Chicken Tetrazzini

Cheesy, rich, and comforting, this Chicken Tetrazzini is a dinner that everyone will love. This baked chicken spaghetti casserole is made from scratch and comes together quickly by using cooked chicken.

We love baked pasta dishes! If you are the same, this Baked Penne is always a hit. My kids devour it! This Cheesy Kielbasa Pasta Casserole is one of my personal favorites.

Sometimes, the only thing that will cut it is comfort food.

And that’s exactly what this Chicken Tetrazzini is.

Chicken, pasta, mushrooms – all in a creamy, cheesy sauce. If this isn’t comfort food, then I don’t know what is!

What is Chicken Tetrazzini?

I actually had to look this one up, because in my head, I was thinking this was an Italian dish.

But I was wrong.

Chicken Tetrazzini was invented in the early 1900s by a chef at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. He made this dish for opera star Luisa Tetrazzini. Of course, there is another story that says it originated in New York City at the Knickerbocker Hotel. Regardless of its origination, it’s a dish we all love!

Chicken Tetrazzini has spaghetti (or a similar long and skinny pasta) that is coated in a creamy cheese sauce. There are a lot of variations out there. Most of them use a cream of something soup. But this recipe is from scratch! I have no problem with canned cream soup, but I personally just don’t really like them. But really, it takes so little time to make it all from scratch, you won’t even miss the ease of the canned soup.

Ingredients

Scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post for full amounts and instructions.

• Butter: This is just to cook the mushrooms. You could also use olive oil, or another cooking oil, if desired.
• Mushrooms: Mushrooms are a traditional tetrazzini ingredient, but you do you and leave them out if you aren’t a mushroom fan.
• Garlic: This adds so much flavor! I always like to use freshly minced garlic.
• Salt & Pepper: Both for seasoning.
• Flour: The flour will thicken the sauce slightly. I use all-purpose flour.
• Broth: I use a low-sodium chicken broth. This is the base of your sauce, and adds way more flavor than water, and doesn’t make the sauce overly rich.
• Half and Half: If you don’t have half and half on hand, you can use a mixture of milk and cream. If you use all milk, the sauce won’t be very thick, but if you use all cream, the sauce will be overly rich.
• Cheese: I use a mild or medium cheddar. Feel free to change this up if you want!
• Spaghetti: Again, traditionally chicken tetrazzini is made with spaghetti. But I’m all about breaking the rules to make the recipe works for you, so feel free to change up the pasta.
• Chicken: Using cooked, shredded or cubed chicken will help speed up this recipe. If you don’t have any on hand, you can use a rotisserie chicken.

How to Make Chicken Tetrazzini

STEP 1: Melt the butter in a skillet, I like to use my cast iron skillet, and add the mushrooms. Cook them until they are softened.

STEP 2: Add the garlic, salt, and pepper and cook for another minute.

STEP 3: Sprinkle in the flour and stir it around. It will clump up a little bit, but don’t worry. You just want to make sure the mushrooms get coated.

STEP 4: Stir in the broth and the half and half and stir, stir, stir until it is all blended together. Reduce the heat, and then cook it until the sauce is slightly thickened. It should coat the back of a spoon.

STEP 5: Remove the skillet from the heat, and add in 3 cups of the cheese. Stir this until the cheese is melted.

STEP 6: Add the cooked pasta and the chicken and stir it all together. It’s really thick and cheesy at this point, but stir as well as you can. I find that it is easiest with tongs.

STEP 7: Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish.

STEP 8: Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top, then cover the dish with foil. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for another 10-15 minutes.

Tips and Tricks

This is best when it is piping hot, so be ready to serve it when it’s hot. When it comes to room temperature, the sauce tends to not stay as creamy.

That being said, leftovers are great once heated up! They heat up well in the microwave. If heating in the oven, you might want to drizzle a little bit of chicken broth in.

This recipe is easy to half if you don’t want as much or if you are feeding less people.

More Can’t Miss Easy Chicken Dinner Recipes:

Cheesy Sour Cream Chicken
Easy Chicken Divan Recipe
Chicken Pot Pie Ragu
Creamy Crunchy Chicken
Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

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Chicken Tetrazzini

5 from 3 votes

Author: Deborah Harroun

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: American

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Cheesy, rich, and comforting, this Chicken Tetrazzini is a dinner that everyone will love. This baked chicken spaghetti casserole is made from scratch and comes together quickly by using cooked chicken.

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Ingredients

• ▢ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ▢ 1/2 pound mushrooms ,sliced
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic ,minced
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• ▢ 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 cups chicken broth
• ▢ 1 cup half and half
• ▢ 4 cups 16 oz shredded medium cheddar cheese
• ▢ 1/2 pound spaghetti noodles ,cooked and drained
• ▢ 4 cups cooked chicken ,shredded or cut into a small dice

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9×13 baking dish.
• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, salt and pepper and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Gradually add the broth and the half and half, stirring until blended. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, 3-5 minutes.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add 3 cups of the cheese and stir until the cheese melts. Stir in the pasta and the chicken. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
• Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheese over the top of the casserole. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to cook an additional 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is all melted and the sauce is bubbling.

Recipe Notes:

Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should be used as a general guide.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1/8 of recipe, Calories: 534kcal (27%), Carbohydrates: 26g (9%), Protein: 34g (68%), Fat: 32g (49%), Saturated Fat: 18g (113%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 116mg (39%), Sodium: 547mg (24%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 2g (2%)

Keywords: chicken tetrazzini, comfort food, tetrazzini