About once a week I put my foot down and I tell Eric, “YOU ARE TAKING CARE OF MISS PEPPER! I AM LIVING IN THE KITCHEN TODAY.” Normally, he argues with me a little because well, he’s a man. (Sorry, Babe. I know you’ll be reading this probably later tonight!)
I’m pretty sure he will forget that I called him out after I make something else to eat, so oh well.
Anyway- like I was saying, about once a week I dedicate a good portion of my day to the kitchen. I test out new recipes, I tweak old ones, I sing along to some Miranda. It’s really a perfect day.
Every hour or so food magically appears on the dining room table and Eric walks in like, “whoa, when can I eat this?” and I normally make him wait until it is cold and after I take some photos. I’m the worst!
But, he is the most honest with me when it comes to my recipes. Sometimes a little too honest. He’s quite the food critic these days. (hahaha!) Before I actually post a recipe It normally goes through a chain of people. Myself, Eric, and My mom. If we all agree that it is fabulous, then I tell you all that it is fabulous. We build a lovely relationship of trust, and you continue making my recipes, and my heart is happy!
It’s really a wonderful thing!
Okay, now that you know all of that. I will introduce you to one of my latest kitchen creations. Tex Mex Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti. I love me some Tex Mex! I normally don’t make it because it’s something I tend to get when we go out for dinner, but doing this blog now is helping me break out of my little cooking shell.
I still won’t put mushrooms in anything, don’t ask.
I hope you all enjoy!
-Xo, Star
(Eric is my fork holding model in this picture. I still didn’t let him take a bite.)
Tex Mex Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti
The perfect lightened up blend of creamy, cheesy, and a lil bit spicy spaghetti.
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 medium red or green pepper diced
- 8 ounces spaghetti noodles, dry broken into pieces (I use Ronzoni Smart Taste Thin Spaghetti)
- 2 cups chicken breast (cooked and diced/shredded)
- 1 cup nonfat cottage cheese
- 1 cup chicken broth low sodium, if available
- 1 1/4 cup reduced fat mild cheddar shredded
- 10 ounce can 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken or Celery Soup
- 1 tsp Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4-1/8 tsp cayenne pepper more or less depending on the level of spice you want
- cooking spray
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a 9×13 casserole dish.
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Put a large pot of salted water on, and boil the spaghetti noodles according to package instructions. Drain noodles.
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Spray a skillet with cooking spray and cook onions, garlic, and green pepper until soft.
In a large bowl add cottage cheese, ½ cup of the shredded cheese, chicken broth, cream of chicken/celery soup, cumin, cayenne pepper, seasoned salt, sauteed veggies, and chicken. Mix together well.
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In the casserole dish add the noodles and chicken mixture. Stir until all mixed together and spread evenly into the casserole dish.
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Top with the remaining cheese, cover with tin foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Cut into six servings. Enjoy!
I made this tonight I used cream of mushroom soup it’s what I had doubled the Recipe, had lots of people the all loved it! Used 4 cloves of garlic instead of 6 for doubled it was yummy
I didn’t have cottage cheese so I used half ff Greer yogurt and half Skim mozzarella to replace it. Worked like a charm! Family loved it!
Delicious!! Perfectly creamy and cheesy with just the right amount of kick! Followed recipe to the tee and was amazing. Will be in our regular rotation for sure. Thank you, Star, for sharing your talents! We’ve loved everything we’ve made and still have a bunch of others to try. ❤️
I love reading your emails and seeing all the recipes. I am limited on sodium so I will need to calculate before I try it. Do you know the sodium content on this one? Thanks for all you do!!!
I love reading your blog and seeing all the recipes. I am limited on sodium so I will need to calculate before I try it. Do you know the sodium content on this one? Thanks for all you do!!!
I have loved literally everything I’ve made from theskinnyishdish. So full of flavor, normal ingredients that I’ve heard of & never too time intensive for real life. 🙂
(Instagram handle is emmarosebunton for the giveaway- thank you, Star!!)
thank you so much =)
This is one of my favorite recipes from Star. It used to have a packet of taco seasoning, so I use that instead (sorry Star if I’m getting it confused with something else!) I literally crave this recipe and have contemplated divorce when my husband eats leftovers before I get a chance.
So so good! My picky eaters gobbled it up and I made it for extended fam who loved it…. a repeat for sure!
This is mine and my family’s favourite recipe!! So so good, I make it almost every week! (Instagram: justaskforbrandy)
This is so delicious and easy to make! It’s a healthy comfort food and low in points! @angelicavanoveren
This recipe is amazing. Do you think the leftovers would freeze well?
They do!
I made this for dinner tonight. OMG! My favorite recipe of yours so far!!! Creamy with a little kick. My husband enjoyed every bite!
So happy you enjoyed it, AJ!
Another run away amazing dish. Leftovers are great as well. I made it to the exact recipe, and it was fantastic. I may add rotel next time just to mix it up. Toddler and husband approved. My cottage cheese stayed in the curds. I let my husband think it was goat cheese or feta because that’s what he guessed and I just said. Yup, cheese! I will try to bake a little longer next time to see if these go away. I was pressed for time. But taste was a 10/10
So happy you enjoyed this!! Thanks for taking time to come back and let me know! I appreciate it so much. I think it depends on the brand of cottage cheese to be honest because it’s happened to me once or twice but then other times it “melts” into the sauce just perfectly. You can also blend it with a immersion blender or in a blender! I don’t take the extra step personally, but it would work.
Loved this! Easy to come together. Used Rotel as suggested by other users and chickpea pasta. Incredibly filling and very well seasoned. Would totally make again.
This was delicious! I am eating leftovers as we speak and they are great too! I subbed a can of rotel as others had suggested and also added some pickled jalapeño slices as well for a little extra kick. So so good! My husband loved it too. I will be making it again soon.
Made this last night and it was ohhhh sooo good!!! This will definitely be added to my rotation! Thank you for such a great recipe!
So I had to take the time and review this recipe right after I ate it for lunch left overs. This is SO GOOD! I of course put my little spin on it because that is what I do! I used Rotel instead of peppers (was suggested in reviews) as my husband doesn’t like them. Also my go to veg bulk up for recipes is shredded yellow squash so I cooked 1 cup of them in with the noodles. Didn’t even notice they were in recipe. My accidental change was going to the pantry and only had low fat cream of mushroom soup instead of cream of chicken. I did add some almond milk and I did not cover the whole time. I was worried this would not be cheesy/creamy enough. I have thrown away so many homemade Mac and cheese dishes that I have cut the corner on. This recipe however checked all the boxes! Is going in regular rotation. Also serving size is big . Love your recipes!
Would this be good with healthy request cheddar cheese soup?
I bet it would be pretty good!
Making this tonight – but when I put the nutritional info in the meal calculator it comes out to 10 points. Any reason why?
Hi Veronica! The nutritional information is meant for those who are not doing WW which basically means the nutritional info includes the ingredients that WW considers zero points.
This is heaven for a carb lover! Felt like such a cheat meal. I made it with chickpea pasta to bring the points down and added a can of Rotel for a little more kick. BUT OMG this was amazing. Definitely one to add to the rotation. A total of 3 SP on purple made this way!!!
I made this for the first and was NOT disappointed! I’m going to try it using Rotel next time. My husband is not a fan of bell peppers. Another Skinnish Dish recipe for the home run!
I promise to make it as suggested next time! It was my plan, but my husband said, “Please no more chicken this week!” So I remembered a favorite casserole of his called Ham Cheese Noodle and I modified this to make it Tex Mex Ham Cheese Noodle. I subbed 12 oz. cubed ham for the chicken, used whole wheat spaghetti to offset the extra points, and used Cream of Celery soup. It’s 5 points on Purple. Omitted salt as the ham provided plenty. He LOVED it–putting it into the rotation and will try it with chicken next time. These comfort food recipes are just what January needs–thank you!
I made this over the weekend and my fiance said it is his new favorite thing I’ve ever made!! I ended up adding the can of Rotel and it was delicious. Thank you so much for making such yummy recipes that don’t break the calorie bank.
So happy you and your fiancé enjoyed!! I bet it was delicious with the Rotel!
Could this be made in an instapot?
I’m sure it can, but I have never tried so I don’t have the measurements or time for you at this point. I will try to test it out soon!
I’m even embarrassed to ask but do you think this could work with spaghetti squash rather than the pasta?
Hi Melissa! Don’t be embarrassed. I’m honestly not sure because I haven’t tried it before with squash. I’m not sure I would love this particular dish with spaghetti squash, but if you love spaghetti squash. It just might be delish! Let me know if you give it a go.
I tried it tonight’s and WOW!!! I can only imagine how amazing this would be with actual pasta because it rocked my socks with the squash!!! One thing I did, which I think probably ended up being a happy accident, was forgetting to I put in the chicken broth. Completely forgot. The spaghetti squash has a lot of moisture though, which I was concerned about but it worked fine, since I forgot the broth. I’m sure the broth would of added even more flavor but despite my intentional and accidental alterations, it was amazing!!! I even had your zero point spaghetti sauce for lunch. You are a gem!!! Thank you!!!
Do you think this would be good with a drained can of Rotel added? Also, sorry if this is a double comment. I couldn’t tell if it worked or not.
It should work just fine!
Do you think this would be good with a drained can of Rotel added?
Hi. Could I use lean ground chicken instead of shredded chicken? Or would the texture be weird?
I think it should be okay!
Hi Star. Would part skim ricotta cheese be an acceptable substitute for the fat free cottage cheese?
Hi Star. Would part skim ricotta cheese be an acceptable substitute for the fat free cottage cheese?
Did the smart points change with freestyle?
I’ll check! I haven’t gotten through all the recipes yet unfortunately!
It’s 7 Freestyle Points now. =)
Did the smart points change with freestyle?
I’ll check! I haven’t gotten through all the recipes yet unfortunately!
It’s 7 Freestyle Points now. =)
I just found your site and this was the first recipe I tried. It came out fabulous- my super picky husband also loved it. I can’t wait to try some of the others!
So glad that I read the previous comment about the cottage cheese. I can’t stand it usually but I really couldn’t taste it here.
So happy you took the chance on cottage cheese and that you liked it! It really does disappear which I am very thankful for! I hope you enjoy whatever you decide to try next.
I just found your site and this was the first recipe I tried. It came out fabulous- my super picky husband also loved it. I can’t wait to try some of the others!
So glad that I read the previous comment about the cottage cheese. I can’t stand it usually but I really couldn’t taste it here.
So happy you took the chance on cottage cheese and that you liked it! It really does disappear which I am very thankful for! I hope you enjoy whatever you decide to try next.
Hi there what size casserole dish do you use?
9×13/3 quart
Hi there what size casserole dish do you use?
9×13/3 quart
Hello Mrs. Star, i was wondering if you could suggest a substitute for cottage cheese on your Tex mex cheesy chicken spaghetti. Thank you for your time!
Hi Brooke! I wish I could suggest an alternative. The cottage cheese keeps it lower in points, but adds immense amounts of creaminess. You could try a bit of sour cream instead or extra cheese, but if you are following weight watchers or counting calories they would more than likely change. If you are by any chance a cottage cheese hater and fear using it because of your distaste. I promise you, I am a cottage cheese hater! You don’t taste it. It took me a long time to try it out after hearing so many people use it in different casseroles, and I am so happy I ended up trying it. You do not taste it. I hope this helps! Let me know how it goes if you make it differently or decide to use the cottage cheese!
Hello Mrs. Star, i was wondering if you could suggest a substitute for cottage cheese on your Tex mex cheesy chicken spaghetti. Thank you for your time!
Hi Brooke! I wish I could suggest an alternative. The cottage cheese keeps it lower in points, but adds immense amounts of creaminess. You could try a bit of sour cream instead or extra cheese, but if you are following weight watchers or counting calories they would more than likely change. If you are by any chance a cottage cheese hater and fear using it because of your distaste. I promise you, I am a cottage cheese hater! You don’t taste it. It took me a long time to try it out after hearing so many people use it in different casseroles, and I am so happy I ended up trying it. You do not taste it. I hope this helps! Let me know how it goes if you make it differently or decide to use the cottage cheese!
My husband loved this recipe! He loves chicken spaghetti, and is always asking me to make it for him. I had been hesitant because the recipe I used was not weight watcher friendly. This one was perfect and points friendly and it was delicious!
I’m so glad your husband loves this! I used to make a version of Chicken Spaghetti that used almost 1 POUND of colby jack cheese! Sure it’s amazing, but I don’t even want to know the calories that went with it!
My husband loved this recipe! He loves chicken spaghetti, and is always asking me to make it for him. I had been hesitant because the recipe I used was not weight watcher friendly. This one was perfect and points friendly and it was delicious!
I’m so glad your husband loves this! I used to make a version of Chicken Spaghetti that used almost 1 POUND of colby jack cheese! Sure it’s amazing, but I don’t even want to know the calories that went with it!
Love anything Tex mex and this recipe did not disappoint!!
I’m so happy you liked it!
Love anything Tex mex and this recipe did not disappoint!!
I’m so happy you liked it!
Made this tonight and it was uh-mazing! I didn’t have cream of chicken soup so I used cream of mushroom…still fantastic! Thanks for the recipe!
Made this tonight and it was uh-mazing! I didn’t have cream of chicken soup so I used cream of mushroom…still fantastic! Thanks for the recipe!
How many calories does this come out too? thanks 🙂 looks so good!
This is a earlier recipe and I wasn’t adding the nutritional info. I will figure it out and post and get back to you!
How many calories does this come out too? thanks 🙂 looks so good!
This is a earlier recipe and I wasn’t adding the nutritional info. I will figure it out and post and get back to you!
What’s the nutrition facts? I do points plus. This looks delicious!
I’m going to get the nutrition facts up tonight!
What’s the nutrition facts? I do points plus. This looks delicious!
I’m going to get the nutrition facts up tonight!