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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.
Joanie says
Only one cup of chicken for 4 servings? Could that be doubled?
Karly says
Sure!
Kate says
Such a great recipe! I think this is what I am cooking tonight.
Teri C. says
Just a hint about making this casserole….As with most pastas except for cold salads, you usually save a cup of the starchy pasta water before draining so you can then marry your sauce to the pasta. I learned this trick from watching “The Chew” and “Rachael.” Also season the pasta water, after the water comes to a boil and add enough salt that it tastes like “sea water”. This recipe looks awesome just looked too dry.
Sharon says
I made this tonight but it came out kinda dry what did I do wrong I followed the recipe it tasted good
Karly says
Hi Sharon! There isn’t a whole lot of “sauce” for this one. You can increase the sour cream and cheese if you prefer next time. 🙂
Teri C. says
Sharon,
Read my comment below, I did not see this until after I posted my comment by Teri C.
Raksha says
Looks delicious. Can low fat sour cream be a substitute?
Teresa says
Do you have the nutritional values for this recipe? On weight watchers and can figure out points from there
Michelle says
This is going on my must try list, Karly!! Love all the flavors!
Kevin | Keviniscooking says
Karly! This looks seriously so darn good. Love everything you have in this one. Wow.
Chelzie says
I wonder if this could be modified to make in a slow cooker/crockpot. ?
Karly says
Spaghetti noodles are tricky in the slow cooker. I might substitute penne or rigatoni as they’ll hold up a little better.
Chelzie says
No, I would still cook the noodles outside of a slow cooker and add in at the end. I wonder if there is a way to cook fresh chicken and some of the ingredients together to make this same dish.
Cindy says
I’m going to try this, looks really good. I can skip a few steps and save time by just dumping and mixing everything in the baking dish.
10 Aarti says
That looks so delicious!
Sue says
Wondering what the calories and serving size are. Sounds delicious…trying tonight!
Karly says
Hi Sue!
You’re welcome to plug this one into any of the free online nutrition calculators to find that information. 🙂 Hope you enjoyed it!
Tracy says
I am going to make this for sure but I think I will use bacon instead of the french fried onions.
Karly says
Can’t go wrong with bacon!
Jeanne says
French’s has come out with crispy fried jalapenos. Bet they would be good in this casserole.
Karly says
Bet you’re right!!
Patricia says
Is the food label for the whole casserole or is that per serving? I’m diabetic of course I’ll use a wheat spaghetti but I still have to be careful with carbs.
Karly says
It’s for 1/4 of the recipe.
Krich says
We love casseroles. I made this exactly as the recipe was written the first time and it was awesome. I think we have a new go to for leftover chicken! We also thought it was a great base for variations and tried it a second time with a variety of vegetables for a vegetarian friend and it was still awesome. The second time we used sautéed Zucchini, mushrooms and onions along with the spinach. I tried to avoid “hard” vegetables since the texture was so delightful the first time around. We are thinking about substituting bacon for the chicken at some point.
Karly says
Sounds like some great swaps! Bacon + chicken sounds extra good!