Chicken Tetrazzini

Chicken Tetrazzini is an easy make ahead dinner that is full of comfort. Made with a creamy delicious sauce and baked with spaghetti and chicken, your family will devour this classic dinner.

In the never ending quest to find recipes that my family can come together around the table and enjoy, I have a new one for you. This Chicken Tetrazzini was a big hit with my whole family.

This recipe is easy to follow, and results in a creamy noodle casserole. Big warm bowls of this Chicken Tetrazzini are bite after bite of comfort.

One of my favorite things about this recipe is that you can prepare the whole thing the night before and then put it in the oven when you get home from work. You could even freeze this noodle dish and pull it out during the middle of a busy week.

How to Make Chicken Tetrazzini

While this is an easy recipe, it does involve a few moving pieces, so I suggest reading this brief overview. Get the full ingredients and instructions at the bottom of the post.

1. Boil the spaghetti: Bring a large pot of water to a roaring boil and add salt. Add the pasta, and drain it 2 minutes earlier than is suggested on the box.
2. Sauté mushrooms in butter.
3. Make a roux: Using the butter we cooked the mushrooms, add flour and make a roux.
4. Cream sauce: Slowly add chicken stock and then milk and seasonings. After cooking down for 5 minutes add cheese and sour cream.
5. Combine: Mix everything together in the casserole dish, top with more cheese and then bake.

What is a Roux

I use rouxs in a lot of my recipes. It is such a handy little technique to have nailed down. A roux is a thickening agent made from flour and fat that is the back bone of cream sauces.

In this recipe we combine the butter we used to sauté the mushrooms with flour. then adding in chicken stock and milk makes for a really creamy sauce. It is the same technique used in my Homemade Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup, which can be used as a substitute here.

Keeping Cooked Chicken on Hand

One of my favorite hacks is to keep cooked shredded chicken in my freezer. It is a lifesaver for dishes like this or my Chicken Noodle Casserole. Follow the steps below and you can always have chicken on hand.

How to Cook Chicken

1. Place boneless skinless chicken breasts in a saucepan and cover with water.
2. Bring to a boil and cook for 4 to 7 minutes or until the chicken registers 165.

Freezing Shredded Chicken

You can always have chicken on hand by freezing it after cooking it. This works great with the above method, and also store bought rotisserie chickens.

1. Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
2. Add the shredded chicken in a single layer and freeze for one hour.
3. Break up and put in a ziplock bag, putting it back in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Using this method, it will be easy to pull out just a few cups of chicken at a time. The chicken thaws in the refrigerator overnight before using, or quickly on the counter top. I have even thrown it into soups straight from the freezer.

Using Other Noodles

You will notice that in my Turkey Tetrazzini we use egg noodles. For this one I decided to go with spaghetti. You really can use any noodle you like.

Just make sure that you cook for 2 minutes less than is listed on the package, as the noodles will continue cooking in the casserole.

Making Ahead

My Chicken Tetrazzini is a great recipe to prepare the night before. Just wrap it in aluminum foil and put it right in the preheated oven when you are ready to eat. It will likely take a few extra minutes to cook, but will be delicious. Store the uncooked recipe in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking.

Freezing Turkey Tetrazzini

This is also a great recipe to make and stick in your freezer for a busy day. Here are a few tips:

• Make the recipe in a disposable casserole dish to avoid it breaking when it goes from the freezer to the hot oven.
• Make the recipe as directed, stopping before you put it in the oven.
• Wrap it three times with aluminum foil or plastic wrap.
• Store it in the freezer for up to three months.
• Unwrap before baking.
• Bake right from frozen at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until the casserole is bubbly and golden brown.

What to Serve with Chicken Tetrazzini

Here are a few recipes that would go great with this:

• My Parmesan Roasted Broccoli is a great way to add in some vegetables to this recipe.
• These Honey Roasted Carrots are delicious and always a hit.
• This Three Bean Salad is made the night before so it won’t take up oven space and it is delicious!

If you make this Chicken Tetrazzini or any of my other recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.