My family loves pasta so I am always looking for new ways to use it in different flavor profiles. I had been craving some spinach so I was trying to come up with an interesting flavor combo to use with that. Pepper jack cheese is always yummy with chicken and spinach so that took me down the road to Baked Chicken Monterrey Spaghetti. So simple to put together but so full of flavor.

It is really important that you do not cook the pasta all the way through in the boiling water. If you do, it will end up mushy by the time you pull it out of the oven. By only par boiling it, you let it finish cooking in the sauce which adds more flavor to the pasta and lets it stay al dente.
If you don’t have a deep dish lasagna pan, you can divided this up into 2 regular baking dishes (probably one 13×9 and one 9×9). You will also want to reduce the cook time to 30 minutes, since you don’t have the same depth to get through. Another bonus of using the aluminum pans is that clean up is a breeze – so whoever is on dish duty that night is going to be very thankful!
Now Let’s Get Cookin’!
Baked Chicken Monterrey Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1½ lb Chicken Thighs, boneless, skinless cubed into ½-inch pieces
- 1½ lb Spaghetti
- 16 oz Sour Cream
- 2 cups Chicken Broth
- 2 cups Spinach rough chopped
- 2 lb Pepper Jack cheese shredded, divided
- 4 oz French Fried Onions divided
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- 4 Garlic Cloves minced
Instructions
- Start water boiling for Pasta. Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a large bowl, combine chicken, spinach, sour cream, chicken broth, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, half of cheese, and half of onions,
- Add pasta to boiling water and cook for half of cook time listed on package (should be limp but not cooked through). Drain in colander and add to deep dish lasagna pan (at least 13x9x2.5).
- Add chicken mixture to pasta and stir to combine. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and onions. Bake in oven for 40 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Estelle Forrest’s self-published first cookbook – Homemade on a Weeknight: A Family Cookbook – was created after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
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Estelle self-published a second cookbook – Burgers on a Weeknight – recently. It has over 60 delicious burger creations! You can purchase your own copy here:
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Yum. I’m dreaming of this right now.
Thanks so much for linking up at the Unlimited Link Party 61. Pinned!
Ooh! This sounds so good too!! Pinned.
New pasta recipes are always needed around my house as well. Pinned and thanks for sharing this week. #HomeMattersParty
Thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with us on Full Plate Thursday 563, we featured it! Hope you have a great Thanksgiving and hope to see you soon!
Miz Helen