Cheesy Chicken Rotel Casserole is the Velveeta-and-Rotel chicken spaghetti that turns up at potlucks and busy weeknights alike: tender poached chicken and spaghetti folded into a smooth, spicy cheese sauce made with Rotel, cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups, then topped with cheddar and baked until bubbly. One 9×13 pan serves 12.
How to make it: Poach the chicken, shred it, and cook the spaghetti in the same water. Melt the Velveeta with the Rotel, soups and seasonings in the empty pot, fold in the chicken and pasta, loosen it with milk and pasta water, top with cheddar and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.
Why You’ll Love It
- Feeds a crowd: a full pound of spaghetti and 2 pounds of chicken make 12 servings.
- One pot on the stove: the chicken, the pasta and the sauce all use the same pot.
- Creamy with a kick: Velveeta and Rotel with hot sauce and chili powder.
- Freezer friendly: bake one pan now and freeze another for later.
Ingredient Notes
Chicken breasts: Two pounds of boneless, skinless breasts, cut into strips and poached. Shredded rotisserie chicken works too.
Spaghetti: One 16-ounce box, cooked just to al dente in the chicken’s cooking water.
Rotel: One 10-ounce can of diced tomatoes with green chilies, juices and all.
Two soups: One can each of condensed cream of chicken soup and cream of mushroom soup. You can use two of either.
Velveeta: A 1-pound block, cubed so it melts evenly into the sauce.
Seasoning: Two tablespoons of hot sauce with onion powder and chili powder.
Milk and pasta water: A quarter cup of milk and 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water loosen the sauce before it bakes.
Cheddar: One and a half cups, shredded, for the top.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips for cooking
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 16 ounces spaghetti, dry
- 10 ounces Rotel tomatoes (diced tomatoes with green chilies), undrained
- 10.5 ounces condensed cream of chicken soup (1 can)
- 10.5 ounces condensed cream of mushroom soup (1 can)
- 1 pound Velveeta, cubed
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 cup milk, more as needed
- 1 1/2 cups reserved pasta water
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
How to Make Chicken Rotel Casserole
1. Heat the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
2. Poach the chicken. In a large pot, add 3 quarts of water with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the chicken and bring it to a very low boil over medium-high heat. Cook gently until the chicken is no longer pink in the center (165°F). Remove it, let it cool and shred it with two forks.
3. Cook the pasta. Bring the cooking water to a boil, add the spaghetti and cook to al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain, keeping about 2 cups of the pasta water.
4. Make the cheese sauce. Turn the heat to low. In the same pot, combine the Rotel, both soups, Velveeta, hot sauce, onion powder and chili powder, and cook and stir until smooth.
5. Combine. Take the pot off the heat and fold in the chicken and spaghetti. Add the milk and 1 1/2 cups of the reserved pasta water, more as needed.
6. Bake. Spread the mixture in the baking dish, sprinkle the cheddar over the top and bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly and the center reaches 165°F. Serve hot.
How to Keep a Rotel Chicken Casserole Creamy, Not Dry
This recipe keeps the sauce loose in three ways.
Save the pasta water. Before you drain the spaghetti, scoop out about 2 cups of the cooking water. It is already seasoned from the chicken, and it is what you use to loosen the sauce.
Loosen the sauce before it bakes. Once the chicken and spaghetti are folded into the Velveeta sauce, stir in the 1/4 cup of milk and 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water. If it still looks thick, add a little more milk or pasta water.
Cook the pasta just to al dente. About 9 minutes, then drain it.
The rest is simple. The chicken poaches gently at a very low boil until it is no longer pink, the spaghetti cooks in that same water, and the sauce melts together in the drained pot over low heat, so there is only one pot to wash before the casserole goes in the oven.
Rotel and Velveeta, or cream cheese? Velveeta makes the smooth sauce here. For a cream cheese version, soften 8 ounces of cream cheese in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes, stir it into three cans of Rotel with chicken base and garlic powder, then toss it with the chicken, spaghetti and 8 ounces of sharp cheddar and top it with crushed Ritz crackers before baking.
Tips for Success
Can I use rotisserie chicken?
Yes. Skip the poaching and use about 5 cups of shredded rotisserie or leftover chicken. Cook the spaghetti in salted water instead.
Is it spicy?
The heat comes from the green chilies, hot sauce and chili powder. For a milder pan, use less hot sauce.
Which soups can I use?
The chicken and mushroom pair is used here, but two cans of either works, and cheddar cheese soup can stand in for one of them.
Variations
- Rotel chicken and rice bake: cook 1 1/2 cups of rice, then mix it in a casserole dish with 1 cup of chicken broth, a can of Rotel, 4 boneless chicken breasts cut into cubes and most of 1 cup of Mexican-blend cheese. Top with the rest of the cheese and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
- King Ranch style: sauté peppers and onions for 3 to 5 minutes, mix them with two cans of cream soup, Rotel, chicken and torn tortillas, layer it in the dish and bake uncovered until hot and bubbly. Rest it 10 minutes before serving.
- Tortilla-chip bake: line the dish with tortilla chips, spread shredded chicken mixed with the two cream soups, 1 cup of sour cream and Rotel over them, top with 2 cups of cheddar and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.
Storage & Reheating
USDA FSIS says to refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers and eat them within 3 to 4 days, or freeze them for 3 to 4 months. To freeze a pan for later, divide the mixture between two smaller baking dishes before baking, bake one and freeze the other. Thaw the frozen dish in the refrigerator for several hours, then bake it until heated through to 165°F in the center.
What to Serve With It
It is a full dinner in one dish; a green salad on the side is plenty. For the slow cooker cousin, try creamy crockpot chicken spaghetti. For more spaghetti bakes, there’s million dollar spaghetti casserole and one-pot taco spaghetti. More chicken casseroles: Ritz cracker chicken casserole and easy chicken burrito casserole. And if you like Rotel, Rotel cream cheese sausage balls make a good party snack.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I make a chicken casserole with Rotel and Velveeta?
Melt cubed Velveeta with a can of Rotel, the two cream soups, hot sauce and spices, fold in shredded chicken and cooked spaghetti, loosen it with milk and pasta water, top with cheddar and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.
Can you give me a recipe for chicken with Rotel and cream cheese?
Yes. The cream cheese version above melts 8 ounces of cream cheese into three cans of Rotel with chicken base, then bakes with chicken, spaghetti and sharp cheddar under crushed Ritz crackers.
What is a 5 ingredient chicken casserole?
The Rotel chicken and rice bake in the variations has just five: rice, chicken broth, Rotel, Mexican-blend cheese and chicken breasts.
Can I make chicken Rotel casserole ahead?
Yes. Assemble it in two smaller dishes, bake one, and freeze the other. Thaw it in the refrigerator before baking.
Final Notes
Save the pasta water, keep the mixture saucy before it bakes, and let the cheddar get bubbly on top. If you have a question or make this, tell me how it turned out in the comments.
Cheesy Chicken Rotel Casserole
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips for cooking
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 16 ounces spaghetti dry
- 10 ounces Rotel tomatoes diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
- 10.5 ounces condensed cream of chicken soup 1 can
- 10.5 ounces condensed cream of mushroom soup 1 can
- 1 pound Velveeta cubed
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 cup milk more as needed
- 1 1/2 cups reserved pasta water
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- In a large pot, add 3 quarts of water with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the chicken and bring it to a very low boil over medium-high heat. Cook gently until the chicken is no longer pink in the center (165°F). Remove it, let it cool and shred it with two forks.
- Bring the cooking water to a boil, add the spaghetti and cook to al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain, keeping about 2 cups of the pasta water.
- Turn the heat to low. In the same pot, combine the Rotel, both soups, Velveeta, hot sauce, onion powder and chili powder, and cook and stir until smooth.
- Take the pot off the heat and fold in the chicken and spaghetti. Add the milk and 1 1/2 cups of the reserved pasta water, more as needed.
- Spread the mixture in the baking dish, sprinkle the cheddar over the top and bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly and the center reaches 165°F. Serve hot.
