Hen Tetrazzini (Creamy Pasta Bake)

Taking notes from my straightforward 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 constituted of 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 thing it is advisable to 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 submit.

Elements You’ll Want for This Recipe

Listed here are some fast notes outlining the elements on this cozy rooster tetrazzini recipe, plus potential substitutions when you want them. Scroll to the recipe card after the submit for the complete recipe and ingredient quantities.

• Spaghetti – Traditional tetrazzini recipes name for lengthy pasta. As a substitute of spaghetti, you can 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. Prepare 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 take advantage of low-sodium canned cream of rooster. Attempt one other form of canned soup, like cream of mushroom, for a unique taste profile.
• Bitter Cream – Or Greek yogurt, when you want a substitute.
• Butter – Dropped at room temperature.
• Hen Broth – Low-sodium store-bought or home made 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 could possibly use contemporary when you have it available. Change the dried herbs within the recipe with two freshly minced garlic cloves and three tablespoons of contemporary parsley.
• Mozzarella – You could possibly 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 very best taste and texture.
• Slivered Almonds – Elective, however I really like sprinkling the highest of my tetrazzini with chopped or slivered almonds for crunch. You could possibly additionally add breadcrumbs, crushed crackers, or go away the highest plain.

Make Hen Tetrazzini

In contrast to related rooster tetrazzini recipes, this one doesn’t contain cooking the sauce earlier than you bake it! All it is advisable to do is observe the steps under to cook dinner the pasta, stir collectively the sauce elements, and switch every little thing 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 accordance with the package deal 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 scorching and effervescent, you’re able to serve!

Can I Make This With out Canned Soup?

Sure. It’s potential to arrange this rooster tetrazzini the old school approach, and exchange the 2 cans of condensed soup within the recipe with a home made base. On this case, I’d recommend borrowing the essential 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, cook dinner for 1-2 minutes, after which slowly whisk in 2 cups of milk (or heavy cream) till clean. You may exchange half of the milk with rooster broth for extra taste when you’d like.
3. Carry the combination to a boil, stirring usually, 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

• Totally different protein. Swap cooked rooster for shrimp scampi or steak bites.
• Vegetarian. Depart the rooster out or exchange 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 scorching sauce to style.

Often Requested Questions

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’ll be able to reheat particular person parts within the microwave or in a saucepot on the stovetop.