Classic Chicken Tetrazzini Casserole | Renee's Kitchen Adventures

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Classic Chicken Tetrazzini Casserole

Chicken Tetrazzini is a classic casserole dish everyone loves!  Budget friendly and the perfect way to enjoy a weeknight meal with your family. Pasta, chicken, mushrooms in a creamy, cheesy sauce topped with buttery bread crumbs.  Comfort food at it's best!

Classic Chicken Tetrazzini | by Renee's Kitchen Adventures - Easy recipe for a budget-friendly dinner that is a great way to use up holiday leftovers!




This week's #SundaySupper theme is "Budget-Friendly Meals" and I can't think of a better dish to represent this theme than Classic Chicken Tetrazzini. For me, tetrazzini is synonymous with leftovers. Have leftovers = make tetrazzini. What I love about re-purposing leftovers is no waste. What I love the most about tetrazzini, is that you can use whatever leftover meat or veggies you have. Since we are almost in the thick of the holiday season, there will be leftovers and this recipe is so great for your holiday leftovers!  I've made this with chicken, turkey and even ham...all resulting in a delicious family-friendly meal! 

According to Wikipedia, tetrazzini is not an Italian dish.  It is an American creation named after the famous Italian Opera Star, Luissa Tetrazzini.  Some short cut recipes rely on cream of "whatever" soups, but not this version. It is not that much more work to make your own cream sauce and, to be honest, it tastes so much better than the canned stuff.  And guess what? Penny for penny, it's also more economical to skip the canned soup too! 

Classic Chicken Tetrazzini | by Renee's Kitchen Adventures - Easy recipe for a budget-friendly dinner that is a great way to use up holiday leftovers!

In my version, I do use veggies: fresh mushrooms, frozen peas, red bell pepper, and sweet onion.  I use leftover rotisserie chicken for the meat. You can use sherry in the sauce (I did) or just replace the sherry with more chicken broth, it will still be delicious. 

This is pure comfort food that won't break the bank to make, it feeds a crowd, and makes a great pot-luck dish.  If you've never made tetrazzini, what are you waiting for?  I promise it will be a new favorite! A nice garden salad on the side and dinner is done! 

Classic Chicken Tetrazzini

Renee's Kitchen Adventures
Classic Chicken Tetrazzini
Classic budget-friendly comfort food casserole. A great way to use up leftovers!

Ingredients

  • 8 oz. dried linguine, broken in half
  • 4 TBS unsalted butter, divided
  • 20 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 1/2 cups red bell pepper, small diced
  • 1 small sweet onion, diced
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 cups low sodium, fat free chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 cups 2% milk
  • 1/2 cup dry sherry (or additional chicken broth)
  • 4 cups cooked shredded chicken, turkey, or ham
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tsp. dried parsley
  • kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
  • 10 oz. frozen peas
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs, mixed with 2 TBS grated Parmesan cheese and 1 TBS olive oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9" x 13" glass casserole dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
  2. Break the pasta in half to shorten the strands. Cook pasta according to package directions, but undercook by 2 minutes. Drain and rinse (to keep from sticking). Add the pasta to the casserole dish.
  3. In large skillet, melt 1 TBS butter. Add in onion, red bell pepper and mushrooms. Cook on med-high for 5 - 6 minutes or until vegetables begin to get tender. Add the veggies to the casserole dish. Add in the frozen peas. Stir.
  4. In same skillet you cooked the veggies in, melt remaining butter. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the broth, milk, and sherry (if using). Lower the heat. Add in the chicken, Parmesan, and parsley. Cook until thickened and bubbly. Season with salt and pepper. Pour onto pasta/veggie mix and stir to combine. Cover casserole loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil, top with bread crumb mixture and bake another 10 minutes. If desired, brown the crumb mixture under the broiler for a few minutes right before casserole is done. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Yield: 6 - 8 servings
Prep Time: 00 hrs. 15 mins.
Cook time: 00 hrs. 30 mins.
Total time: 45 mins.
Tags: casserole, #sundaysupper, chicken, pasta, dinner, main dish

Adapted from Southern Casseroles 


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Classic Chicken Tetrazzini | by Renee's Kitchen Adventures - Easy recipe for a budget-friendly dinner that is a great way to use up holiday leftovers!


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Be sure to visit all the #SundaySupper blogs for more inspiration for Budget-Friendly Meals!

Save-Your-Pennies Soups: 
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Mexican Turkey Bean Soup by What Smells So Good?
Pasta e Fagioli by The Food Hunter’s Guide to Cuisine
Turkey and Dumpling Soup by Palatable Pastime
Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup by Pancake Warriors

Budget-Savvy Bread and Salads: 
Mom’s Buttermilk Biscuits by Grumpy's Honeybunch
Turkey Salad by Food Done Light

Money-Saving Mains: 
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Cajun Blackened Chicken Thighs by Feeding Big
Chicken Enchilada Casserole by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
Chicken Enchiladas by The Freshman Cook
Chicken Tetrazzini by Renee’s Kitchen Adventures
Chimichurri Chicken Thighs by Life Tastes Good
Easy Cheesy Egg Breakfast Bake with Potatoes and Sausage by From Gate to Plate
Easy Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce by Fantastical Sharing of Recipes
Egyptian Rice and Lentils by Wholistic Woman
French Onion Soup Twice Baked Potato by Sew You Think You Can Cook
Gnocchi with Fennel and Pork by Caroline's Cooking
Italian Baked Chicken by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Lasagna Stuffed Acorn Squash by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
Orzo with Leftover Turkey and Sweet Potatoes by Cooking Chat
Sauteed Vegetables by Party Food and Entertaining
Turkey Sausage and Pasta by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
Twice Baked Sweet Potato Bar by Momma's Meals
Yakisoba (Japanese Stir Fried Noodles) by Curious Cuisinere

Don't-break-the-bank Desserts: 
Apple Pecan Bread Pudding by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Marshmallow Popcorn Balls by Pies and Plots
Slow Cooker Apple Gingerbread Crumble by The Crumby Cupcake

And more saving suggestions from the Sunday Supper Movement: Budget-Friendly Meal Ideas for  #SundaySupper

8 comments:

  1. Guess what? I have never made Tetrazzini before! lol I will have to remember this for a weeknight meal. Sounds and looks delicious!

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  2. I make a turkey version every year after Thanksgiving! Mine is similar but I'm going to add onion and bell peppers to my next batch. You've inspired me!

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  3. I've heard of this dish but I've not had it. Your photos make me want to give it a try though!

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  4. I adore Turkey Tetrazzini! Can you believe I've never made it! Well, I'm printing off this recipe right now Renee. After T-Day, this will be one of the meals I'll be making with my leftover turkey. Thank you for sharing a timely recipe! Hugs!

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  5. Great minds Renee...I posted Turkey Tetrazzini yesterday.

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  6. I would love to try this! Looks delicious! Definitely amazing comfort food!

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  7. I love that you can use any leftover meat for this recipe!

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