Hen Tetrazzini (Creamy Pasta Bake)

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

This tetrazzini recipe skips the necessity for a béchamel sauce comprised 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 hen. If you have already got cooked hen or a rotisserie hen within the fridge, hen tetrazzini is an effective way to make use of it up.
• Pantry-friendly. Every little thing it’s good to make tetrazzini is well discovered within the pantry or grocery retailer. The elements are additionally very adaptable. I embrace a few of my favourite variation concepts additional within the submit.

Substances You’ll Want for This Recipe

Listed below are some fast notes outlining the elements on this cozy hen tetrazzini recipe, plus doable substitutions if you happen to want them. Scroll to the recipe card after the submit for the total recipe and ingredient quantities.

• Spaghetti – Traditional tetrazzini recipes name for lengthy pasta. As an alternative of spaghetti, you could possibly additionally use linguine or fettuccine, or homemade egg noodles.
• Hen – I like to recommend boneless, skinless hen breasts or thighs as they’re best to cut or shred. Cook dinner your hen within the oven or air fryer, or it can save you time with a pre-cooked rotisserie hen.
• Cream of Hen Soup – I take advantage of low-sodium canned cream of hen. Attempt one other form of canned soup, like cream of mushroom, for a unique taste profile.
• Bitter Cream – Or Greek yogurt, if you happen to 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 possibly can 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 possibly 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 most effective taste and texture.
• Slivered Almonds – Non-obligatory, however I really like sprinkling the highest of my tetrazzini with chopped or slivered almonds for crunch. You possibly can additionally add breadcrumbs, crushed crackers, or go away the highest plain.

How one can Make Hen Tetrazzini

Not like related hen tetrazzini recipes, this one doesn’t contain cooking the sauce earlier than you bake it! All it’s good to do is observe the steps under to prepare dinner the pasta, stir collectively the sauce elements, and switch the whole lot 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 based on the package deal instructions, drain it and set it apart.
• Make the sauce. In a big bowl, mix the hen 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 hen 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 doable to organize this hen tetrazzini the old style approach, and change 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, prepare dinner for 1-2 minutes, after which slowly whisk in 2 cups of milk (or heavy cream) till easy. You possibly can change half of the milk with hen broth for extra taste if you happen to’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.

Straightforward Variations

• Completely different protein. Swap cooked hen for shrimp scampi or steak bites.
• Vegetarian. Depart the hen out or change 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 touch of scorching sauce to style.

Steadily Requested Questions

How one can Retailer and Reheat Tetrazzini

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