Chicken Tetrazzini is one of my favorite comfort foods. Perfectly cooked spaghetti noodles, a creamy mushroom sauce, diced Rotel tomatoes, and tons of cheese all baked together with tons of flavor. It's a great dish to make for large gatherings like Christmas or Thanksgiving, too. Let's get into the recipe!
If you're looking for a unique and scrumptious holiday dish to bring, look no further than my creamy Chicken Tetrazzini!
Chicken Tetrazzini (sometimes called Chicken Spaghetti) is a creamy, cheesy pasta bake. It's packed with juicy chicken thighs, spicy diced tomatoes, and sautéed mushrooms in a homemade white sauce. This dish is simply divine!
The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost per serving: $1.22
- Total Cost (8 servings): $9.78
- Those Other Guys: $16.99 per serving
Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs - We use boneless, skinless chicken thighs as our main protein. These are super juicy and can withstand essentially being cooked twice (once on the stovetop, then finished in the oven.)
- White Mushrooms - Sliced white mushrooms are the base of our homemade cream of mushroom sauce. Be sure to clean your mushrooms before cooking.
- Rotel Tomatoes - Rotel tomatoes are an essential part of this dish. Get the spicy kind if you can; they have so much more flavor!
- Colby Jack Cheese - Many recipes use velveeta, but I find fresh cheese tastes a lot better! I used Colby jack, but cheddar or Monterey jack work as well.
- Milk & Heavy Cream - No canned cream of mushroom needed; The combination of milk and heavy cream creates a beautiful homemade cream sauce that tastes so much better than the canned kind!
Variations and Substitutions
Vegetarian Tetrazzini: Want a meatless version? Simply leave out the chicken (and use vegetable bouillon) in this recipe. Because we pack the pasta with mushrooms, there's still tons of protein that will help you feel satisfied.
How to Make Baked Chicken Tetrazzini
Step 1: To begin, boil your noodles until just before al dente.
Rinse them with cool water, drain, and set aside.
Step 2: Sear seasoned chicken thighs in a large skillet.
You want them to be slightly underdone so they can finish baking in the oven.
Step 3: In that same skillet, add in chopped mushrooms and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Step 4: After they've sautéed down, stir in some all purpose flour and minced garlic.
Step 5: Pour in heavy cream, milk, drained diced tomatoes, and the remainder of your seasonings. Stir well.
Step 6: Stir in some shredded Colby jack cheese until fully incorporated.
Step 5: Add in the chopped chicken thighs. The sauce should be slightly thickened.
Mix in the cooled noodles until everything is combined.
Step 6: Finally, add everything to a baking dish and top with a little more shredded cheese.
Bake, covered with foil, for 20 minutes until nice and bubbly. Serve hot!
Recipe Pro Tips
- Cooking chicken yourself vs. rotisserie. You can shortcut the recipe by using shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken... But, if you have time, I recommend cooking the chicken yourself! This recipe cooks the mushrooms and creates the sauce in the same pot as the chicken; so you take the tasty bits from the meat to get a create a better depth of flavor.
- Cool down the noodles. The reason that we cook the noodles in Step 1 is to allow them to cool down before adding the sauce. When noodles are hot, they swell and absorb everything that touches them (aka our cream sauce!) By using cooled noodles, we avoid a dry pasta bake - and no one likes that.
- Don't fear the spice. Unless you truly avoid spicy foods altogether, I recommend grabbing the "hot" can of diced tomatoes and chiles. I promise it's not going to have your mouth on fire!
- Taste first. Be sure to taste the sauce first before adding in the chicken. Since we slightly undercook it (and it finishes in the oven), you don't want to try the sauce with the poultry in there!
Recipe FAQs
Chicken thighs work great because it's really hard to overcook them. You could also use chicken breasts or even shredded turkey.
Honestly, I wouldn't recommend. Although normally freezing pasta is a great way to avoid food waste, freezing sautéed mushrooms and diced tomatoes creates a weird texture after they defrost.
More Tasty Pasta Dishes You'll Love!
If you tried this Creamy Chicken Tetrazzini Recipe, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Thanks for visiting!
Chicken Tetrazzini
Equipment
- Large Pot for boiling pasta
- Strainer
- Nonstick Spray
- Large Skillet with Deep Sides
- Tongs
- Chef's Knife
- Wooden Spoon
- Can Opener
- Ceramic Baking Dish 8x13 inches
- Aluminum Foil
Ingredients
- 16 ounces spaghetti noodles
- 12 ounces chicken thighs skinless and boneless
- 2 teaspoon salt plus more for boiling pasta
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 16 ounces white mushrooms sliced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
- 1 teaspoon ground oregano
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 10 ounces Rotel tomatoes (hot) drained
- 1 cup shredded Colby jack cheese plus more for topping
Instructions
- Cook the package of spaghetti noodles in salted boiling water for about 6 minutes. We want them slightly underdone, since they will continue to cook in the oven.
- Drain the pasta and rinse with cool water. Drain again, and set noodles aside to cool.
- Spray a large skillet with nonstick spray, then add the chicken thighs. Season with 1 teaspoon of the salt and ½ teaspoon of black pepper.
- Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes, flipping once. Rest for 5 minutes, then chop or shred into small pieces. The chicken will be underdone and will finish cooking in the oven.
- In that same pot, add your mushrooms to the juice created from the chicken thighs and sauté for about 5 minutes. Season the mushrooms with the remaining salt and pepper.
- Add the flour and minced garlic and stir until the veggies are covered.
- Pour in milk, heavy cream, chicken bouillon, oregano, onion powder, and drained Rotel tomatoes. Turn the heat down to low.
- Let the sauce simmer for 5-10 minutes, until it begins to thicken. You should be able to lift your spoon and draw a line in the sauce that fills back up.
- Preheat your oven to 325°F.
- Stir the shredded cheese into the sauce and let cook for another few minutes until fully incorporated. Taste the sauce, and add any additional seasonings to your preference.
- Once everything tastes good, stir in the chopped chicken.
- Add the cooled noodles to the sauce pan and mix until everything is evenly distributed.
- Pour the tetrazzini into a ceramic baking dish. Top with extra shredded cheese and then wrap the dish in aluminum foil.
- Bake, covered, for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot and enjoy!
Anonymous says
Made this tonight for my husband and our 18 month old. Absolutely delicious! Nothing was left on the plate. We froze the rest for an easy leftover dinner another night.
We used regular tomatoes, as I couldn’t find spicy in the store.
Shani W. says
I'm so glad you and your family loved it! Thank you for commenting, I really appreciate it 🙂