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Healthy Chicken Bolognese comes together quickly and will leave you feeling satisfied. This comforting meal pairs spaghetti noodles with a rich sauce made with tomatoes, herbs, spices and ground chicken. In less than 40 minutes, you will serve your family an incredible spaghetti sauce with chicken that is sure to be a real crowd-pleaser.
This hearty red sauce is delicious and filling. Ground chicken bolognese is satisfying as a weeknight meal but easy enough to prepare for guests. Chicken spaghetti bolognese has authentic Italian flavor but is made with a healthier alternative to red meat.
If you love chicken and pasta, try my White Chicken Lasagna Soup, Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll Ups, or Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Stroganoff.
Why You’ll Love This Pasta Bolognese Recipe
- It’s healthier than traditional bolognese. Swapping ground beef for ground chicken makes this recipe leaner and lower in cholesterol.
- It’s got loads of flavor. Thanks to a blend of herbs and spices and a combination of crushed tomatoes and tomato paste, this sauce has a full-bodied flavor and tastes like it’s been slowly simmered for hours.
- It’s perfect for making ahead. This sauce reheats beautifully. The flavors may even be better on the second day, so it’s ideal for making ahead for an easy meal or serving guests.
Chicken Bolognese Ingredients
- Olive Oil: or your favorite light, neutral-flavored oil.
- Aromatics: freshly minced garlic and chopped yellow onion add a deep, earthy flavor.
- Chicken: use lean ground chicken in place of the traditional ground beef.
- Broth: chicken broth
- Tomatoes: combine tomato paste and crushed tomatoes to thicken the sauce and provide classic tomato flavor.
- Herbs: bay leaves, fresh thyme, dried oregano, salt and pepper add depth of flavor to the sauce.
- Worcestershire sauce: adds savoriness to the sauce. Soy sauce is a great substitute if you don’t have any on hand.
- Brown Sugar: adds a touch of sweetness and helps to balance the acidity of the tomatoes. Feel free to omit the sugar if desired.
- Pasta: cook 1 pound of dried spaghetti (or your favorite pasta noodle) according to the package directions.
- Grated Parmesan Cheese: top with freshly grated parmesan for a nutty and slightly salty flavor.
- Basil: to garnish
How To Make Chicken Spaghetti Bolognese
- Sauté the aromatics. Heat a Dutch oven with oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion; sauté for 4-5 minutes until the onions turn translucent.
- Cook the chicken. Add the ground chicken, break it up and cook for 3-5 minutes until the chicken releases the moisture.
- Prepare the sauce. Stir in the chicken broth, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, oregano, black pepper and salt. Bring it to a simmer and cook for 12-15 minutes until everything comes together and the sauce thickens a bit. Cover and keep the sauce aside.
- Prepare the pasta. Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions.
- Combine and serve. To a wide pan, add the cooked spaghetti and toss them with the prepared sauce and a splash of pasta water (if the pasta looks dry). Once Everything comes together, transfer the spaghetti to a serving bowl and top with some extra sauce. Garnish with grated parmesan cheese and basil and serve.
Tips To Make Spaghetti Bolognese with Ground Chicken
- Bulk up the sauce by adding more veggies, including carrots, celery or mushrooms.
- Swap the spaghetti for your favorite pasta noodles, including whole wheat or gluten free pasta.
- For a rich finish, add a splash of heavy cream to the sauce just before serving.
- Reserve a bit of the pasta water to add to the sauce if it’s too thick.
- Try fire roasted tomatoes for a smoky flavor.
- Add crushed red pepper to give the sauce a bit of heat.
- You can also use ground turkey instead of ground chicken.
- Choose ground chicken that has a mixture of breast and thigh meat for more moisture rather than just ground chicken breast.
- You can make this with leftover shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken. Skip the step of browning the meat and add the shredded chicken to the sauce ingredients.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bolognese sauce is, simply put, a hearty meat and tomato sauce. This rich red sauce is traditionally made with beef, but we’re swapping it with ground chicken for a healthier chicken spaghetti Bolognese. Using ground chicken is leaner but just as flavorful thanks to the addition of garlic, onions and a variety of seasonings.
Yes! This spaghetti sauce with chicken can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. The flavors will get better with time, so it’s the perfect make ahead meal. Simply reheat and serve over fresh pasta when ready.
I always have spaghetti noodles on hand, so they are my go-to for various pasta recipes, but this hearty sauce pairs beautifully with all kinds of noodles. Another favorite is tagliatelle, but ziti and rigatoni work well, too. This sauce is also perfect for layered pasta like lasagna.
Cool the sauce and store it in a covered container for up to 4 days. To reheat, warm in a saucepan over medium heat, occasionally stirring until heated through. Pour over fresh pasta.
To freeze, we recommend freezing the sauce only. Cool completely and store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until heated through. Serve with fresh pasta.
Serve this pasta with a fresh green salad, Mozzarella Caprese Salad Recipe, Brussels Sprouts Salad and lots of Homemade Roasted Garlic Bread.
More Pasta Recipes
- Pasta a la Puttanesca
- Easy Baked Spaghetti Pasta
- Garlic Parmesan Shrimp Spaghetti
- Baked Eggplant Pasta
- Chicken Scampi Pasta
I hope you enjoy all the recipes I share with you, including this delicious Chicken Spaghetti Bolognese recipe. I hope you try it, enjoy it, rate it, and share it with your friends and family!
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Chicken Spaghetti Bolognese
Ingredients
For the Bolognese sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 lb ground chicken
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
- 2 pieces bay leaves, dried
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp dried Oregano
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
For the spaghetti
- 1 lb dried spaghetti
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese, to serve
- Water, to cook spaghetti
- Basil, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Heat a dutch oven with oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion; saute for 4-5 minutes until the onions turn translucent.
- Add the ground chicken, break it up and cook for 3-5 minutes until the chicken releases the moisture.
- Stir in the chicken broth, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, oregano, black pepper and salt. Bring it to a simmer and cook for 12-15 minutes until everything comes together and the sauce thickens a bit. Cover and keep the sauce aside.
- Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions.
- To a wide pan, add the cooked spaghetti and toss them with the prepared sauce and a splash of pasta water (if the pasta looks dry).
- Once Everything comes together, transfer the spaghetti to a serving bowl and top with some extra sauce. Garnish with grated parmesan cheese and basil and serve.
Notes
- Bulk up the sauce by adding more veggies, including carrots, celery or mushrooms.
- Swap the spaghetti for your favorite pasta noodles, including whole wheat or gluten free pasta.
- For a rich finish, add a splash of heavy cream to the sauce just before serving.
- Reserve a bit of the pasta water to add to the sauce if it’s too thick.
- Try fire roasted tomatoes for a smoky flavor.
- Add crushed red pepper to give the sauce a bit of heat.
- You can also use ground turkey instead of ground chicken.
- Choose ground chicken that has a mixture of breast and thigh meat for more moisture rather than just ground chicken breast.
- You can make this with leftover shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken. Skip the step of browning the meat and add the shredded chicken to the sauce ingredients.
