Chicken Tetrazzini is a cozy pasta bake recipe made with tender chicken, sautéed mushrooms, and peas, all tossed in a creamy homemade sauce, topped with mozzarella cheese and baked until golden! It’s classic comfort food!
Want more cozy chicken bake recipes? Try this Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake, Creamy Chicken Spaghetti Bake, and Chicken Alfredo Bake!
Table of Contents
- Why you’ll love this easy Chicken Tetrazzini recipe:
- What people are saying:
- Chicken Tetrazzini ingredients:
- How to make the best Chicken Tetrazzini:
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to store Chicken Tetrazzini:
- Make-ahead option:
- Serving suggestions:
- More baked pasta dishes you’ll love:
- Chicken Tetrazzini Recipe
This Chicken Tetrazzini recipe is a classic comfort food made with chicken and pasta and bathed in a creamy sauce with mushrooms and peas.
Often, Chicken Tetrazzini is made with canned cream of chicken soup and cream of mushroom soup.
However, I think that this homemade version is more flavorful and customizable to your tastes!
Plus, it’s made ahead and freezer-friendly, so it’s great for busy weeknights when you can’t be bothered with a ton of dishes.
Why you’ll love this easy Chicken Tetrazzini recipe:
- Passes the selective eater test: Kids will love the creamy, cheesy pasta and chicken in this recipe and won’t even notice the veggies!
- Comforting: The homemade sauce, juicy chicken, and cheesy sauce create the most comforting dinner that hits the spot every time.
- Make-ahead friendly: You can prep this ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze it for later as a low-effort dinner!
What people are saying:
“Came home late from work looking for something to make with a Costco rotisserie chicken and found your recipe…thank you!!!
Followed the recipe but added a few things…spinach, kale and frozen zucchini. Only had a small amount of mozzarella, so used shredded monterey jack as a substitute. Plus used half and half and some heavy cream… that’s all I had but it was a hit with the fam, they cleaned their plates 😁” Devina
Chicken Tetrazzini ingredients:
- Unsalted butter: Adds richness and helps sauté the veggies and create the base for the sauce.
- Chopped mushrooms: Choose white mushrooms or cremini mushrooms. Mushrooms bring a savory, umami flavor and texture to the sauce, but you can omit them if you’re not a fan!
- Aromatics: Sautéed onion and garlic add a ton of flavor to this dish.
- Italian seasoning: This blend of herbs like oregano, basil, and thyme adds a balanced, herby flavor. Feel free to use fresh herbs if you like!
- All-purpose flour: Used to thicken the sauce. It absorbs the butter and helps create a creamy, smooth texture.
- Chicken stock: This is the base for making the sauce. Make sure to use low-sodium chicken stock to control the salt content.
- Cream: Heavy cream gives the sauce a rich and creamy texture, but you can use half-and-half for a lighter option.
- Cooked, chopped chicken: You can use a store-bought rotisserie chicken, Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken, or Instant Pot Shredded Chicken.
- Frozen peas: I love using frozen peas as they’re super convenient and add a pop of color to the dish.
- Dry spaghetti: Use any kind of pasta you like! Make sure to cook it just until al dente, as it will continue cooking in the oven.
- Shredded mozzarella cheese: Mozzarella is great because it melts beautifully and adds a gooey, cheesy layer on top. You can swap this out with another type of melty cheese if you like.
How to make the best Chicken Tetrazzini:
This Chicken Tetrazzini is a breeze to make! Don’t forget to check the recipe card for the full list of recipe instructions.
- Sauté mushrooms and onions until the onions soften and the mushrooms turn golden brown.
- Stir in garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper, and cook for another minute.
- Add flour, stirring until absorbed by the butter.
- Cook the pasta until al dente.
- Stir cooked chicken and peas into the cream sauce.
- Pour everything into a baking dish and bake until bubbly.
Variations and Substitutions
- Swap your vegetables: You can leave out the peas and mushrooms or keep them and add your favorites. Any vegetables you add should be cooked (or at least par-cooked) before you add them to the tetrazzini and before baking.
- Swap your protein: Don’t have leftover chicken, but you have turkey? Ham? Salmon? Feel free to swap it out for what you have handy!
- Get that crispy crust: If you like your baked pasta with a crispy bread crumb crust, feel free to stir together a little melted butter and some Panko bread crumbs and sprinkle them over the top before baking.
How to store Chicken Tetrazzini:
To store Chicken Tetrazzini, place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
To reheat, warm it in the oven at a low temperature and cover it with foil to keep it moist. You can also microwave individual portions!
Make-ahead option:
Pasta bakes are great to prep ahead and save in the fridge or freezer for a busy weeknight!
- Fridge: Prep up to the point of baking, then cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 4 days before baking. (Note: the pasta will absorb the sauce as it sits, so you may want to add a ¼ cup of water or cream to the dish before baking if it looks dry). You can also bake and serve immediately, then refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Pour it into a 9×13″ baking dish as the recipe calls for, or you can divide it into smaller dishes for individual meals. Simply prepare up to the point of baking, then cover tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. I recommend thawing before baking, either on the counter or in the refrigerator, as it will bake up more evenly than trying to bake from frozen.
Serving suggestions:
I sometimes serve this Chicken Tetrazzini as a complete meal on its own, but it’s also great with a side of Garlic Bread or No Knead Artisan Bread to soak up the cheesy sauce!
If you want a little more green on the side, some Air Fryer Broccoli or Cheesy Baked Asparagus never hurt anyone.
More baked pasta dishes you’ll love:
- Rigatoni Pasta Bake — a classic that always goes over well here!
- Baked Mostaccioli Pasta — we love keeping one of these stashed in the freezer.
- Turkey Kielbasa Pasta Bake — a new, flavorful twist on a pasta bake.
- Ravioli Lasagna — the kids adore this one!
Chicken Tetrazzini
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
Sauce
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms
- ½ medium onion finely diced
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups cream – 10%-18%
- 2 cups cooked, chopped chicken
- 1 cup frozen peas
To Assemble Tetrazzini:
- 375 grams dry spaghetti about 13oz
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Sauce
- In a large skillet, melt butter.
- Add mushrooms and onion and saute over medium heat until onion is softened and mushrooms are browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper and cook 1 minute.
- Stir in flour until completely absorbed by the butter.
- Add chicken stock and cream and whisk until smooth. Continue cooking over medium heat, whisking often, until slightly thickened (it won't be super thick in the end).
- Stir in cooked chicken and peas.
Chicken Tetrazzini
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees if baking immediately.
- Place spaghetti in a large pot of boiling, salted water and cook just until al dente. Drain.
- Place cooked pasta in a 9×13" greased baking dish. Pour sauce over top and spread with a spatula over pasta so that it soaks down into the spaghetti.
- Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly (see post above for make ahead instructions).
Nutrition Information
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Diane says
I made this all in a deep cast iron skillet.( broke the spaghetti in half before cooking it) I mixed pasta in with the chicken and sauce in the skillet . Topped with smoked Gouda as I didn’t have mozzarella and baked it in the skillet. It was very good!
Ashley Fehr says
That’s a great idea!
Gia says
Loved this! My kids and I had 3 helpings. I love the fact that it doesn’t have canned soup in it. Yummy!
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you Gia! Me too!
Brenda G says
Unfortunately my noodles came out a bit dry, but it was my fault because I doubled the mushrooms which resulted in more fluid that I thought was good so I drained my mushroom/onion/butter mixture, losing so much flavourful juice for the sauce. It was a rookie mistake and won’t do that again. Still though, the outcome was delicious and everyone enjoyed it. I’ll do it even better next time.
The Recipe Rebel says
Glad you still enjoyed it, Brenda.
Swoopadoop says
Awesome!
Followed recipe ingredients exactly, however I was only able to fit a little over half of the prepared noodles in my 10” round pan. The volume of the pan is pretty close to a 9×13.
Cooked a whole chicken in the IP, then cooked the spaghetti in the broth in the IP and used the starch broth again in the sauce, using the IP in the saute mode. The starch helps to make the sauce stick better to the noodles.
I baked it in my old skool Nuwave oven in the 10 inch round pan that comes with it.
Definitely a keeper recipe.
Thanks for sharing
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
David says
When you talk about the mixture being smooth after you add the cream and chicken stock does that mean you blebd everything together with an imersion blender or keep things whole like when you first brown the mushrooms and onion?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi David! No need to use an immersion blender. You are just whisking until everything is combined together making sure there are no lumps from the flour. Hope you enjoy it!
Nancy D says
I used Delallo bruschetta roasted peppers (7 oz jar) instead of mushrooms. I used 3 cups of baby spinach instead of peas. This was the easiest way to use up leftover chicken thighs. I also used fettuccine pasta…I will definitely do this again. Thank you again for the recipe. I love recipes that can be changed up based on what’s on hand.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Nancy! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Devina says
Came home late from work looking for something to make with a Costco rotisserie chicken and found your recipe…thank you!!!
Followed the recipe but added a few things…spinach, kale and frozen zucchini. Only had a small amount of mozzarella, so used shredded monterey jack as a substitute. Plus used half and half and some heavy cream…that’s all I had but it was a hit with the fam, they cleaned their plates 😁
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Devina! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Kim says
It was absolutely delicious! I made it exactly as written..yum! Now that it’s baked, can I freeze leftovers?
Michelle says
This looks so good! Could I use light cream of mushroom soup to cut the fat?
Ashley Fehr says
I’m sure you could, but I’ve never tried 🙂
Marie Redgrift says
Did using the soup work?
Sally says
Great recipe, I added shitake mushrooms instead and used swiss cheese for a little more flavor. Next time I’ll add Parmesan too, we sprinkled some on at the table and it made a good recipe great!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Sally! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your review!
Bonnie says
This was outstanding! I cut the recipe in half and used an 8×8 dish for two of us. My husband hates peas so I used diced red and green pepper instead and sautéed it with the onion. I will definitely be making it again. 1-22-22.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Bonnie! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Sam says
Hi there great recipe! Is the nutritional info for the 8 servings or 1? Thx so much!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Sam! That is per serving, but you can definitely make smaller portions if needed. Hope you enjoy it!
Stanley Harris says
I was looking what to use some leftover chicken in and I came across your recipe. I looked at the ingredients, decided to add some Bruschetta seasoning mix. The family loved it, next time I will add pesto to see what flavors that brings.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Stanley! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your review!
Helen says
This dishes was de-lish. My family raved about it. I followed the recipes to the letter however substituted the peas with chopped spinach and over the cheese topping I put a generous sprinkling of crispy onions. I served it with a side of garlic cheese bread. Thank you for the recipe. My 13 year old grandson (visits on weekends) asked if I could make it next weekend. That has to speak volumes.
Carolyne Kandie says
What cream are you referring to ? Can I use heavy whipping cream?
Ashley Fehr says
10-18%, exactly what it says 🙂 You are looking for a light cream or half and half
Laurie Tibbles says
I’m not familiar with the “10 – 18%” reference when referring to the cream. What does that mean? How would we be able to know from that reference that you are referring to 1/2 & 1/2 or heavy cream or light cream or …..?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Laurie, that’s how it’s labeled where I am from. A quick Google search of 10% cream says it’s half and half. Hope this helps!
Carolyne Kandie says
I used heavy whipping cream and it came out delicious!! My family ate it all!! Will try half half next time!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Carolyne!
Amy A. says
Delicious and fast! I used half cheddar and half mozzarella cheese just because I like the flavor of cheddar better, but otherwise I followed the recipe and it was great. My family likes strong flavor so I’ll add more garlic and onion next time as well as more mushrooms (which we also love) but this dish is delicious as-is too!
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you Amy!
Marsha says
The recipe says total cooking time 44 minutes yet the directions say to only cook for 20minutes. Should it cook for 25 minutes before putting on the cheese?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Marsha, the total cooking time includes the cooking of the pasta and the sauce. Hope you enjoy it!
Johnny says
This was great! I pretty much followed this exactly as written. I used chickpea and lentil pasta for a little less guilt, and I diced the mushrooms up really small for my nephews and niece. They gobbled it up. Thanks Ashley!
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so glad you liked it Johnny!
myapplemonkey says
This was so good! I added carrots and celery to the onions and mushrooms (and added way more mushrooms as they’re my favourite) and subbed out half light cream and the rest chicken broth, as well as using a mix of macaroni and rigatoni as I didn’t have enough of either individually. As it’s just me, I now have 7 meals prepped and ready for lunches and dinners when I don’t feel like cooking or need a quick meal. Thanks for such a yummy recipe!
Ashley Fehr says
That’s so great! I’m glad you liked it!
Lonnie says
Could I substitute some of the cream for milk to cut calories?
Ashley Fehr says
Absolutely! You can even use all milk, it will just not be as rich in flavor.