Hen Tetrazzini (Creamy Pasta Bake)

Taking notes from my simple chicken spaghetti casserole, rooster tetrazzini is a deliciously creamy, buttery weeknight pasta bake. I make it with spaghetti and juicy rooster items tossed with a wealthy cream sauce, baked beneath a blanket of gooey mozzarella. 

This tetrazzini recipe skips the necessity for a béchamel sauce created from scratch, and makes use of condensed cream soup for a fast, family-friendly shortcut.

Causes to Make This Creamy Hen Tetrazzini

• It’s fast to prep. Make the no-cook cream sauce within the minutes it takes to boil your spaghetti. Afterward, combine all of it collectively and bake!
• Use leftover rooster. If you have already got cooked rooster or a rotisserie rooster within the fridge, rooster tetrazzini is an effective way to make use of it up.
• Pantry-friendly. Every part it is advisable make tetrazzini is well discovered within the pantry or grocery retailer. The elements are additionally very adaptable. I embody a few of my favourite variation concepts additional within the publish.

Components You’ll Want for This Recipe

Listed below are some fast notes outlining the elements on this cozy rooster tetrazzini recipe, plus attainable substitutions in the event you want them. Scroll to the recipe card after the publish for the total recipe and ingredient quantities.

• Spaghetti – Basic tetrazzini recipes name for lengthy pasta. As a substitute of spaghetti, you might additionally use linguine or fettuccine, or homemade egg noodles.
• Hen – I like to recommend boneless, skinless rooster breasts or thighs as they’re best to cut or shred. Cook dinner your rooster within the oven or air fryer, or it can save you time with a pre-cooked rotisserie rooster.
• Cream of Hen Soup – I exploit low-sodium canned cream of rooster. Strive one other sort of canned soup, like cream of mushroom, for a special taste profile.
• Bitter Cream – Or Greek yogurt, in the event you want a substitute.
• Butter – Delivered to room temperature.
• Hen Broth – Low-sodium store-bought or do-it-yourself chicken stock. For a extra conventional tetrazzini cheese sauce, substitute half of the broth with sherry or a dry white wine, like Chardonnay.
• Seasonings – I used garlic powder, dried parsley, and floor pepper. You can use contemporary if in case you have it available. Exchange the dried herbs within the recipe with two freshly minced garlic cloves and three tablespoons of contemporary parsley.
• Mozzarella – You can additionally use one other melty cheese, like shredded cheddar, in a pinch. For smoother melting, shred the cheese contemporary from the block.
• Parmesan – Different good choices are Pecorino and Grana Padano. Once more, use freshly grated for the perfect taste and texture.
• Slivered Almonds – Elective, however I like sprinkling the highest of my tetrazzini with chopped or slivered almonds for crunch. You can additionally add breadcrumbs, crushed crackers, or depart the highest plain.

Methods to Make Hen Tetrazzini

Not like comparable rooster tetrazzini recipes, this one doesn’t contain cooking the sauce earlier than you bake it! All it is advisable do is observe the steps under to prepare dinner the pasta, stir collectively the sauce elements, and switch all the things to a baking dish:

• Put together for baking. Get the pasta boiling whilst you preheat the oven to 350ºF. In the meantime, grease a big casserole dish. When the pasta has cooked in line with the bundle instructions, drain it and set it apart.
• Make the sauce. In a big bowl, mix the rooster with the creamy soup, bitter cream, butter, broth, and seasonings. Stir to mix.

• Assemble the pasta. Now, fold the cooked noodles into the sauce. Pour the combination into your ready baking dish. Then, sprinkle the mozzarella and parmesan on prime. Add the additional parsley and almonds (if desired) as a garnish.

• Bake. Bake your rooster tetrazzini uncovered at 350ºF for 35-40 minutes. When the cheese is sizzling and effervescent, you’re able to serve!

Can I Make This With out Canned Soup?

Sure. It’s attainable to organize this rooster tetrazzini the old style approach, and substitute the 2 cans of condensed soup within the recipe with a do-it-yourself base. On this case, I’d recommend borrowing the fundamental béchamel you’d make for baked mac and cheese, utilizing a 1:1 ratio of fats to flour:

1. To make it, soften ¼ cup of butter in a saucepan over medium-low warmth. 
2. Whisk in ¼ cup of flour, prepare dinner for 1-2 minutes, after which slowly whisk in 2 cups of milk (or heavy cream) till easy. You’ll be able to substitute half of the milk with rooster broth for extra taste in the event you’d like.
3. Deliver the combination to a boil, stirring typically, and simmer for a couple of minutes till the béchamel thickens. Afterward, it’s prepared to mix with the remainder of the elements to make the sauce.

Simple Variations

• Completely different protein. Swap cooked rooster for shrimp scampi or steak bites.
• Vegetarian. Go away the rooster out or substitute it with pre-cooked greens like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, bell peppers, and cherry tomatoes. 
• Add greens. Combine leafy greens into the sauce, like contemporary or frozen spinach, peas, or kale.
• Make it spicy. Add a sprinkle of crushed crimson chili flakes or a splash of sizzling sauce to style.

Ceaselessly Requested Questions

Methods to Retailer and Reheat Tetrazzini

• Refrigerate. Retailer leftover rooster tetrazzini hermetic within the fridge for as much as 5 days. 
• Reheat. Heat leftovers within the oven, or you may reheat particular person parts within the microwave or in a saucepot on the stovetop.