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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.
CJ says
This has become a family favorite. I use spaghetti squash, and my parents still love it (they are pretty hesitant about those things). I usually just eyeball most of my ingredients and I add cheese on top in addition to the fried onions. I also add mushrooms when my sister-in-law is not joining us.
Karly says
Sounds delicious with the spaghetti squash!
Krystin says
I forgot the egg!! Is it ruined?
Karly says
I’m sure it will be fine. 🙂
Linda says
Made tonight bit instead of using frozen spinach i used fresh sauteed in chopped garlic and instead of plain French onion I used Carmalized French onions and when serving topped with Italian Blended Cheese.
Ot was Absolutely Delicious
Julie M. says
Hi Karly,
I was wondering about the purpose of the egg in this recipe. I have made different baked spaghetti recipes and haven’t seen it in any of them. Is it to help “bind” the ingredients? I am a little hesitant to try it, though I don’t know why. Looks delicious! Thank you!
Karly says
It binds it all together and coats the noodles so they don’t get too dried out since there isn’t a sauce holding it altogether. 🙂
CeliaJ says
Have you tried freezing this? Would you freeze it unbaked?
Karly says
I haven’t tried freezing this one and really don’t have much experience with freezing casseroles, so I’m no help today. Sorry!
Lynne says
I made this recipe exactly as written and it was fantastic! Initially I was worried that 6 oz. of spaghetti wouldn’t be enough but it was perfect. Next time I might use garlic salt instead of powder because we had to add a little salt at the table. Thanks so much for the great recipe!
Julie says
Made this tonight with blanched broccoli and Swiss (didn’t have spinach or Monterey Jack)…and bacon. I didn’t have enough sour cream so I added some half and half as I didn’t have any cream, but I think it helped keep it from drying out. It was light and delicious! Looking forward to making it your way next time. Thank you!
Anecia/SmartyPantsKitchen.com says
This looks delicious!!!!!
Julie says
If doubling the recipe, does anything else need to be changed in terms of proportions?
Carol Dolin says
Some people say it was a little dry can you put some cream of chicken soup in it to moisten it up? I would also like to put some musrooms in it would that be good?Carol Dolin
Karly says
Yes, I think that would be fine.
Hailey says
We liked this a lot when I made it. Now that I’ve re-read your blog and see that you omitted Parmesan, I make add some the next time I make it because we live Parmesan haha. As it was, we did add more garlic to the recipe. So if anyone loves the tingle of garlic, go for it. I put the crunchy onion toppings in the middle of the casserole (layered) and the rest on top. Made a wonderful layering of crunchiness!
Hailey says
May*
Love*
Darn autocorrecting, hah
Loueita says
Hi Karly– I just made this. I had most of the ingredients on hand so I gave it a try. I followed exactly, but confess I did add about a third cup more sour cream. The onions come in a 2.8 ounce can so I was a little shy. I generously salted my spaghetti water. This came out delicious. I think your recipe is perfect just the way it is. If dry, could it be possible the aluminum foil was not on tight for the first 20 minutes of cooking. Mine is great!! Thanks!!!
Karly says
So glad that you enjoyed! 🙂
Nancy says
It sounded really good. It was easy to make and it tasted delicious but it was so dry. How can I loosen it up a bit. There really is no sauce in it.
Karly says
You could probably increase the sour cream or add in a bit of ricotta or cream cheese to the mixture. 🙂
Courtney says
Is 6oz of pasta correct? It didn’t seem like enough to look like the photos. I used more but, it came out bland, even though I added extra garlic powder, salt and onion powder. Suggestions?
Karly says
Yep, 6 ounces is correct. This one definitely has a mild, simple flavor but you can always adjust seasonings as you like. 🙂
Sweetsiouxsie says
I made this recipe in my Nesco Roaster last night. It was delicious! I heated leftovers for dinner tonight and it was still delicious!