Chicken Tetrazzini
Creamy homemade white sauce, with delicious linguine, rotisserie chicken, and gooey mozzarella. This is pure comfort food right here, and a simple dish to make and freeze for later, or enjoy for a family dinner.
This easy Chicken Tetrazzini can be made quickly the night of or for those who like to plan ahead, it can be made and frozen for a later time. This freezer friendly meal is a must have in your dinner rotation.
Pair with Cheesy Garlic Pull Bread and Cucumber Salad for an amazing meal.
Chicken Tetrazzini is a versatile dish that pairs nicely with so many things. It is loaded with rotisserie chicken, topped with gooey mozzarella and smothered in a simple, creamy, mouth watering sauce. This Chicken Tetrazzini recipe is a crowd pleaser.
What You Need For Chicken Tetrazzini:
Whether you are planning out your meals for the week or just flying by the seat of your pants, peruse through the list of simple ingredients needed for this Chicken Tetrazzini recipe and add them to your shopping list.
What You Need:
- Linguini
- Rotisserie Chicken
- Dried Spices—Paprika, Onion Powder, and Garlic Powder
- Garlic
- Olive Oil
- Sliced Button Mushrooms
- Medium Yellow Onion
Ingredients for Creamy Sauce:
- Unsalted Butter
- Flour
- Chicken Broth
- Lemon Juice
- Half and Half
- Sour Cream
- Sea Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Parsley
- Mozzarella Cheese
A lot of these things you probably already have on hand, so don’t feel like your grocery list has just doubled in size. No obscure ingredients and many are pantry staples.
How To Make Chicken Tetrazzini:
If you want a creamy, feel good, home cooked meal, follow these simple instructions and that is just what you will get.
- Cook Linguini: Cook pasta in large pot of salt water, until al dente.
- Season Chicken: Toss shredded rotisserie chicken with dried spices.
- Saute: In large dutch oven, add olive oil and cook mushrooms, then add onions, cooking until soft, and lastly saute minced gallic.
- Combine Sauteed Ingredients with Chicken: Transfer sautéed ingredients to the bowl with chicken.
- Make Sauce and Simmer: Melt butter and add flour. Whisk flour, gradually adding broth, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Once smooth, add half and half, sour cream, and simmer.
- Combine All Ingredients: Add chicken mixture back into pot with parsley and pasta and stir.
- Bake: Pour into greased baking dish, top with mozzarella, cover with foil, and bake. After 25-30 minutes, remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes.
- Garnish and Serve: Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
It may look like a lot of steps, but most of the steps are minimal labor and the end result is just oh so good.
Note: See recipe at end for more detailed instructions.
Tips For Creamy Results:
Creaminess is a necessary component to this dish. There is no point of arguing or compromising on this point.
The dish has to be creamy. Otherwise what’s the point?!
A less than creamy chicken tetrazzini is like having chocolate chips cookies without the chocolate chips. I mean that would be a HUGE upset.
Chicken Tetrazzini has to be creamy and don’t worry, this dish is. I mean it’s full name should be Creamy Chicken Tetrazzini.
How To Make Chicken Tetrazzini Creamy:
Tip 1: Don’t Overcook
You want a creamy tetrazzini? Follow a solid recipe and make sure you don’t overcook. This recipe is best when it is heated just through and bubbly, and eaten right away. Trust me on this one.
Tip 2: Use A Good Balance of Creamy Ingredients.
Obviously half and half is going to be creamier than milk, so that is why I used it in this recipe. Plus coupling it with sour cream provides more depth and extra creaminess.
So when trying to make a creamy tetrazzini the combination of sour cream and half and is a wise partnership. If you are going to make subs, consider how they impact the creaminess.
Tip 3: Cover Dish with Foil, when Cooking.
Don’t let all your hard work get spoiled at the last moment. I like to cover Chicken Tetrazzini for majority of the cooking time and take the foil off for the last 10 minutes.
By doing this you get a little crisp on the outside without having the dish dry out. Dried out Chicken Tetrazzini does not equal creamy tetrazzini.
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions:
Great news, you can make this dish ahead and store for later! Go ahead and do a happy dance. I love recipes like this.
Store in Fridge Instructions:
- Bake as usual.
- Let dish cool completely.
- Refrigerate for up to about 12 hours.
- Cover and bake at 425 for about 45 minutes.
Store in Freezer Instructions:
- Follow directions, except omit the last step of baking.
- Securely cover with plastic wrap and transfer dish into freezer.
- When ready to use, bake, following cooking instructions in recipe.
Keep leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. Reheat individual servings in microwave until heated all the way through.
Make this easy Chicken Tetrazzini recipe the night of, hours before you want to eat, or get really ahead of the game and make it for a night in the future and freeze it.
Short Cut Ideas:
Use rotisserie chicken or left over chicken or turkey.
Turkey makes a great substitution. However, whether you use turkey or chicken it’s nice not to have to add the step of cooking your meat to the steps.
That’s why I recommend using an already cooked rotisserie chicken or leftovers that you have on hand.
Buy pre shredded mozzarella.
Save on time by not shredding your own mozzarella. Buy mozzarella that has been already pre shredded for you.
Purchase minced garlic in a jar.
Save a few minutes by purchasing already minced garlic in a jar. Then just add the amount needed to the recipe. It is just that easy.
I’m all about simplifying. Follow these short cut ideas and watch the prep time diminish.
Serving Suggestions:
One of the many reasons I Iove this creamy, heart warming dish is because it partners well with so many things.
So get ready for some fun and look through all the great options you have to pair with this winning dish.
We love serving this with bread, ya know, a nice garlic bread or breadstick, or roll. Here are some of my favorites:
The rich creamy chicken tetrazzini is really amazing paired with a salad, a fresh green, a tomato salad, etc:
Or you can make a roasted vegetable side, and pair it with that, here are a few of our faves:
So many choices! This creamy, mouth watering Chicken Tetrazzini is a must try. This home cooked dream is one for the books.
Easy, delicious, and can be made ahead of time and frozen for later, Chicken Tetrazzini really is the perfect dish!
Other Great Pasta Dishes To Try:
Chicken Tetrazzini
Ingredients
For the Chicken Tetrazzini:
- 12 oz linguine
- 4 cups rotisserie chicken shredded
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 lb button mushrooms sliced
- 1 yellow onion finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
For the Creamy Sauce:
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups Half and Half Or heavy whipping cream, or milk
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped, plus more to garnish
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 350˚F.
- Cook linguine according to package directions in a large pot of salted water until al dente.
- In a large bowl, toss shredded rotisserie chicken with paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. Set aside.
- In a large dutch oven, or thick bottomed pot over medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, and add in mushrooms. Saute 3-5 minutes until softened.
- Add diced onions and cook until onions are soft and golden, another 5-7 min.
- Add minced garlic and sauté 1-2 min until fragrant.
- Place all the cooked mushrooms and onions into the bowl with the shredded rotisserie chicken.
- Then, using the same dutch oven, melt 4 Tbsp butter and gradually whisk the flour into the butter, cooking until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.
- Continuing to whisk, gradually add 2 1/2 cups chicken broth, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and whisk until smooth.
- Once smooth, add the half and half and the sour cream, bring to a simmer.
- Taste the sauce, and season with salt and pepper to preference.
- Add the chicken and mushroom mixture back into the pot, along with the parsley and linguine. Stir to incorporate.
- Pour into a greased baking dish, and cover with shredded mozzarella. Cover with foil, and bake at 350˚F for 25-30 min
- Remove foil and continue baking for 10 mins.
- Garnish with additional fresh parsley, and serve.
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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Matt Taylor says
This chicken tetrazzini looks so yummy and easy to make!
April says
This looks soooo delicious!
Therese Coetzee says
Thank you for the recipe. I am not sure what is 2 and 1/2 half and half.
Rachael says
Half and half is a dairy product that is heavy cream mixed with milk, half cream, half milk. Hope that helps.
Nicole says
Is it okay to make without mushrooms? What can I add instead?
Rachael says
Yes you can skip the mushrooms