best flavor – use both white and dark meat. I cooked a 2.5 whole chicken in a pressure cooker with 2 c. water, salt, and a little nutmeg for 24 minutes. The chicken was mostly defrosted and I let the pressure release naturally. Once it cooled, I deboned all the meat from the chicken and was left with close to 4 c. of chicken. This recipe would be ideal for leftover turkey!
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Cook pasta to al dente, drain, and set aside.
Cream of Chicken Soup
To prepare the cream of chicken soup – use 2 – 3 cups of homemade chicken or bone broth and heat to a boil. Reduce heat and add a slurry of 1/8 c. cold water with 2 or 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. Add some heavy cream – no more than ¼ cup. Really it depends on how creamy you want the soup to be. Simmer and stir until thick – that’s it. You’ll have the best cream of chicken soup in the neighborhood. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the nutmeg to the soup and continue to simmer – trust me. It’s my secret ingredient with chicken dishes. Now, turn off the heat before you burn it to your saucepan.
I GUESS you can use canned soup, but that’s not as much fun. Use one can and enough water to make 2.5 cups. Or maybe two cans. The great thing about chicken spaghetti is that it’s totally flexible. Add nutmeg and seasonings to the canned soup if you didn’t make your own!
Sauté the onion and mushrooms in the butter until the onions are soft and the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated. Add in the garlic (I use a press, minced is also fine) and sauté over med-low heat until the garlic smells SUPER AWESOME. Add this to the soup and stir to mix.
In a big bowl: mix pasta, chicken, sour cream, roasted red peppers, white cheese, and ½ c of the cheddar. Once it’s pretty well mixed, add in the soup and mix thoroughly. Pour into a 9x13 casserole and top with the remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, uncover and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the soup is bubbly and the top is slightly browned. Let cool for a minute and enjoy!