Easy Pasta Recipe Chicken Spaghetti In A Creamy Bechamel Sauce

This easy pasta recipe is great for dinner and can be whipped up very quickly. The chicken for this recipe can be made beforehand and refrigerated until use. However, it is nicer to make the spaghetti and bechamel sauce at the actual time of cooking and not have it prepared earlier.

This bechamel sauce was adapted from a recipe at Delia Online.

Easy Pasta Recipe: Chicken Spaghetti in a Creamy Bechamel Sauce

Ingredients for the Spicy Chicken:

2 chicken breasts, chopped into small pieces
5 closed cap mushrooms, finely chopped
1 capsicum, finely sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon chilli powder
Salt to taste
2 tablespoon sunflower oil (or any that you prefer)

Directions for the Spicy Chicken:

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan.
2. Add the onions and stir for five minutes or until soft and translucent.
3. Add the garlic and give it a good mix for a minute.
4. Slide in the capsicum and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms just start changing colour (around 3 minutes)
5. Add the chilli powder and give it a good mix.
6. Lower the heat to its lowest setting. Add the chicken and salt and stir until the chicken is cooked. It should lose its pinkish colour and be tender. It usually takes around 5-6 minutes.
7. Set aside until ready to use in spaghetti.

Ingredients for Béchamel Sauce:

15 fluid ounces (425 ml) milk
1 1/2 ounces (40 grams) butter
3/4 ounce (20 grams) plain flour
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder (or to taste)
6-7 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese (or to taste)

Directions for Bechamel Sauce:

1. Melt the butter over a low heat.
2. As soon as the butter melts, add the flour and stir very vigorously using a wooden spoon. Keep doing this until you get a paste that is free of clumps.
3. Now add very little of the milk and stir again very vigorously.
4. When this milk is incorporated, add the next small amount of milk and stir again briskly before you add the next bit.
5. When you’ve used about half the amount of milk, you can start adding large amounts of milk. Always keep stirring vigorously.
6. Make sure heat is at its lowest setting and let the sauce cook for 7-8 minutes or until it becomes thick. Don’t forget to stir and don’t let it boil over.
7. Add salt, pepper, parmesan and chilli powder while it’s cooking.
8. Take off heat.

Ingredients for Spaghetti:

Enough water to fill 3/4 of the pot that you’ll be using to boil the spaghetti
9 ounces (250 grams) spaghetti
1 teaspoon of salt

Directions for Spaghetti:

1. Add the water to the pot and let it come to a boil
2. Sprinkle the salt in and stir.
3. Add the spaghetti in to the pot. Do not break even if it’s too large for the pot. It’ll get flexible soon enough and can be dunked entirely into the pot then.
4. Let it boil for 8-10 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
5. Test to see if the spaghetti is ready. Take a small piece and bite into it. It should not crack but be firm to the bite.
6. Strain the spaghetti in a colander and set aside until ready to use.

Chicken Spaghetti in a Creamy Bechamel Sauce Assembly

1. Heat a little oil in a large pot and add the spaghetti. Toss the pasta and coat it in the oil.
2. If the béchamel sauce and chicken have gotten cold, heat them. Add the chicken to the sauce and mix.
3. Pour the sauce over the spaghetti and lightly toss to evenly spread. And it’s ready to serve!

Serving Suggestion

The best thing to have with this pasta dish is a good crusty bread. A garlic bread would be great with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip.

You can also serve the spaghetti separately and just spoon the sauce (with chicken) on top, instead of mixing it all up.