Chicken Spaghetti Casserole (Creamy Rotel, No Canned Soup)

This chicken spaghetti casserole is the creamy, cheesy, Rotel-spiked comfort food I grew up eating at church potlucks, rebuilt in my own kitchen without the can of soup or the block of Velveeta: a quick butter-and-flour sauce with broth, milk, cream cheese and real sharp cheddar does the same job and tastes like something you actually cooked. Rotisserie chicken keeps it at 45 minutes, it feeds six, and every serving lands at 36g of protein. It lives on the same shelf of my brain as baked spaghetti, chicken bacon ranch casserole and the rest of my comfort food recipes, and it is the one my kids ask for by name.

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Why this chicken spaghetti recipe beats the canned-soup version.

• A five-minute cheese sauce replaces the soup and the Velveeta. Butter, flour, chicken broth, milk and a few ounces of cream cheese make a sauce with the same silky texture as the classic Rotel chicken spaghetti, except it tastes like chicken and cheddar instead of a can. It is the same trick I use in my chicken broccoli rice casserole and it takes no longer than opening the soup.
• Rotisserie chicken keeps it a weeknight dinner. Three cups of shredded rotisserie chicken (or leftover crockpot chicken, or a couple of air fryer chicken breasts) go in at the end, so there is no raw chicken to cook and the whole thing is in the oven in 20 minutes. That is what makes this one of the casserole recipes I can actually pull off on a Tuesday.
• It feeds six, reheats like a dream and has a real protein number. Chicken plus three cups of cheddar plus a milk-based sauce gives every serving 36g of protein, which is rare for comfort food this cozy. Check it against your own target on the protein calculator — most people are surprised a casserole gets them this far.

Here's what you'll need.

Thirteen everyday ingredients: spaghetti, a rotisserie chicken (about 3 cups shredded), a 10-ounce can of Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles, butter, flour, chicken broth, milk, cream cheese, sharp cheddar, a small onion, a green bell pepper, garlic powder and smoked paprika.

Here's how it all comes together.

STEP 1 — Cook the spaghetti.

Boil 12 ounces of spaghetti in well-salted water for 2 minutes less than the package says — it finishes in the oven. Drain and set aside while you make the sauce in the same pot.

STEP 2 — Soften the onion and pepper.

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat and cook the diced onion and green bell pepper for 4 to 5 minutes, until soft and just starting to color.

STEP 3 — Make the cream sauce.

Sprinkle in the flour and stir for a minute, then whisk in the broth and milk a splash at a time until smooth. Simmer 3 minutes until it coats a spoon, then whisk in the cream cheese until it melts.

STEP 4 — Add the Rotel, cheddar and chicken.

Take the pan off the heat and stir in the undrained Rotel, 2 cups of the cheddar, the shredded chicken, garlic powder, smoked paprika and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Taste it now — this is the moment to fix the seasoning.

STEP 5 — Toss with the pasta and fill the dish.

Add the drained spaghetti and toss with tongs until every strand is coated, then tip it all into a buttered 9x13 baking dish and spread it level.

STEP 6 — Top with cheese and bake.

Scatter the remaining cup of cheddar over the top and bake uncovered at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges bubble and the cheese is melted with golden spots. Rest 5 minutes before you dig in.

If cozy, feed-everyone casseroles like this one are what gets you through the week, the slow cooker chapter of the Ultimate Slow Cooker Mediterranean Diet Cookbook.

Things I learned while testing this recipe.

• Undercook the spaghetti on purpose. The first time I tested this I boiled the pasta to al dente and it came out of the oven soft and heavy. Pulling it 2 minutes early leaves it with a little bite after it bakes in the sauce, which is the difference between a casserole and a brick.
• Do not drain the Rotel. The juice in the can is part of the sauce — it thins the cheese sauce just enough and carries most of the green chile flavor. If you drain it, add a splash more broth so the pasta has something to drink while it bakes.
• Shred the cheddar yourself and take the pan off the heat before it goes in. Bagged shredded cheese is coated with starch that makes the sauce grainy, and cheddar stirred into a boiling sauce breaks. A block of sharp cheddar on a box grater plus an off-heat stir gives you the glossy, stretchy sauce you want.
• Smoked paprika is the quiet secret. Half a teaspoon does not make it taste smoky, it just makes the cheese taste more like cheese. Cumin works too if that is what you have.

Why this is my favorite make-ahead family dinner.

• Assemble today, bake tomorrow. Put the whole thing together in the dish, cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours, then bake from cold with 10 extra minutes under foil. I do this on Sunday afternoons more weeks than not.
• It freezes whole or in portions. Bake, cool, cut into squares and freeze in containers for up to 3 months — a square in the microwave with a spoon of milk is a better lunch than anything I can buy. An unbaked casserole in a foil pan freezes well too.
• 36g of protein from comfort food. Between the chicken, the cheddar and the milk-based sauce, each of the six servings has 36g of protein. Use high-protein pasta and it climbs past 40g without changing anything else.

Here's what I'd serve with this.

• Air fryer green beans — something green and crisp against all that creamy pasta — 15 minutes in the basket
• Smashed cucumber salad — cold, sharp and crunchy, which is exactly what a cheesy casserole wants next to it
• Roasted cauliflower — roast it on the rack below the casserole for the last 20 minutes
• Cowboy caviar — the bean, corn and lime salad picks up the Rotel flavor perfectly
• High protein chia pudding — today’s other new recipe — make it while the casserole bakes and tomorrow’s breakfast is done

Just in case you have leftovers.

Storing: Cool completely and refrigerate, covered, for up to 4 days. For the freezer, portion into containers or wrap the whole dish tightly and freeze up to 3 months.

Reheating: Cover with foil and warm in a 350°F oven for 20 minutes, or microwave a single square for 90 seconds to 2 minutes with a spoonful of milk or broth stirred in so the sauce loosens back up. Frozen portions go straight into the microwave, 3 to 4 minutes with a stir halfway.

More easy comfort food recipes...

Baked spaghetti Chicken bacon ranch casserole Cheesy chicken enchilada casserole Chicken broccoli rice casserole

Also new today: high protein chia pudding — Greek yogurt and vanilla protein powder turn the viral breakfast into 24g of protein a jar, 5 minutes of work the night before.

More cozy dinners that feed the whole table

If one-dish comfort food with real protein numbers is how you like to cook, the Ultimate Slow Cooker Mediterranean Diet Cookbook is full of the same kind of hands-off, feed-everyone dinners.

Get the cookbook on Amazon

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