Chicken tetrazzini is a delicious, comforting all-in-one pasta casserole. This version is made with typical tetrazzini ingredients: chicken, pasta, mushrooms, shallots, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and an easy creamy sauce. I added some spinach to the tetrazzini for color and extra nutritional value. It’s an easy dish you can throw together in about 15 to 20 minutes, then you just pop it in the oven to bake, and dinner is served! I like to make the sauce mixture early in the day or the day before, then all I have to do is warm up the sauce, cook the pasta, mix it all together, then bake.
A classic tetrazzini is a pasta dish with spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine mixed with a creamy sauce, diced chicken or turkey, mushrooms, and Parmesan cheese. The pasta is topped with more Parmesan cheese or buttered breadcrumbs and baked until hot and bubbling. Palace Hotel chef Ernest Arbogast purportedly created the first tetrazzini in San Francisco in the early 1900s. It is named after the Italian opera singer Luisa Tetrazzini.
I poached chicken breasts in my Instant Pot, but they can be baked, poached on the stovetop, pan-fried, or grilled. Or feel free to use leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken.
Preparation Notes
- Cook the spaghetti or other pasta in about 3 quarts of water with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt following the package instructions for al dente pasta. Drain the pasta and set aside.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce. Cook the mushrooms and shallots in the butter until the mushrooms are browned and the released liquids have evaporated. Add the spinach and cook it just long enough to wilt it, then add the soup, sour cream, and half-and-half. Mix well. Add the chicken and half of the Parmesan cheese and bring to a simmer. Taste and add salt and pepper, and then combine the sauce mixture with the pasta.
- Add the pasta to a buttered 2-quart baking dish, top with the remaining Parmesan cheese and bake as directed.
Variations
- Instead of chicken, make the tetrazzini with diced turkey, ham, or canned tuna.
- Not a fan of mushrooms? Use another vegetable, such as canned or frozen artichoke halves, frozen thawed peas, or asparagus.
- Add a pop of color and extra flavor with a 2-ounce jar of diced pimientos, drained.
- Add 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese to the Parmesan cheese topping.
Make it Ahead
- Cook the mushrooms, shallots, and spinach as directed.
- Combine the mushroom mixture with the diced chicken, soup, sour cream, heavy cream, and half of the Parmesan cheese. Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate.
- About 1 hour before serving time, cook the spaghetti and heat the chicken and sauce mixture over low heat just until hot. Combine the sauce mixture and spaghetti; transfer to the baking dish and cover with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
- Bake as directed, or until the casserole is hot and bubbling.
How to Store a Leftover Chicken Tetrazzini
- Refrigerate leftover chicken tetrazzini in a covered container and eat within 3 to 4 days.
- Reheat chicken tetrazzini in the oven, on the stovetop, or in the microwave. To reheat it in the oven, place it in a baking dish and cover with foil. Heat in a 350 F oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, until hot. Alternatively, reheat leftover tetrazzini in a skillet over medium-low heat with a small amount of water or in the microwave. According to the USDA, the minimum safe temperature for leftover hot food is 165 F.
Chicken Tetrazzini
This chicken tetrazzini is a delicious, comforting, all-in-one pasta casserole. Treat your family to this easy and tasty chicken dish!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Chicken, Spaghetti, Casseroles, Mushrooms, Spinach
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dry spaghetti
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 1/4 cup chopped shallots
- 1 cup coarsely chopped spinach
- 1 10.5-ounce can cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 2 to 3 cups diced cooked chicken
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, preferably fresh
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 F and butter a 2-quart baking dish or spray it with baking spray.
- Fill a large saucepan with about 3 quarts of water and add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta to the pot and cook following the package directions for al dente pasta.
- Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium heat and add the mushrooms and shallots. Cook, stirring, for about 4 to 5 minutes, until most of the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated.
- Add the spinach to the mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring, for a minute or two, just until the spinach has melted.
- Add the soup, sour cream, half-and-half, diced chicken, and half of the Parmesan cheese; heat just until it begins to simmer, then taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.
- Add the drained pasta to the sauce mixture and toss to blend the ingredients.
- Turn the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese over the casserole and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 to 50 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and the casserole is bubbling.
- Remove the casserole to a rack and let it cool for about 10 minutes.
- Serve portions on plates and garnish with parsley, if desired.
