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a bowl of spaghetti in a pale creamy white-cheddar sauce with fine ground-chicken crumbles, small roasted green poblano pieces and yellow corn kernels, without red tomato sauce or chicken shreds
Andre Lewis

Crockpot Chicken Spaghetti with Poblanos and Corn

Roast the poblanos before they go into the slow cooker so their flavor is mellow and their skins stay out of the finished spaghetti. Ground chicken gives this version small savory pieces throughout the strands instead of long shreds that wind around a fork. Add the spaghetti in several crossed layers and stir once it starts to soften, because one dry bundle can cook into a solid knot. The cheeses go in after the pasta is tender, when they can melt into the starchy broth without making it difficult to judge how much liquid the noodles still need.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours 15 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 large poblano peppers
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion finely diced
  • 1 1/2 lb ground chicken
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 3 1/2 cups unsalted chicken broth
  • 10 oz dry spaghetti broken in half
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 3 oz cream cheese cubed and softened
  • 4 oz white cheddar finely shredded
  • 1 cup extra unsalted chicken broth only if needed during pasta cooking

Method
 

  1. Heat oven to 450°F and roast poblanos on a sheet pan for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once, until blistered. Cover in a bowl for 10 minutes, then peel, seed and chop finely.
  2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and soften onion for 5 minutes. Add ground chicken and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, breaking it into fine crumbles, until 165°F; stir in garlic and cumin for 1 minute.
  3. Transfer chicken mixture and chopped poblanos to a 6-quart slow cooker. Add salt, pepper and the 3 1/2 cups broth, cover and cook on low for 3 hours.
  4. Turn to high and stir in milk and corn. Add dry spaghetti in several crossed layers, press gently into the liquid and cover for 15 minutes.
  5. Stir carefully to separate the softening strands, cover and cook for 15 to 25 minutes more until tender, stirring once halfway. Add some of the measured extra broth in 1/4-cup amounts only if the strands are still firm and the liquid is nearly absorbed.
  6. Switch off and stir in cream cheese until smooth, then add cheddar a handful at a time. Rest for 3 minutes and divide among six bowls, serving before the spaghetti absorbs more sauce.