Chicken Tetrazzini Recipe

I love this Chicken Tetrazzini Recipe so much! This deliciously creamy baked pasta casserole is one of my favorite cozy meals to make. I love making a big batch at the start of the weekend and working my way through the whole dish by the weekends end.

Chicken tetrazzini hits all the cozy points from the shredded chicken, buttery mushrooms, hearty pasta, and creamy cheese sauce. If you have never had this dish before, you’re in for such a treat!

What’s Chicken Tetrazzini Anyway?

It’s a (American, not Italian) baked pasta casserole that includes shredded chicken, sautéed mushrooms and peas that are all tossed together in the most decadent creamy sauce. Everything is piled into a baking dish and topped with buttery breadcrumbs and baked until bubbling, gooey and hot.

Our chicken tetrazzini recipe uses bucatini instead of spaghetti, which makes this dish even better because not only does the pasta get coated in the creamy sauce, but each strand also gets filled with sauce, so every bite is super rich and delicious!

How to Make Our Chicken Tetrazzini Recipe

Process

1. Preheat oven. Grease baking dish with butter.

2. Place a skillet over heat, add oil and melt butter.
3. Add onion and sauté.

4. Add mushrooms and garlic and continue to sauté. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add herbs and shredded chicken to the mushroom mixture, toss together and continue to sauté.

6. In a saucepan, melt more butter.
7. Add flour and whisk together until no lumps remain and the raw flour taste has been cooked out.

8. Pour milk into the mixture and whisk until smooth. Continue to whisk until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Stir some Parmesan into the béchamel and allow mixture to simmer.

10. Add stock and continue to simmer.
11. Add chicken mixture, pasta, reserved pasta water, and peas to sauce and toss together until fully combined. Sprinkle more Parmesan over the mixture and toss together. Adjust seasonings if needed.

12. Pour pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish and set aside.

13. In a skillet melt the remaining butter and toss together with panko. Season with salt and pepper.

1. Sprinkle evenly over the pasta mixture and top with remaining Parmesan.
2. Bake tetrazzini in the oven until the panko has browned and the entire dish is bubbling.
3. Cool slightly before serving.

Tools You Will Need

• cutting board
• knife
• baking dish
• large skillet
• mixing bowl
• wooden spoon
• whisk
• saucepan

Make Ahead and Freezing Our Chicken Tetrazzini Recipe

Make Ahead

Our chicken tetrazzini can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. The entire dish can be assembled pre-bake (except for the buttered panko), tightly wrapped in foil and refrigerated until ready to use.

When ready to serve, uncover casserole, top with buttered panko and bake for about 30 minutes or until casserole is bubbling and golden brown on top.

Freezing

Our chicken tetrazzini can be frozen for up to 2 months. The entire dish can be assembled pre-baked (including the buttered panko), tightly wrapped in foil and stored in the freezer until ready to use.

When ready to serve, bake covered casserole in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until casserole is bubbling and golden brown on top.

Tips and Tricks for Chicken Tetrazzini Success

• Use a store-bought rotisserie chicken to save yourself a bunch of time!
• Use bucatini instead of spaghetti so the pasta is not only coated in sauce, but filled with sauce from the inside out!
• The creamy sauce should still be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, but expect it to be a thinner sauce, than a typical bechamél. The sauce will thicken when it bakes.
• Don’t be alarmed at the amount of sauce the recipe makes; you need a lot of sauce to ensure you don’t end up with a dry pasta bake!
• Use panko instead of plain breadcrumbs for a crispier top. We love the texture contrast the panko provides in this creamy dish.

Variations

While we really love our recipe for chicken tetrazzini, we also love dishes that can be customized based on preferences and this dish definitely fits the bill!

• Mix it up with a variety of mushrooms like shiitake, porcini and oyster.
• Make it vegetarian by omitting the chicken and increasing the amount of mushrooms. You can also add other vegetables into this dish like broccoli florets and sautéed bell peppers.
• Although we love using panko, try topping the dish with crushed buttery crackers like Ritz or oyster crackers! So good!
• A long strand pasta is more traditional, but if you prefer a shaped pasta, go for it! We just recommend using something like fusilli or penne which picks up lots of the delicious sauce!

What to Serve with Chicken Tetrazzini?

This baked pasta casserole is a whole meal in itself, but if you want to balance the creamy dish out with some greens or need something to sop up any extra sauce, we have a handful of our favorite tettrazini sides below!

• Classic Caesar Salad
• Everyday Simple Side Salad
• Cheesy Herb Pull Apart Bread
• Sour Cream and Chive Drop Biscuits
• Watercress Salad with Green Apple Vinaigrette
• Citrus Sautéed Beet Stems

Other Baked Pasta Recipes You Will Love

• Cacio e Pepe Pasta Pie
• Baked Ziti
• Creamy Turkey and Kale Skillet Lasagna
• Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll Ups
• Baked Turkey Sausage and Mascarpone Stuffed Shells
• Sausage and Kale Baked Gnocchi
• Carbonara Pasta Pie

Here are some more yummy pasta recipes you will love:

• The Best Homemade Vodka Sauce
• Cacio E Pepe
• One Pot Fettuccine Alfredo
• Baked Carbonara Mac and Cheese
• Butter Roasted Cherry Tomato Pasta
• Wild Mushroom Wafu Pasta
• Basic Pasta Carbonara
• Linguine with Butternut Squash Vegan Cream Sauce