Weight Watchers Recipe of the Day: Pioneer Woman Chicken Spaghetti Made Lighter and Easier
I love taking my favorite "comfort food" recipes and making them lighter and more Weight Watchers friendly.
Staying on plan is so much easier when you make foods the entire family will enjoy - Weight Watchers Family Meals (affiliate link)!
Pioneer Woman Chicken Spaghetti Made Lighter
This dish for chicken spaghetti from The Pioneer Woman is a great example.
As Ree says, "Everyone loves this dish and I know you will too!"
Here's a Food Network video of Ree whipping up her version of chicken spaghetti casserole...
Recipe Notes
I'm a lazier cook than Ree. She starts by cooking chicken to make her casserole. I tend to wait till I have leftover chicken available before making my version.
Here's what I did to make my chicken spaghetti lighter, healthier and more Weight Watchers friendly...
- Made a smaller batch
- Used more chicken breast and less spaghetti
- Used Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Chicken Soup
- Substituted reduced fat cheddar cheese and used less
I also substituted chopped roasted red bell pepper for the pimentos and sliced green onion for onion to work with what I had in the pantry/fridge.
And I skipped the green bell pepper out of personal preference.
I love the versatility of comfort food casseroles like this. You can change them up to suit your needs and what you have on hand.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Chicken Spaghetti Casserole?
According to my calculations, each serving has about 382 calories and:
8 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
7 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
7 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
8 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
Recipe Variations
No spaghetti?
Substitute with your favorite pasta.
No cream of chicken soup?
Substitute cream of mushroom or celery or lowfat sour cream or nonfat Greek yogurt.
No cheddar cheese?
Substitute whatever cheese you have on hand.
More vegetables?
I think the addition of chopped cooked mushrooms, cauliflower and corn could all work.
If you like this recipe for lighter pasta be sure to check out: Slow Cooker Spaghetti Frittata, Light & Healthy Creamy One Pot Pasta, Skinny Pasta wit Broccoli & Chicken, Creamy Slow Cooker Bacon Ranch Chicken Pasta, The Pioneer Woman Lightens Up with Low Carb Recipes
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The Pioneer Woman Chicken Spaghetti Made Lighter
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chopped chicken breast
- 1-½ cups dry spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces and cooked until al dente
- 1 can low fat cream of chicken soup (I used Campbell's Healthy Request)
- 1-½ cups shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese (divided)
- ¼ cup thinly sliced green onion
- ¼ cup finely chopped roasted red bell pepper (or pimentos)
- 1 cup low fat chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
- In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of the shredded cheese and all other ingredients. Stir together until everything is well mixed.
- Coat a casserole dish (affiliate link) with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place the mixture in the casserole pan and then top with the remaining ½ cup cheese.
- Bake until bubbly, 35 to 45 minutes. (If the cheese on top gets too brown, cover with foil.)
Equipment
Recipe Notes
- No spaghetti? Substitute with your favorite pasta.
- No cream of chicken soup? Substitute cream of mushroom or celery or lowfat sour cream or nonfat Greek yogurt.
- No cheddar cheese? Substitute whatever cheese you have on hand.
- More vegetables? I think the addition of chopped cooked mushrooms, cauliflower and corn could all work.
Source: Adapted from The Pioneer Woman
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
More Weight Watchers Friendly Pasta Recipes
- Mediterranean Pasta with Chicken (Simple-Nourished-Living)
- Turkey Sloppy Joe Pasta (EmilyBites)
- Sausage Pasta with Veggies (Simple-Nourished-Living)
- Pasta with Chicken Sausage & Broccoli (SkinnyTaste)
- Baked Pasta with Zucchini & Cottage Cheese (Simple-Nourished-Living)
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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Teresa
This recipe was delicious and will be going on my monthly rotation of meals to make! Loved it just the way it was written! No changes, no additions!
Martha McKinnon
So happy to hear it!