Ree Drummond’s Chicken Spaghetti Is the Best Thing I’ve Ever Made in a Casserole Dish

Winner, winner, easy chicken dinner.

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I don't know how my mother did it. Growing up, we rarely ate out. Perhaps the occasional Friday pizza night or birthday dinner, but otherwise, my mom prepared a home-cooked meal for our family—without the help of an air fryer or Instant Pot—seven days a week.

As a working mother of two school-age children who have started after-school activities, dinner is the most hectic time of our day. It's tough to find recipes everyone will eat and that we can get on the table quickly and affordably. Thankfully, I've discovered recipes like Ree Drummond's chicken spaghetti that are the official saviors of our household.

Simply Recipes / Lauren Habermehl

What I Love About This Recipe

Simple, affordable ingredients? Check. Low mess? Double check. Totally delicious? Yup. Chicken spaghetti ticks all the boxes. The best part about this recipe, though, is its easy, flexible preparation.

Since our weeknights are busy, I love to do as much meal planning and prep on the weekends as I can, because that's when life moves just a tad slower. To speed up the preparation of this dish, I'll often cook and shred the chicken ahead of time (and save any extra for another chicken casserole).

If I'm looking for an even better shortcut, I'll completely prep and assemble the casserole, then freeze the whole thing to bake later in the week. This recipe adapts to your schedule—not the other way around—and I love that.

Let's not forget taste. If you love an old-fashioned King Ranch casserole, you will be obsessed with Ree's chicken spaghetti. With bell peppers, pimentos, cayenne, and a few trusty cans of cream of mushroom soup, it has a similar flavor profile that's full of nostalgia. (Anecdotally, my kids enjoy this chicken spaghetti more because the small pieces of spaghetti are a bit more fork-friendly than the layers of tortilla typically found in King Ranch.)

We also love that there's not one, not two, but three full cups of sharp cheddar cheese. It makes the dish gooey, creamy, and ultra-satisfying.

Simply Recipes / Lauren Habermehl

How I Make Ree Drummond's Chicken Spaghetti

When making the dish start-to-finish from scratch, I poach the chicken in a large pot until it's fully cooked. Depending on what I have on hand, I'll use two or three large bone-in chicken breasts or a whole fryer chicken. Once the chicken is cooked, I let it cool and chop it into small, bite-sized pieces.

Next, I cook the pasta in the same pot so it absorbs some of the chicken flavor. Cook the pasta until it is barely al dente, since it will finish cooking in the oven. Ideally, it should still have a bit of chew when you drain it.

From there, dump all the ingredients, minus one cup of cheese, into a large bowl and stir to combine. Transfer to a casserole dish, top with the remaining cheese, and then bake until hot and bubbly. Ree's chicken spaghetti recipe calls for 45 minutes, but I find that the casserole is usually ready around a half-hour. Remove from the oven, and let it cool for 5 or 10 minutes (if you can!), then dig in to all of its spicy, creamy splendor.

Simply Recipes / Lauren Habermehl

Tips for Making Ree Drummond’s Chicken Spaghetti

I've made this recipe enough now that I've learned some helpful tips and tricks to make it even better (and, if possible, easier).

• Use a rotisserie chicken: While Ree recommends poaching the chicken in water to make a quick stock for cooking the pasta, I don't find this step necessary if it's a busy day. I often shred rotisserie chicken and boil the pasta in salted water instead, and the dish still comes out a winner.
• Skip measuring the pasta: Ree's recipe calls for three cups of spaghetti broken into 2-inch pieces. If you're wondering how much of a box of spaghetti that is, it's a little more than half the box (roughly one-half pound of spaghetti). You're welcome.
• Stir in some heat: We're a family that enjoys a little spice (yes, even my 4-year-old likes food that makes his little tongue dance). I'll often add a can of green chiles or a diced jalapeño for a little extra kick. Substituting one cup of pepper jack cheese for one cup of cheddar cheese is another tasty trick that adds fire to the dish.
• Use any "cream of" soup: If you don't like mushrooms, know that the flavor is almost imperceptible here. That said, you can also use cream of chicken or celery in this recipe.

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Simply Recipes / Lauren Habermehl

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