Chicken Spaghetti Is One of the All-Time Greatest Comfort Foods (2024)

The cast of characters: 1 "Cut Up Fryer" (Basically, one chicken that’s been cut into pieces); Thin Spaghetti, Cream of Mushroom soup; onion; green pepper; pimentos, sharp cheddar cheese, Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper. This is basic stuff, folks!

First, fill a pot with water…

And put it on the stove to boil.

Rinse the chicken thoroughly with cold water…

Piece by piece.

Set the chicken aside, and wash your hands with soap so you won’t get salmonella poisoning.

I’m not really a manic hand washer until I get in the kitchen…and then I’m a freak.

Throw the chicken into the pot…

And bring to a rolling boil. Boil for a few minutes, then turn heat to medium-low and simmer for a good 30-45 minutes.

To dice the green pepper, cut off the top…

Then cut off the bottom…

And yes, I know I’m not a hand model, so quit cracking jokes.

Then rotate it 90 degrees and cut it down the middle.

Remove the seeds and other junk from the inside, then slice into very thin matchsticks.

Quit making fun of my hands, I said. I work hard out here on the ranch!

Rotate the matchsticks 90 degrees, then slice across them to create a fine dice.

To dice the onion finely, cut the onion in half from top to bottom, then lay each half on its side and make several vertical slices.

Then rotate the onion 90 degrees and cut downward to dice.

Drain a 4 oz jar of pimentos.

If they came diced, that’s great. If they came "sliced," just dice them up a bit.

Next, break the thin spaghetti into 2-inch pieces until you have around 2 1/2 to 3 cups. (This looks like more because I threw them in haphazardly, like I do everything else. But if you’re careful and keep the spaghetti nice and packed, it should be around 2 1/2 – 3 cups, uncooked.)

Next, take the cooked chicken pieces out of the pot. Turn heat to high.

Then dip a measuring cup into the pot and retrieve 2 cups of broth. (Don’t burn yourself!)

Now dump the spaghetti pieces into the boiling chicken broth to cook.

Allow the spaghetti to cook for several minutes, until very al dente (or, until it still has a nice "bite" to it.) You do NOT want to overcook the spaghetti, as you’ll be baking the dish again later.

When it’s ready, drain the spaghetti and set aside.

Now for my favorite part: picking the chicken meat off the bones! Make sure the chicken is cool enough to work with, then just start picking away!

It’s kind of like a treasure hunt, seeing how much meat you can find. It’s also a very messy job, but cooking chicken meat this way is a great skill to have. For this recipe, you need 2 cups (packed) of cooked chicken. And hey, I even throw in a few small pieces of skin for flavor. Don’t tell the Surgeon General.

If you have some left over, you can make a little chicken salad tomorrow. Or you can season it with taco seasoning and make chicken tacos or chicken quesadillas or chicken nachos! Or you can just eat it right now because you’re hungry. I won’t judge you.

Note: You can use any cut of chicken you like. I like the whole fryer because it gives you a mixture of dark and light meat, but if you’d like to do just breasts, that would work just fine! Also, if you have cooked chicken from another source (leftovers, etc), that’s fine too; just be sure to add a small amount of canned chicken broth to the water before you boil the spaghetti. (Not too much, though, or the dish will be too salty.)

Now, place the cooked spaghetti into a large mixing bowl.

Add the chicken…

And 2 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup.

Sometimes I like to use Cream of Chicken & Mushroom soup. You can do one of each, or pick one. They both work beautifully.

Now add the diced green pepper, onion, and pimentos…

And 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese. Sometimes I grate my own; sometimes I just use this wonderfully convenient stuff.

Now add 1 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt…

A generous sprinkling of black pepper (fresh ground is great, too)…

And 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper, but only if you like a little spiciness in your food. I add Cayenne because I think it makes the dish a little more interesting, but it’s also good without it. 1/4 teaspoon is good for Marlboro Man, but a little spicy for the kids. 1/8 teaspoon is a good compromise. If you don’t have kids and you like to live dangerously, go ahead and up the quantity all you want.

Now start adding the chicken broth, beginning with 1 cup. Stir it up, then add a little more. You want the mixture to be stirrable, but definitely not soupy. I usually stop just short of using the full two cups.

Stir thoroughly, then take a bite and check your seasonings. Add a little salt if needed, a little more pepper, and maybe a little more Cayenne if you didn’t have enough Chutzpa the first time around. Make sure it’s seasoned enough!

Place mixture into a casserole pan. Any shape will do.

And top with an additional 1 cup of grated sharp cheddar.

Yum, yum! At this point, you can cover it well and freeze it, unbaked. Or you can cover it and refrigerate it, unbaked, for up to two days before baking. Or, if your family is salivating and rending their garments in hunger and agony, go ahead and bake it at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes until hot & bubbly.

And here’s what you’ll have:

This really is one of the all-time greatest "make before" comfort foods. Our cowboys LOVE this dish. Marlboro Man loves this dish. My kids love this dish. Therefore, I love this dish.

I know you will, too!