Skinny Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

Why you’ll love this easy chicken spaghetti recipe

• It is the ultimate comfort food, even lightened up. 
• You can have it in the oven in about 15 minutes making it a great option for busy nights.
• This recipe can be made with leftover chicken.
• While this is a lightened up version you can use regular ingredients if you aren’t concerned with calories.  

Ingredients

See recipe card for exact amounts. 

Ingredient Notes

pasta – we like regular spaghetti noodles. Thin spaghetti, whole wheat spaghetti or even a different cut of pasta can can be used. Just remember to cook it for the shortest time specified on the package. I would not recommend small pasta like orzo or ditalini. I think rotini would be a fun shape to use in this recipe, especially if you have kids. 

shredded chicken – a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store is perfect. Or you can make your own chicken or use leftovers. 

onions – inexpensive yellow onions work great. White onion or red onion are also great options. 

bell peppers – we use about half of a green bell pepper and about half of a red bell pepper. You will need about 1 whole bell pepper. Since green peppers are less expensive than red peppers you can use one whole green pepper. Sometimes we do this if we don’t have plans for using the other halves of the peppers in another recipe.

chicken broth – I always use the lower sodium type. 

half & half – to make this more figure friendly we use fat free. 

cream cheese – in keeping with the lighter version I like 1/3 less fat. Full fat or fat free can be used. 

shredded cheese – we use 2% milk sharp cheddar cheese.

flour – this helps thicken our cheesy sauce. 

olive oil – extra virgin or light tasting, whatever you have on-hand. Canola oil, corn oil or even butter can be used. 

garlic – I like the minced garlic that comes in a jar. Fresh garlic is great too. 

black pepper – just a bit of pepper for flavor, we don’t use extra salt in this dish because there is quite a bit in the broth and in the cheese. You can add some if you like.

How to make it

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and  cook the spaghetti to al dente (the shortest cooking time specified on the package directions, usually 9 minutes).
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-heat, add onion and bell peppers and cook until tender, about 4 – 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add flour and pepper; cook for 1 minute. Add chicken stock and whisk until combined, be sure to get all the lumps out. Add half & half and cream cheese and whisk until cream cheese is melted and the mixture is smooth. Heat until bubbly and thick, 2-3 minutes.
3. Stir in cooked spaghetti and chicken, sprinkle cheese over top of the casserole and bake in the oven until bubbly and the cheese is melted, about 15 – 18 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Cooking Tip

If you don’t have an oven proof skillet then pour the mixture into a casserole dish, baking dish, or large pot such as a Dutch oven. I would coat it with cooking spray for easier clean up. I have read before that you can put aluminum foil on a plastic handle to make it oven proof, this is NOT recommended. There is a great article about it at World of Pans.

Variations

• To use boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs instead of shredded chicken you will need to cook the chicken first. Just add a little oil or nonstick cooking spray in the skillet first, cook the chicken thoroughly, transfer it to a plate and then start the recipe. You can use the same skillet. 
• Use whatever type of cheese you like.
• To give this dish a spicy kick add in a can of green chilies, or a dash of cayenne pepper. You can also swap some pepper jack cheese for some of the cheddar cheese. 

Storage & Reheating

Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat individual servings in the microwave. 

More great recipes that are on the lighter side:

• Skinny Beef Enchiladas
• Skillet Beef Tagine
• One Pan Beef Stroganoff
• Lighter Chicken Gnocchi Soup
• Healthier Slow Cooker Chicken Stew
• Light Beef Stroganoff

Yes, two different recipes for beef stroganoff! One has onions and one doesn’t. There is a one skillet version and one we put over cooked pasta. They are both delicious!