Chicken Tetrazzini is a big, bubbly pasta bake with a creamy cheese sauce, juicy chicken and buttery garlic mushrooms. It’s about as classic as a creamy pasta bake can get!
Chicken Tetrazzini
I call Tetrazzini an Italian pasta bake just because it sounds good to say so, but in actual fact, there is nothing Italian about this creamy-oh-so-cheesy pasta casserole other than the fact that it’s named after an Italian opera singer, Luisa Tetrazzini.
It is said that a Chef at a hotel in the States invented this dish especially for her, and you’ll never find it in a (real) Italian cookbook. But that doesn’t make this any less delicious. Juicy chicken with garlic butter mushrooms smothered in a béchamel sauce, tossed through slick pasta and baked until bubbly…. UGH! I’m torturing myself just writing about it!! 😂
This pasta casserole bake is made from scratch. Canned soup has no place around here!!
What you need for creamy Chicken Tetrazzini Sauce
Here’s what you need to make the cream sauce for Chicken Tetrazzini: butter, flour, chicken broth/stock, milk, cream and cheese.
The basis of Tetrazzini sauce is a béchamel sauce. While a basic béchamel is made with just butter, flour and milk, for Tetrazzini, we dial up the deliciousness by adding chicken stock (for flavour), cream (for richness) and cheese (a good thing in anything!).
What goes in Chicken Tetrazzini
As for the pasta bake itself, here’s what you need:
Pasta – long strand pasta like spaghetti is traditional, but this recipe works perfectly with short pastas like macaroni, penne, ziti, rigatoni, spirals. Just avoid tiny pasta like risoni/orzo, ditalini, tiny shells or novelty pastas like alphabet pasta – they are too small;
Chicken – thighs are best because they stay juicy even after the double cook (seared then baked), but breast and tenderloin are fine too. Buying pre-cooked chicken will speed things up, but the sauce won’t be as nice because it gets a flavour boost by cooking the sauce in the same pot the chicken is seared in (the golden bits left in the pan from the chicken is a free flavour boost for the sauce);
Mushrooms – anything sliceable is fine, I’ve just used normal button mushrooms here;
Butter – used to cook the mushrooms, and also as the fat into which the flour is mixed which thickens the liquids to make the creamy sauce;
Garlic and onion – essential flavour base.
How to make Chicken Tetrazzini
Cook the chicken first because the golden bits left in the pot will dissolve into the sauce which adds a stack of flavour. The chicken doesn’t need to be fully cooked through – once chopped into small pieces, it will take mere minutes to finish cooking in the oven.
Skip the shortcut store bought roast chicken. Cooking your own is so much tastier because the sauce gets a massive free flavour boost from deglazing the pot.
After the chicken is cooked, we cook the mushrooms and onion, then mix in the flour before adding the liquids. This is an easy method to ensure your creamy sauce comes out smooth rather than with flour lumps without the need of a whisk or slowly pouring the milk in. By mixing the flour into the cooked mushrooms, it gets dispersed which makes it far less prone to lumps when the milk is added. Tip of the day! 😎
How to tell when the béchamel sauce is thick enough
Use the “path” test (Step 5 above) – coat the back of your wooden spoon with the sauce, hold it vertically (so the sauce is dripping off it). Then use your finger to draw a line across it – it should hold briefly before the sauce runs down to cover the line up. This means the sauce is thick enough.
TIP: The sauce should not be very thick – it thickens more when cheese is added and again when baked.
Plenty of sauce – because nobody likes stodgy pasta bakes!
As with all my pasta bakes, I make more sauce than most recipes because I like my pasta bakes to come out of the oven molten and bubbling, smothered with sauce rather than a dried up stodgy block that you can cut like cake. No thank you!!! I want THIS ↓↓↓
What to serve with Chicken Tetrazzini
I’d strongly urge you to add a side of greens – have a browse through my Vegetable Sides (newly organised by vegetable!).
Then if you’re going all out, add a side of Garlic Bread or if you want to blow the cheese-meter, add a side of Cheesy Garlic Bread.
For dessert, try Tiramisu if you want to keep with the Italian theme, or if you’re going for a cosy Winter meal, make a pudding! Try one of these:
Winter Puddings and Cosy Dessert suggestions
Enjoy! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Chicken Tetrazzini (creamy chicken mushroom pasta bake)
Ingredients
- 500g / 1lb spaghetti or other long pasta, cooked per packet (penne, macaroni, ziti ok too) (Note 1)
Chicken
- 2 tbsp (30g) butter
- 500g / 1lb chicken thighs , skinless boneless (Note 2)
Creamy Sauce
- 4 tbsp (60g) butter , unsalted
- 500g / 1lb mushrooms , sliced 1/2 cm / 1/5" thick
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 onion , finely chopped
- 4 tbsp flour
- 2 cups milk , any fat, any type
- 1 cup cream , heavy / thickened (sub more milk)
- 2 cups chicken stock/broth , low sodium (or water + 2 stock cubes)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups cheese , shredded (cheddar, jack, colby – not mozz)
Instructions
Sear chicken
- Melt 2 tbsp butter in a large pot over high heat. Add chicken, sprinkle with pinch of salt and pepper. Cook 1 1/2 minutes until golden.
- Turn chicken, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook 1 minute until golden then remove onto plate – doesn't need to be fully cooked (will cook more in oven).
- Rest 5 minutes, then chop into small pieces, or shred.
Sauce & pasta
- Preheat oven to 160°C / 325°F.
- Cook mushrooms: Melt 4 tbsp butter over high heat in the same pot. Add mushrooms and cook for 4 minutes until starting to go floppy but not yet golden.
- Add onion: Add garlic and onion, cook for 3 minutes until mushrooms are golden. Add a pinch of salt and pepper halfway through.
- Add flour & milk: Turn heat down to medium. Add flour. Stir for 30 seconds. Add milk and stir for 10 seconds or until it thickens (see video at 52 sec).
- Add cream and broth: Add chicken stock, cream, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Stir, then let the mixture heat up, stirring every now and then so it doesn't catch on the base, and cook until the sauce thickens enough so you can draw a path on the back of the spoon (video at 1.04). Do not make it very thick – it gets thicker in next steps.
- Add cheese & pasta: Turn stove off. Stir through half the cheese (will melt in oven), then add pasta and chicken. Toss to mix, taste and add more salt if needed.
- Bake: Pour into 23 x 33cm / 9 x 13" pan, smooth surface. Top with remaining cheese. Bake 25 minutes until golden and bubbly. Serve immediately!
Recipe Notes:
- Butter – sub margarine. Sub with olive oil + switch 1 cup of the milk for cream (if you can, to make up richness/flavour). Butter is flavour, so try not to skip this.
- Flour – any type of flour fine here, white, wholemeal, self raising, gluten free. Cornflour/cornstarch gluten free sub: Mix 3.5 tbsp with splash of water and add that in with the milk. And obviously, use GF pasta!
- Milk – any type. Dairy, non dairy, full fat, low fat, fresh, long life, milk powder (reconstituted). Up to 1.5 cups milk can be substituted with water.
- Stock/bouillon powder or cube or seasoning instead of liquid stock/broth – use 2 cubes or 4 tsp powder, chicken or vegetable (Vegeta is my fave). Sub with 1/2 cup extra parmesan + salt to taste.
- No cheese? Add 3/4 cup / 75g shredded parmesan, or 1 – 1.5 tsp chicken stock powder.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
One of his best features. (Minus what looks like a big boogie up his nose 😆)
Whoops! Nagi wrote right back to point out step 6. Remedial reading for me!
In absence of other instructions, I added the chicken back in just before the cheese and pasta.
Hi David – it’s listed in step 6 “Stir through half the cheese (will melt in oven), then add pasta and chicken.” N x
Sweet picture of Dozer. In your photography “defense”, I think that’s just his doggie inside nose skin and no boogie😊 my little weiner dogs had similar nooks and crannies inside their noses like Dozer’s. So he, and you took a perfect picture. Pasta recipe looks amazing.
😂 They’re very odd to look at closely aren’t they Riley?! N x
Dozer’s handsome at any angle. 😊
I made this chicken tettrazini vegan for my daughter using plant butter, oat milk, vegan cheese shreds, and vegetable broth. Then at the end I separated some for her and added the chicken to the batch that I set aside for me & my husband. THIS WAS DELICIOUS !!! My husband couldn’t even tell I had used vegan ingredients ! I will admit I topped ours w regular cheese, while topping my daughter’s with vegan cheese ! Everyone just gobbled up this recipe. The sauce was beautiful, smooth and creamy and decadent ! I am so happy with this recipe ! I will definitely make it again !!
That’s great to know Erin – I’m sure lots of readers will be happy to read this!! N x
Yum, Yum. Ive Made This last month didn’t kniw what to do with chicken Had myshrooms but timing wasnt Realy neither lunch nor Dinner anyway I given big biwl to Neighbour as Well and cos IT was Realy Cold She Had hers than and there so did I and there was nothing left. Thanks for reminding me as i have again chicken and myshrooms so why Not. Thanks Nagi Love YOU both. Melb Had Only 03.5 C Yestrday Am, brrrr. Be Safe.
You must be the best neighbour to have Vera! I’t a bit warmer here in Sydney today at least, the weekend is supposed to be 24C!! N x
I have many things to thank the great August Escoffier for, including this favorite pasta bake. I like to make the bechamel with Gruyere and top the dish with a bit of Parmesan and slivered almonds before baking. We like to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving (in October) and U.S. Thanksgiving (in November) so we can make turkey tetrazzini more often!
Sounds fabulous Jeffrey!!! N x
Once again I can’t find the little heart to add this recipe to my recipe box
Hi Rosa, it should be in the bottom right hand corner of your screen. Which browser are you using to view the recipes? N x
It is also frequently made with turkey, a great dish for thanksgiving leftovers. I first became aware of this dish in a very strange place. It was in a freeze dried camping meal for backpackers; just add boiling water. Anything tastes good after hiking all day
I have no idea what the original recipe included but there are many published variants today. They often include green beans, peas or asparagus pieces. Prosuito or some form of alcohol like wine or sherry.
You can definitely change it up to suit Jeff, that’s the beauty of it! N x
I sent you an email re: this comment. I have made – earlier – variations of this recipe:
No pasta
Four Cheeses – all freshly grated – Asiago, Double Smoked Cheddar, Parmesan, & Old White Cheddar.
Also used Green onions & Red & Green Bell peppers. Added Can of Mushroom or Chicken soup, if no time to make the Bechamel sauce. Finally, I put – on the Topping – Beaten Egg with Greek Natural Yoghurt , & Sprinkled Chopped Cilantro.
Sounds fabulous Les!! N x
Want to try but what do you think is the best cheese for this recipe.
Hi Roz – cheddar, jack, colby work great here, just not mozzarella. If you don’t have these, see the notes for subs 🙂 N x
Are you using all three cheeses? The Colby, cheddar and Jack all together? Or could I get by with just using one of those?
PARMESAN OR ROMANO
Hi Nagi,
My mom always made this with canned soup. Can’t wait to try homemade. Question- I’m not a fan of mushroom texture. Is there something I can sub for mushrooms ????
Hi Karen, if you don’t like mushrooms, why not try another vegetable like zucchini or eggplant? N x
The picture shows something green like peas or parsley but not mentioned in recipe
Hi Vicki, it’s just a sprinkle of parsley for garnish 🙂 N x
This looks wonderful – I just wanted to print the recipe but the print button doesn’t seem to be working. Is it just me?
I didn’t see a mention of cooking the pasta. Do you cook at all before? How long?
Hi Heather,
The ingredients state that you need cooked pasta and suggest that you follow the instructions on the packet. I find that about 11 minutes is normally about right.
Hi Ruth, it could be the browser you’re using, the print function is working fine from my end – N x
Thanks Nagi,
I regularly print out your recipes (thanks!) without problem. Today I tried again and it worked – must have had a bad day.
I am a Yank that’s been here for 45 years. This dish is a Southern US tradition. I actually made this yesterday before you posted your recipe. I usually add a can of Cream Of Chicken soup at the time of adding the milk and use the stock to make the sauce thinner for cooking. I also saute thinly chopped capsicum with the onion and garlic and add a splash of dry white wine…Cheap stuff for flavour. Must add sliced fresh mushrooms. Top it with grated parmesan cheese and nothing else for the authentic version. Nagi you are wonderful!!!! How do you know how to cook such wonderful dishes????
It may be a Southern tradition but I believe it started in San Francisco. Madame Tetrazini gave a free opera performance and the recipe was created as a thank you. You can be sure the original had no canned soup in it
OMG!! Garlic, Chicken, Cheese, Mushroom!! Only thing missing is Bacon. I CAN add that too, right?? Definitely making this on the weekend. Thank You for another awesome recipe Nagi.
Ooooo I like that idea… bacon… lemme know if you try that… I might try that too
No boogie – it’s just the light!
Give him a hug from me. XXX
Ha ha I think it is – but it’s funnier thinking it’s a boogie! 😂
If I eliminate mushrooms from Tetrazzini are there any adjustments needed to recipe?
Hi Nicki, you could add another vegetable of choice here – below are some great options! N x
Same question! Any subs for the mushroom?
Leave out the mushrooms or sub chopped broccoli, peas, anything really. I make this a lot in winter
I’m hungry now!! This looks amazing Nagi
Quick! Run to the kitchen!! N x