Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better than Arkansas Chicken Spaghetti, I make a few adjustments trying to clean out my pantry and now we have CHEESY CHICKEN RIGATONI, a new go-to weeknight dinner and easy meal to freeze or take when you have a friend who needs a meal. I’m telling you, you will think I’m crazy, but this is even better than Chicken Spaghetti and that’s saying something!
This summer, my husband had some work friends over and had only one request…can we have Chicken Spaghetti. Now, I know that one of the families LOVES my Arkansas Chicken Spaghetti so it was an easy yes to make a meal I knew my guests would love.
But this was the middle of summer and I watching my food budget and trying to use up things I already had in my pantry. But, the substitutes changed everything.
- Instead of Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chilies), I used Italian-style diced tomatoes
- Instead of angel hair pasta, I used Rigatoni
So, I introduce Cheesy Chicken Rigatoni. I will be a new go to when I’m taking a meal to a friend or feeding a feast to my family. Let me know if you try it and what you think about the adjustments.
Cheesy Chicken Rigatoni
Ingredients
- 4-5 chicken breasts fresh or frozen
- 2 cups water
- 2 lb block 2% Velveeta
- 1 can Italian-style diced tomatoes
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- ½ onion or 1 cup frozen seasoning blend
- ½ cup chicken broth from cooking meat
- 1 lb dry Rigatoni noodles
- 1 cup grated cheddar or blended cheese
Instructions
- Place chicken in a crockpot.
- Add water and salt and pepper for flavoring.
- Cover and cook for 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on high.
To make sauce and and assemble casserole
- Take chicken breasts out of the crockpot to cool for cutting.
- Save the chicken broth to use later.
- Finely dice and saute onions until translucent, in a dutch oven.
- Cut up Velveeta into cubes and add to onions once cooked.
- Stir in tomatoes, and soup.
- Stir all together, watching cheese sauce so it doesn’t burn.
- Meanwhile, boil the rigatoni noodles in salted water or chicken broth.
- Cut up chicken into cubes or shred.
- Add chicken and 1/2 – 1 cup chicken broth to the sauce.
- Stir together.
- Drain noodles and add to the cheese sauce.
- Gently stir everything together.
- Pour into casserole dish.
- Sprinkle cheese across top.
- Cover with foil.
- Bake for 20 minutes, at 350, then remove foil and cook for 10 more minutes. – or – Store in refrigerator or freezer.
- If cooking from cold, cook for 30 minutes with foil on, and then remove the foil and cook for 15 minutes.
Enjoy with a caesar salad and garlic bread. But be prepared for there to not be many leftovers.
I love this meal. It’s so easy and everyone is always happy. I also love to double this when I make it and then I have a meal ready to take to a friend or put the second batch in the freezer and dinner is already cooked for a coming week. I know…I’m a genius! Cook once, eat twice!
