Tetrazzini: A baked pasta dish originally made with turkey, mushrooms, cream sauce, and Parmesan cheese. Named after an Italian opera singer, Luisa Tetrazzini, who apparently sung with delight when this was served~
This version made us sing with delight!
It is made with chicken instead of turkey, some leftover ham, a “clean out the refrigerator” cream sauce, thin spaghetti, and a rainbow of vegetables
Corn, onions, celery, red pepper…if I had mushrooms or fresh spinach that would have gone in there too~
This dish has so many goodies and you can add whatever you like!
Now you can make a traditional white sauce [see recipe below] or you can clean “house” a little~
I started with a can of mushroom soup and then added a little sour cream, a little Alfredo sauce, a little onion dip…I had dibs and dabs of these things I needed to use up…so I mixed up this crazy concoction until I had enough sauce for a large 9×13 pan of tetrazzini, about 3 cups
Add the sauteed veggies and ham to the sauce
Stir in some cooked pasta
Add the shredded chicken and season with salt and pepper
I cooked boneless chicken breasts in the slow cooker with chicken broth earlier in the day. Not only does it shred easily, it is so tender, it is perfect for casseroles. You can also use the broth it cooked in to thin your sauce if necessary
Ease the mixture into a large baking dish or lasagna pan that has been sprayed with cooking oil spray
This dish really has more meat and vegetables than it does pasta and sauce and it will easily serve 8-10
Top it with some lovely shaved fresh Parmesan
and stash it in your refrigerator until you are ready to bake~overnight is fine
This time of year we are back and forth from the coast a lot. I made this the day before and took it with me, ready to pop in the oven for an easy, no fuss dinner when we arrived for Easter weekend. With the kids all coming at different times, it made dinner a breeze and there was a satisfying meal ready for any late arrivals~
Shhhh! Just don’t tell anyone you were actually cleaning out your refrigerator 😉
Loaded Tetrazzini
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless chicken breasts, cooked or use rotisserie chicken
- 1 cup chopped ham, prosciutto or bacon
- 4 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 large sweet onion, chopped
- 1 sweet red or yellow pepper
- 8 oz thin spaghetti
- 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup see note section for other options
- 1/2 cup onion dip or sour cream see note section for other options
- 1/2 cup Alfredo sauce see note section for other options
- salt and pepper
- 4 oz shaved Parmesan cheese
Slow Cooker Chicken
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
White Sauce
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 cups half and half or cream
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 6 Tbsp white wine or cooking sherry
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp white pepper you can use black
Instructions
Slow Cooker Chicken
- Place chicken in slow cooker and cover with broth
- Cook for 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low
- Drain, reserving broth for another use if desired, and shred or chop chicken
Loaded Tetrazzini
- Bring salted water or chicken broth to a boil and add pasta
- Stir pasta down into liquid, cook 2 minutes, then cover and remove from heat. Pasta will continue to cook as you prepare the rest of the ingredients
- Saute vegetables in a drizzle of olive oil until soft
- Add ham or bacon and cook 1 minute
- Combine soup with Alfredo sauce, and sour cream or dip, and tin with a little chicken broth or white wine if necessary to reach desired consistency
- Add vegetables and other meat to sauce.
- Drain pasta, and don't worry if it's not quite cooked through, it will finish during final baking
- Add pasta to vegetable and sauce mixture and gently fold in chicken.
- Turn into a greased 9" x 13" casserole or baking dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese
- Dish may be covered and refrigerated for up to 36 hours before baking
- Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 45-60 minutes until hot and bubbly
- Refrigerate or freeze leftovers
White Sauce
- Melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium high heat
- Whisk in flour until blended and cook for 1 minutes, whisking constantly.
- Stir in cream, broth, wine and seasonings
- Bring to a boil and cook for 8 minutes or until thick, whisking constantly
Notes
You might also want to check out Chicken & Mushroom Tetrazzini, full of sauteed mushrooms and a dash of sherry
and Italian Tetrazzini with roasted tomatoes and zucchini~
I love to experiment with different combos in the kitchen, it’s a lot like painting~I am sure you will create a masterpiece!
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