Chicken Spaghetti Bolognese

Chicken Spaghetti Bolognese is a super quick and easy dinner recipe! Full of flavour using a lighter protein than beef or pork this healthy chicken mince bolognese offers a great change from tradition. Whip up dinner in less than 30 mins for a no fuss minimal effort weeknight dish.

Recipes like the Pork Bolognese, Lamb Bolognese and Turkey Mince Bolognese offer non beef bolognese options.

The Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese, Linguine Bolognese and Macaroni Bolognese offer ground beef bolognese sauces.

🤍 Recipe Highlights

I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the recipe in the points below:

• Economical: mince meats are often cheaper than other cuts of meat and for the remaining ingredients there will be a price range with budget friendly options.
• Family friendly: everyone of all ages loves a spag bol recipe and this chicken spaghetti bolognese is no exception. It will be thoroughly devoured and enjoyed by all!
• Meal preparation: this is the perfect recipe to whip up on the weekend, let cool then transfer to the freezer. Grab it out one morning when you know you have a busy day and delight in the knowledge that dinner will be 'almost ready' when you come home 😁!
• Fast cook time: some night's you need dinner stat. A plan up your sleeve that will get the hungry mouths fed and on the table without ordering in. This chicken mince recipe will be done in 30 mins tops.
• Taste and texture: the sauce is meaty, thick and rich with tomato flavours. You will love twirling your fork in the pasta and delight in the juicy flavour that hasn't set you back hours in the kitchen.
• Various serving options: you have a wide variety of choices when it comes to serving the bolognese sauce. Be it with your favourite cooked pasta, spooned onto toasted flatbreads or use leftovers as the filling for a grilled cheese. The chicken mince bolognese will lend it self to all of these options and more!
• Versatile: you can stick to the recipe as is or add some vegetables to either bulk it up, make it stretch further or add some variety. My substitutions and variations section has some easy ideas for you to consider.

🥗 Ingredients

The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.

As you can see the recipe calls for:

• Chicken mince (ground chicken): economical and always easy to get, this is a great protein to use in recipes.
• Spaghetti: another budget friendly ingredient that it is easy to get your hands on. You can use thin spaghetti, angel hair or bucatini (a long thick tubular pasta with a hole in the centre of the strands).

🍜 Chicken Mince Spaghetti Sauce

• Tomato passata (also known as tomato puree): smooth and rich in tomato flavour. It is an excellent ingredient to form the base of any bolognese sauce.
• Tomato paste: sometimes used as an alternative to pizza sauce, this paste is thick and full of flavour.
• Worcestershire sauce: adds a little oomph to marinades and sauces.
• Dried onion: saving you both time and waterworks, this ingredient allows you to use the onion flavour but not cry your eyes out in the process.
• Italian herbs: a common dried herb combination that you will find in every supermarket from Walmart to Tesco, Aldi, Safeway, Woolies and Coles. This will be found in the herbs and spices section of the supermarket.

Tasty Tip: to garnish the dish freshly cracked black pepper, parmesan cheese and finely chopped parsley are all excellent additions!

🍳 Instructions

Here are the step by step instructions to make the recipe. We start by cooking the chicken mince in a large sauté pan with the olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

• Add oil, garlic, chicken mince, salt and pepper to sauté pan (Photo 1)
• Cook the chicken mince (Photo 2)
• Add the sauce ingredients (Photo 3)
• Simmer for 15 minutes (Photo 4)

👩‍🍳 How to Make Chicken Spaghetti Bolognese

To make the chicken spaghetti, start by gathering all of the ingredients then placing a large sauté pan on the stove. Then add the olive oil, garlic, chicken mince, salt and pepper. The heat needs to be high for this initial cooking step. Brown the mince, stirring as you go to break up any clumps of meat. It will take between 5 to 10 mins for the mince to cook.

It will turn a light white colour during this time. Next add the sauce ingredients, starting with the tomato passata. Then add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, dried onion and dried Italian herbs. Use a wooden spoon to stir and combine these then turn the heat down to low and let the sauce bubble away (simmer) for 15 mins. You don't need a lid for this process but you can put one on if you wish and give the bolognese an occasional stir during this time.

• Cook then drain the spaghetti (Photo 5)

The next step to take is to cook the spaghetti. You can do this in a large sauce pan of salted water following the packet instructions. The cook time will most likely range from 8 to 10 minutes.

Once the pasta is cooked and drained, you are ready to bring everything together and get to serving the dish.

🍽 Serving Suggestions

The Turkish Garlic Bread, Ciabatta Garlic Bread and Garlic Pizza Bread all offer a tasty cheesy garlic side to the dish.

For a light bright salad, the Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad or Healthy Panzanella Salad might be right up your alley.

I always recommend being very liberal and generously garnishing spaghetti with freshly cracked pepper, parmesan cheese and chopped parsley. These additions really add taste and texture finishing the dish in style.

👍 How to Guide

How to Store

Store leftovers in a sealed, air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat prior to consuming.

How to Freeze

Allow the dish to fully cool before portioning into zip lock bags, squeezing the air out and sealing. They can then be thawed prior to use. I often also freeze just the bolognese sauce (meal prepped) and cook fresh pasta when serving as frozen reheated pasta is never as good as freshly cooked al dente pasta!

How to Reheat

You can use either the stove top or the microwave to reheat the dish. The microwave will reheat the fastest however, you may find that the sauce heats through more consistently when added back to a pan on the stove and stir till heated through.

😉 Substitutions and Variations

Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:

• You can use crushed tomatoes in place of the diced tomatoes (sauce will have less of a chunky texture).
• Oregano is a good substitute if you don't have dried Italian herbs.
• If you want to add vegetables to the ground chicken bolognese, peeled sliced carrot, celery ribs or sliced mushrooms are all good options.
• If you want a different protein, pork, lamb or turkey can all be substituted for the chicken.
• Using fresh basil leaves offer an alternative to fresh parsley.

💡 Tasty Tips

Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:

• A wooden spoon or flexible turner will help you to cook the chicken mince as you will need to break up any clumps of mince as you go.
• You can use a different type of pasta if you wish. Penne, fettuccini, linguine or macaroni are all good choices.
• When simmering the temperature needs to be reduced from high to low otherwise the sauce will splutter and splash out of the pan.
• This is a great recipe to meal prep! You can make the ground chicken bolognese on the weekend, freeze and cook fresh pasta on the night you want to make the dish.

🤓 Frequently Asked Questions

What is chicken bolognese sauce made of?

Chicken bolognese sauce is made of ground chicken (ground mince), tomato passata, diced tomatoes, onion, garlic and herbs. Often a splash of Worcestershire adds a depth of flavour to the recipe also.

Why is there no garlic in bolognese?

Italian recipes often omit garlic in a bolognese, however, it is more common in modern recipes for garlic to be a common ingredient found in bolognese sauces.

Should you use oil when cooking mince?

Depending on the type of mince being used for a recipe it may not be necessary to add oil. For regular beef mince which is full fat, you will find that with a non stick pan there will be enough fat in the meat to cook without adding oil. Leaner proteins however, such as chicken or pork can do with a tablespoon or 2 of oil to ensure that they brown quickly and easily and add flavour to the sauce.

😍 More Easy Dinner Recipes

Getting dinner sorted and on the table is a daily necessity and can sometimes be arduous, but I have some ideas to help you offer variety in taste and texture that don't take hours to prepare. Here are some more ideas to try:

• Fusilli Bolognese
• Baked Pasta Bolognese
• Coca Cola Ribs
• BBQ Lamb Ribs
• Slow Cooker Lamb Stew
• Instant Pot Chicken Spaghetti
• Marinated Lamb Ribs
• Honey Glazed Pork Chops
• Teriyaki Glazed Salmon
• Honey Soy Pork Ribs

You can also find all of my pasta recipes in the one spot! Let's get Winner Winner Chicken Dinner on the table my friend with some spaghetti to go with it!

Adrianne

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