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This monterey chicken spaghetti is packed with spinach and monterey jack cheese for a new chicken casserole recipe the whole family will love.
I had someone email the other day to ask if I happened to be from the midwest. She said she had a hunch.
Now, you guys, I’m pretttttty certain that this hunch was based on the type of food you see on this blog all the time. I didn’t ask her, so I can’t be sure, but it’s a good guess.
Anyway…what type of food is it that I think screams “this girl lives in the middle of the country, surrounded by corn and cows?”
Casseroles. Lots and lots of casseroles.
My family especially loves chicken casserole recipes. How about yours?
I love them, okay?
I’m always trying new chicken casserole recipes and I’ve hit on a good one right here.
Side note: An all time favorite casserole of ours is this tamale casserole. It’s made with a cornbread base and topped with chicken.
It’s a bit of a riff on something I saw in a Taste of Home magazine for Monterey Spaghetti – I’ve added chicken and omitted the Parmesan, because I’m the boss of my life.
Don’t want to brag, but I make a pretty good boss.
This isn’t your traditional chicken spaghetti recipe, but I think you’re going to fall head over heels in love with it.
This chicken casserole was super easy to toss together and even my youngest ate it, despite all of the green stuff lurking in her noodles. She side-eyed me the whole time, but we made it through dinner without incident.
I’ll take what I can get, you guys.
I really love the Monterey jack cheese in this – it’s mellow and creamy and just plain works. You could swap it out for something with a stronger flavor, like Gruyere or Swiss or maybe even a white cheddar, but I think it’s pretty perfect as it is.
My husband likes more mild cheeses, so this one was a big hit for him too.
The crunchy fried onions are top just really put the whole thing over the top.
If you have onion haters in your life, leave them out of the casserole entirely and just sprinkle them over individual portions. (You can probably tell that I have an onion hater in my life.)
You know the drill – give this a try, snap a photo, tag me on Instagram, and hashtag it #bunsinmyovenrecipe. I can’t wait to see those gorgeous casseroles coming out of your ovens!
For more recipes and videos like this, be sure to follow me on Facebook!
Speaking of chicken casserole recipes, check out my Doritos Chicken Casserole and French Onion Chicken! Or for more pasta, try my chicken Florentine pasta!
I told you I had a thing for the casserole!
Monterey Chicken Spaghetti recipe below!
Monterey Chicken Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 6 oz. spaghetti broken into 3 pieces
- 1 cup shredded or diced cooked chicken
- 1 egg
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups grated monterey jack
- 10 ounces frozen spinach thawed and drained well
- 3 ounce can french fried onions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the spaghetti according to package instructions. Drain and add to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the chicken, egg, sour cream, garlic powder, cheese, spinach, and half of the onions to the bowl and stir well to combine.
- Pour into prepared baking dish and top with the remaining onions.
- Cover tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for 5 minutes more.
- Serve immediately.
Mattie says
Not enough flavor. Needed something. Tomatoes? Cream soup such as chicken, celery or mushroom especially since using the fried onions. Or maybe milk and butter. Not sure. Also did not like the cut of the spaghetti. Would leave it long. Sorry just not a hit for us.
Laura Louzon says
Ready to try this
Angie says
Can you use canned spinach?
Karly says
I’ve never actually worked with canned spinach, but I imagine it would work just the same.
Anita Johnson says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve been making this for myself for over 3 years now. Probably one of my top five casseroles. I think the recipe is great as it is, but instead of garlic powder I use 4 tsps minced garlic from a jar (because I need to use it up) and I find that I don’t need to grease the dish, a huge plus IMO! I divide it into five servings and freeze four of them for lunches at work. Of course, the onions lose their crunch, but it’s still delicious!
Karly says
Thanks for sharing, Anita! So glad you enjoy the recipe!
harleybrat7656@aol.com says
Good flavor, but really dry.
Debbie Stevenson says
This was really good. Even my husband liked it and he is not big on chicken or casseroles. I used1/2 sharp cheddar. I think next time I’ll use a rotisserie chicken.