Chicken Tetrazzini

Be aware that this recipe is for people looking to cut fat. It's cooking LIGHT. If you need a rich tasting dish you might want to sub some cream or half and half for the broth.

This is a good solid recipe.I made three changes based on personal preference and other comments.Also, there seems to be some confusion about the amount, it states it makes TWO casseroles, one now and one to freeze.Cook the pasta, some didn’t understand that part of the directions.

1. Used penne pasta because I think it holds up better in casseroles - cooked 16 oz box.

2.Based on another users feedback, used only 32 oz. carton of low sodium chicken broth, I agree based on our taste, 42 plus oz. would have been way too much (too runny).

3.Used an entire block of light cream cheese.

This filled one 8x8 pyrex and another 7x11 pyrex to the brim!I think if you used all the chicken broth called for it would be too much.Again, thick or thin is a matter of taste, not the authors problem….

Time, I have little of it. So, this recipe was a time saver. Very tasty and I love that I have another meal to take out at a later date. I would have made more gravy though my family likes to add it on, the pasta really absorbs it.

The recipe makes a huge amount, and if I was fixing it again, I'd cut everything in half.  And while the final product is good, it's not spectacular, and certainly not worth all the chopping and mixing.  The mixture of mushrooms, onions, celery and broth really looks disgusting, and I almost threw the whole thing away.  Don't bother.

Chicken tetrazzini is one of my very favorite dishes and this recipe is one of the best I have seen. We followed it exactly and I will be thinking of it for days! Yum! If you think it does not have enough flavor it is because you are not crazy about chicken tetrazzini!

This was creamy comfort food - not exciting, but somehow satisfying. Especially for people who don't like a lot of spices. I cut the recipe in about 1/3, which fit in a 7x11" casserole dish. I'm allergic to parmesan, so subbed in mozzarella. I'm assuming the parmesan would have been better - the mozzarella got a bit stringy. And, like other reviewers, I used panko for the top. I think it would have been better if I mixed the panko with some melted butter. I'm not sure if I'll make this again, but who knows - I may have a craving some day.

I have been making this recipe for years. It is a family favorite. It is huge. I usually halve it. I make two changes. First, I use 1 cup frozen peas for 8 oz of mushrooms. Second, I cook the chicken myself and add garlic powder which I think really helps. So good!

This is a labor intensive recipe but very well worth it. It is delicious. I like to make one casserole for us and give one away.

Very good dish. I used ronzoni garden vegetable spaghetti, as I thought wheat spaghetti would be too heavy. The chicken broth I used sw homemade I know that sounds fufu but I got that recipe off the net...so easy put all your leftover vegs or ends you cut off in a bag in freezer when full dump in a pan cover with water add thyme and other spices along with the carcass of a rotisserie chicken. Simmer 40 min then freeze. This made it very flavorful. Also used rotisserie chicken for this recipe and subbed panko breadcrumbs for white bread. It was moist not heavy. Would make again!!!

Love this dish. I've made it mostly as is substituting left over Thanksgiving turkey and turkey broth. I now just made it with left over Easter ham and instead of mushrooms used chopped broccoli. Everything else is the same. Both variations are delicious!

This recipe was good, but not great. I'd make it again. I did a LOT of doctoring to it tho. I think it would have been incredibly bland without the added spices (lots of garlic (4 cloves), thyme & sage, as well as 8oz more mushrooms & an extra onion). I also added edemame beans (shelled uncooked soy beans) for extra color, texture and nutritional value. Also it made a lot more than I thought it would. I had 2 half sized aluminum chafing pans filled pretty full. I used the barilla plus angel hair spaghetti, it holds its shape and has extra nutritional value too. So I didn't have any issues with mushy pasta. The sauce was fine. I used wondra instead of regular flour, because I think it takes less effort to make a sauce with it. If you are making this ahead, and putting it in your refrigerator to cook when you come home at night, allow at least a full hour for it to heat up. It is incredibly dense and takes a long time to heat up if you are starting from a cold refrigerated state

I Love this recipe. Been making it for years,every since came I across an older Best of Cooking Light magazine at a thrift shop (actually frequently use many recipes from it). Family loves it, friends love it, love love love. Used to make a version from a pretty old, much loved cook book I have. This version is just as good, only much lighter, much easier and less time consuming

Awesome recipe. Easy and very good. A rotisserie chicken has just about 4 cups of meat so that's what I used. I cut the amount of pasta in half and added about 3 1/2 cups chopped and lightly steamed broccoli, cauliflower and red peppers. I also added fresh basil. I usually think most recipes don't have enough sauce...this one is perfect. Everyone loved it and I will make it again!

Rather bland but a nice family dish. Would add more spices next time. Used less spaghetti than recommended which made it a little runny.

This is a wonderful casserole that I have been making since the recipe was first published. Over the years, I have refined it to make it a little easier and successful every time. I use fully-cooked chicken breasts that my grocery supplies in the freezer section, warmed according to package directions in the oven. It's also good with rotisserie chicken, but the shredding is time-consuming. I use a 32 oz container of broth to ensure that the sauce is not runny (I believe the amount called for is too much). I use the food processor for the onions and celery and pre-sliced mushrooms. I use panko. And aside from those changes, I make the recipe as written. It is my go-to for families who have a new baby, have had surgery, or a death in the family, as it is very comforting. Sometimes you just want that, no need to make it more complex. I cook once, and while it is time consuming, I feed my family one casserole and give the other to a family who appreciates it, and it's 1.5 hours well-spent.

Yummy but time consuming. Try half of the recipe next time.

People beg me to bring this to potlucks.

OMG! This is amazing! I made one for us and one to take to my neighbor who just had a baby. A very welcome dinner for her family. Be sure to use a giant pot, this dish seems to grow as you cook it. Is now part of my 'to go to list" of favorites!

Very tasty recipe. It is definitely worth trying! I simmer my chicken in broth before I shred it up for the casserole.

this was delicious!! i halved the recipe and it still made 8 very generous servings. i also added a half of a large bag of frozen peas.

excellent, I made it with port as I didn't have sherry on hand and I changed the celery to frozen peas for the same reason and just added them at the end after the cream cheese. this is delish and I think would be great even without baking it.

Great mushroom flavors.

My husband and I liked this a lot. Some mall changes were: added a teaspoon of garlic powder, cooked the fettuccine al dente (only 6 minutes as it cooks a lot in the casserole) subtracted out a couple tablespoons of flour, used Panko breadcrumbs and only baked it for an hour. Would like to add peas but forgot to buy them. Much better than the one w soup as the base.

My family and friends love this recipe. I use rotisserie chicken and Baby Bella mushrooms. Although the recipe says it makes two eight inch casseroles, it really makes three. I cook one and freeze the other two for a great weeknight dinner or for taking to friends. I get regular requests to make this for gatherings and dinners I am taking to friends for sick/ new baby/ etc.

i added cream of mushroom soup and cream of cellery and cream of chicken to improve the taste and creamyness of this dish. it went over well with my picky husband.

Great recipe as written. I have a three year old who doesn't like mushrooms, or at least the ones she can see, so I put all of the veggies in the food processor. That combined with the whole wheat spaghetti I use (which never has a soggy texture) leaves this dish looking a bit ugly, but my three year old and all of her friends gobble up this healthy casserole loaded with mushrooms and ask for more! I have used cheap parm and cooking sherry or regular wine, DON'T! I serve with hot sauce at the table for those who like extra spice.

My family really liked this recipe! I do have a question, however. We cooked and ate one of the casseroles last night and froze the other recipe. The recipe states that the thawed casserole should cook for 30 minutes with the foil on and another hour with the foil removed. How could this possibly be when the original recipe only calls for 30 minutes uncovered?

I followed the advice in the other reviews and added over 3T Emeril's Essence and thought it was still just ok. I can imagine it would have been really tasteless without the Essence. My husband liked it more than I did, but I would not make this again.

This is a wonderful comfort food meal. Definitely not a quick & easy weeknight meal if you have to cook after work, but well worth the effort otherwise. Great leftovers, too.

Excellent cool-weather supper. Made to directions using thin spaghetti and panko instead of fresh bread crumbs. Added some frozen peas just before the cheese. Very good.

Yummy! My teenagers and husband loved this receipe.

I made this with turkey for Thanksgiving leftovers. My husband and I both loved it - this will become a post-Thanksgiving tradition!

As casseroles go, this was very good. Using the 1/3 less fat cream cheese gave it a very creamy texture without all the added calories. The only change I made was to substitute panko for the fresh breadcrumbs. The top turned out nicely browned and very crunchy. As I am having surgery in a couple of weeks, I'm looking forward to hubby thawing the second casserole and cooking me a delicious dinner!

Husband liked it a lot, I liked it less, but thought that it was a good, solid recipe. Used peas instead of celery. Next time I'll use more mushrooms and maybe less chicken - it would have been fine with 3 breasts instead of 4. My only concern - when the time came to add flour, there was absolutely not enough liquid in the pan to dilute 2/3 of a cup of flour. So I ended up with big clumpy mess, which I had to break up once I added the broth. So next time I will add some of the broth to the pan before I add flour.

great base recipe - i used panko instead of the slice of bread, which ended up making a great crust. I'm going to try to use peas in it this next time as well.

I made this for dinner tonight for the first time not knowing what to expect as I have not had Tetrazzini before. This was a wonderful healthy blend of those flavorings I enjoy so much in Chicken and Dumplings, Chicken Pot Pie, or homemade Chicken soup. This will be a good comfort food in those cold months to come. My 2 young sons and husband all really enjoyed this dish tonight - having all 4 us enjoy the same dish doesn't happen too often. This will be a common repeat in our household. Give it a try - you won't be disappointed!

Great recipe! I took the advice from prior reviews and added frozen peas instead of celery and added some garlic and red pepper. Will definately be making this again.

I can't tell you how many times I have made this recipe. It is go to recipe when a friend has a baby or someone is sick. I made 2 casseroles...1 for us and 1 for them! It makes much more than it calls for so I use a large casserole dish and the size it calls for. I love leftovers...very comforting. I follow the recipe.

It's a good solid recipe that needs extras like three garlic cloves in with the onions & celery, and a hefty shake of herbs de provence, 1/2 cup chopped marinated red bell pepper, 1/2 cup peas, and a tsp. crushed red pepper into the sauce right before mixing everything together. Used spaghetti broken in half, which was the perfect texture, and sliced almonds & panko crumbs on top instead of bread. Gave everything a spray of cooking spray over the top before baking. The mushrooms took more like 10 minutes. Proportions were perfect, and the final dish was moist and flavorful. Also leftovers made great lunch with salad. This recipe makes a lot: filled my 11x13 pan and another pan that's 5x9.

I LOVED this dish!! I didn't have sherry and used more chicken broth. Turned out very nice. Will definitely make again.

I loved this!!! I only made a couple changes, first I can't stand warm celery so I used a bag of frozen pea's instead. I added some of the white wine and garlic to my chicken when I cooked it in a pan to give it some flavor. I used spaghetti pasta and extra mushrooms. I will definitely be making this again!!!

Wonderful recipe for a crowd. Serves 10-12 nicely.

I added Italian flavored panko bread crumbs, extra mushrooms and used linguine for the pasta.I would have added peas if I had them on hand. My family enjoyed it and thought it was delicious. I gave the second casserole to a neighbor and she asked for the recipe. Good comfort food, solid weeknight meal.

Really enjoyed this. I will remember to make it whenever I have leftover chicken or turkey. I only made one 1 instead of 2 and loaded up on the mushrooms. Also, forgot I didn't have sherry so used white wine. Next time will throw some peas in there as well. Thinking about how to make this a veg dish as well.

For a light dish, this has amazing flavor. I did half it b/c I didn't want two casseroles (too small of a freezer) Also, lightened it up a little more with whole wheat thin spaghetti noodles. Do use good parm and real dry sherry (not cooking sherry.) I don't know about a "special occasion" even though I gave it 5 stars. It's worthy of the most special comfort food night of the winter, or to take to a friend who really needs a pick-me-up. (They'll never guess it's light!)

Made this recipe last night for my family- even messed up by not putting enough mushrooms in it and it was a HUGE hit. Loved it and it was even better today as leftovers. Would definitely make it again and even passed it onto someone I know already.

Great dish -- I used roasted rotissere chicken from the store to make it easier and it was GREAT !!

I think this recipe is a great start to what became an amazing recipe. On the advice of some of the other reviewers, I used linguine and cooked it about a minute less than al dente. I hate soggy pasta. I doubled+ the recipe because I have a large deep freeze. It made 3 large and 3 small casseroles. Quite a bit of work, but worth it. I added quite a bit of additional seasoning. For a double recipe, I added 3 T. of Emeril's Essence, 2 t. Basil, 1/2 t. nutmeg. I also added 2 bags of frozen green peas. Definitely don't forget the sherry. It's lovely. Clearly, I am not a natural cook, so I've taken what I felt was the best of all advice delivered by better chefs than I, and the result was absolutely scrumptious! Thanks to everyone who writes reviews with detailed changes. Us fledgling chefs are grateful for your help.

I knew when I read the recipe and the reviews that this version of a classic dish needed some changes to be worth the trouble. I made it for a casual supper with some friends, so it wasn't exactly 'company fare', but I needed it to be more special than a quick family meal. A basic problem is the pasta - for a casserole, vermicelli is just too delicate - I used linguine, but spaghetti (regular) would also work. Don't use the reduced fat cream cheese - if cream cheese is to be used to replace the traditional bechamel, the full-fat version should be used. I actually prefer using bechamel sauce and will do that next time. The missing seasonings are 1/2 tsp. thyme, pinch of sage and 1 tsp. basil or parsley. I also added 1/4 tsp. each of cayenne and nutmeg. Finally, the chicken breast chunks are too mild and dry to work well for a rich dish like this - use boneless chicken thighs instead to get a deep rich chicken flavor. I know this is a lot of change, but I don't think it added any time or expense to the preparation - perhaps some calories, but it wasn't exactly a low-cal dish to begin with.

As written, this recipe has little flavor and requires a lot of work. To boost both flavor and texture I added frozen chopped spinach, frozen green peas and a hefty dose of Emeril's Essence. While it's certainly edible, it's not CL's greatest achievement. The basics are there, but the cook needs to be creative to make the end result worthy of the effort. I won't bother again.

This recipe had practically no flavor. I cooked the pasta al dente, yet when I tasted the casserole it had the consistency of paste. It might be good with tweaking, but as is --yuck. a waste of time and money.

This one is a keeper. My husband and I like our food spicy, so I zipped it up by adding 3 cloves of minced garlic and 1 tsp. of red pepper flakes to the onion mixture. Also, I did not have sherry so I used vermouth instead. I also added a cup of frozen peas to add some color and texture. I topped it with panko crumbs instead of the bread crumbs to make it super crisp on top. Served this with roasted asparagus. Make this you will be glad you did.

This is a great weeknight meal. 3 stars - a good, solid recipe. To me, the breadcrumbs are optional. Adding a package of frozen green peas adds color and texture.

I love this recipe. Such great comfort food, rich and creamy. And the extra dish in the freezer is wonderful to have on hand! One rater (below) says the rating system needs to be reviewed - WE are the rating system, my friend! And this is NOT anything like a campbell's soup casserole! It's so, so much better. I use baby portabella mushrooms for more flavor. Enjoy!

I made this for my family, and there were no leftovers...everyone loved it. The recipe requires more work than some others, but it's really not very difficult, especially if you use leftover chicken. The extra casserole is a big bonus.