Chicken Tetrazzini
This Chicken Tetrazzini is creamy, comforting and perfect for dinner tonight! Pasta, chicken and mushrooms are baked in a buttery, creamy sauce until hot and bubbly.
When you’re craving comfort food, nothing hits the spot quite like a cheesy casserole hot from the oven.
I’ve already shared my recipes for Chicken Casserole, Baked Spaghetti and Hamburger Casserole and today’s featured casserole recipe is this incredibly delicious chicken tetrazzini.
This chicken tetrazzini is a baked pasta casserole made with spaghetti or linguine pasta, chicken breast and mushrooms in a creamy, buttery sauce. It’s topped with cheese and then baked in the oven until hot, bubbly and golden brown on top. Some tetrazzini recipes call for using canned cream soup, but this recipe is made completely from scratch. It takes just a few extra minutes to make the homemade creamy sauce and it’s 100% worth it in terms of flavor.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Flavor! Between the garlic, butter, fresh mushrooms, homemade cream sauce and cheese, this dish is packed with flavor.
- Hearty: Chicken, pasta and protein-packed Greek yogurt ensure that this casserole will leave you satisfied.
- Homemade Comfort Food: This from scratch recipe is just the type of soul-satisfying comfort food that we crave at the end of a long day.
Chicken Tetrazzini Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this chicken tetrazzini recipe.
- Pasta: Both linguine and spaghetti work well.
- Butter: Brings richness and flavor.
- Cremini Mushrooms: Instead of using canned cream of mushroom soup, we’re using fresh mushrooms and a homemade cream sauce. I love the flavor of cremini mushrooms, but regular button mushrooms will also work. If you don’t care for mushrooms, you can leave them out.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic enhances the flavor of the dish.
- Flour: All-purpose flour thickens the sauce.
- Milk & Chicken Broth: For the creamy sauce. Whole milk adds richness and the broth ensures that the dish doesn’t turn out too heavy.
- Salt & Pepper: Adjust the amounts to your tastes.
- Plain Greek Yogurt: For added creaminess. I used whole milk Greek yogurt. 2% will also work, but don’t use nonfat, since it may curdle in the sauce. You can substitute sour cream if you prefer (again, not nonfat).
- Fresh Parsley: For a pop of fresh flavor.
- Cooked Chicken Breast: You’ll need 3 cups of chopped or shredded cooked chicken. You can use leftover cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken. If you need to cook the chicken for this recipe, try Poached Chicken or Instant Pot Shredded Chicken.
- Parmesan & Mozzarella Cheese: These two cheeses bring a double dose of cheesy flavor.
How to Make Chicken Tetrazzini
The steps to making this recipe are simple. Find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions in the recipe card below.
- Cook the pasta according to package directions for al dente. Then rinse it in cold water and drain well.
- Sauté the mushrooms in butter until soft and lightly browned.
- Stir in the garlic and flour and cook for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the milk, broth, salt and pepper. Simmer the sauce until just slightly thickened.
- Remove the pot from the heat and let the sauce cool for 5 minutes. Then stir in the Greek yogurt. Letting the sauce cool slightly prevents the yogurt from curdling in the hot sauce.
- Next, stir in the parsley, cooked chicken and half of the grated Parmesan cheese.
- Stir in the cooked pasta.
- Transfer the mixture to a baking dish. Top with the remaining Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, until the chicken tetrazzini is hot, bubbly and golden brown on top.
Recipe Tips
- Break pasta noodles in half before cooking them. This makes the casserole easier to serve and eat.
- I like to use a rotisserie chicken to cut down on the prep time for this dish.
- When simmering the sauce, take it off the heat when it’s just slightly thickened. It will continue to thicken up in the oven and over-thickening it on the stove can lead to a drier chicken tetrazzini.
Recipe Variations
- This recipe is a great way to use leftover turkey. Swap chopped cooked turkey for the chicken to make turkey tetrazzini.
- For a richer dish, substitute 1/2 cup of the milk with heavy cream or half and half.
- If desired, you can stir in up to 1 cup of frozen peas when you stir the cooked pasta into the sauce.
What to Serve with Chicken Tetrazzini
Chicken tetrazzini is a hearty dish, so it’s best served with a light side dish such as a salad. Try our simple Green Salad Recipe, Arugula Salad or Kale Salad. If you’d like to serve bread with the meal, try these soft and fluffy Dinner Rolls or our easy Garlic Bread Recipe.
More Chicken Pasta Recipes
If you enjoyed this chicken tetrazzini recipe, try one of these favorite chicken pasta recipes next.
Chicken Tetrazzini
This Chicken Tetrazzini is creamy, comforting and perfect for dinner tonight! Pasta, chicken and mushrooms are baked in a buttery, creamy sauce and until hot and bubbly. It's a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken, or use rotisserie chicken or even leftover turkey.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces linguine pasta, or spaghetti
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced, or sliced button mushrooms
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, or sour cream
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
- 3 cups chopped or shredded cooked chicken breast
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, 4 ounces
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Break the noodles in half and add them to the pot. Cook according to package directions for al dente and then rinse in cold water; drain.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350° F.
- Heat a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium heat. Add the butter to the pot and once it has melted add the mushrooms. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are soft and lightly browned.
- Add the garlic and flour and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the milk, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, until just slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. (The sauce will thicken up more in the oven.)
- Remove the pot from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally (this prevents the yogurt from curdling when you stir it in). Then stir in the plain Greek yogurt, parsley, cooked chicken and ¼ cup Parmesan cheese.
- Stir in the cooked pasta. Transfer the mixture to a 13×9-inch baking dish and spread it out into an even layer. Sprinkle on the remaining ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, followed by the mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the casserole is hot and bubbly and the top is golden brown.
Notes
- Chopped cooked turkey can be substituted for the cooked chicken.
Calories: 489kcal, Carbohydrates: 51g, Protein: 32g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 79mg, Sodium: 503mg, Potassium: 569mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 603IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 261mg, Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is an estimate.
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I loved this recipe! Not only was it easy, but delicious too. Its super creamy, and it still tastes great reheated the next day. It did not dry up like some white sauce pastas tend to do. My 3 young adult children loved this for dinner, it definitely a keeper. Thank you Kristine!
Fantastic dish. My guests were very impressed! Definitely making it again.
Delish but seems to need more white sauce. Maybe cut back on the amount of pasta? Seemed a tad dry but definitely has potential to be yummy! Will try this again adding more sour cream or possibly cream cheese.