For this chicken, mushroom, and corn tetrazzini, cooked chicken, corn, mushrooms, peas, and linguine are smothered in a creamy sauce and topped with cheesy bread crumbs. This also makes a great use for leftover Thanksgiving turkey. It’s every bit as comforting as the casserole that graced the tables of your youth.
Adapted from Liren Baker | Meat to the Side | Victory Belt Publishing, 2021
We know. Sometimes the mere mention of tetrazzini can conjure up images of gloppy, bland casseroles. Not this time. This version makes use of cooked chicken, plenty of vegetables and herbs, linguine, and a creamy sauce to bring it all together. It feeds a crowd and is an excellent way to use up leftover roast chicken.–Angie Zoobkoff
☞ Contents
Chicken Tetrazzini FAQs
Can you use frozen or canned vegetables in this tetrazzini?
Definitely. Frozen corn or peas can be thawed and tossed into the tetrazzini, or feel free to swap in canned corn.
What should I serve with chicken tetrazzini?
This casserole is hearty and satisfying, so a simple green salad is all you need to round out a meal. Although we wouldn’t say no to a glass of wine, too.
In This Recipe
Chicken, Mushroom, and Corn Tetrazzini
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons (2 oz) unsalted butter plus more for the baking dish
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup (about 1/2 medium onion) diced yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon (3 to 4 cloves) minced garlic
- 1 pound cremini or white mushrooms sliced
- 1 1/2 cups (6.5 oz) corn kernels
- 1/2 cup (2 oz) green peas
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 2 dried bay leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups store-bought or homemade chicken broth warmed
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 3 to 4 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1 pound linguine cooked according to package directions
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack placed in the center of the oven. Lightly butter a 9- by 13-inch (23- by 33-cm) baking dish.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Stir in the mushrooms, corn, peas, thyme, and bay leaves and season with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms are cooked down and wilted, 5 to 6 minutes more. Scoop the mixture into a bowl, and remove the bay leaves.
- Add the butter to the skillet and let it melt. When melted, slowly whisk in the flour. When the mixture is smooth, whisk in the warm chicken stock and the milk and let it simmer, whisking constantly, until the sauce is slightly thickened and smooth, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in the vegetables and shredded chicken and gently fold in the cooked noodles. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and spread it evenly. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and cheese.
☞TESTER TIP: If using a Dutch oven, or an oven-proof skillet, skip the baking dish and bake directly in your Dutch oven or skillet.
- Bake until the casserole is bubbling and the top is golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes. Serve immediately.
Show Nutrition
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This chicken, mushroom, and corn tetrazzini casserole makes a great casual and comforting meal. Using leftover roast chicken or purchasing a rotisserie chicken is a nice timesaver. The casserole is quite large and will serve a number of people, at least 8 for dinner, or more for lunch. A side salad and a nice glass of wine, and you are all set!
I was looking for a homey, comfort food dish and this fit the bill. It did take quite bit of time and labor; more than I expected. There were a lot of dishes to wash once this was complete and enough food to feed an army. I think I’d streamline some of the procedures when making again and scale down the recipe unless I’m planning to feed a group. I will make it again, though, when I have leftover chicken.
One could be forgiven for seeing a recipe for tetrazzini and skipping right past it. After all, tetrazzini only conjures up memories of a goopy and largely flavorless casserole at a church pot luck dinner. For me, anyway. So when I saw this recipe, I had to try it. Boy, was I glad I did.
This chicken, mushroom, and corn tetrazzini recipe is a wonderful modern take on that old, not missed dish. The mushrooms add an earthiness that is great, and the sauce is real. It’s not a fussy recipe but I would make a few tweaks. First, I would use a Dutch oven to cook everything (other than the pasta) in because even with my large skillet, I didn’t have enough room to really mix up the tetrazzini before dumping it into the baking pan. Second, this is a dish that can handle a healthy pinch of salt, even with the parmigiana cheese added on top. Those tweaks and this recipe is a keeper. It’s a wonderful wintertime dinner that’s ready in about an hour.
Chicken tetrazzini is as classic a casserole as they come. This rendition follows the classic tetrazzini tradition, enabling you to stretch your left-over chicken into 2 to 3 more nights by mixing it with noodles (here cooked linguine), a pound of sliced mushrooms, some fresh or frozen peas and corn, all blended in a creamy white sauce topped with a crunchy bread crumb crust.
It’s not the most vibrant-looking dish but once you have one bite, you are hooked. Be warned, there is a bit of prep here (and use of many pots) to this fairly straightforward dish. You need to shred the meat of a whole chicken, make a pound of pasta, prep your vegetables, and make a béchamel.
As a result, I made a bit of a mess in my kitchen and lost track that the béchamel used both warm stock and whole milk. I had combined everything in the prepped baking dish, topped it with bread crumbs and cheese and baked it for 10 minutes before I realized that I had left out the milk in the cream sauce. UGH! Fortunately, this is a “no worries” type recipe. I pulled the dish out of the oven, dumped its contents (including the cheesy/bread crumb topping) into a large mixing bowl, stirred in the missing milk, and returned the muddle back to the oven to bake 25 minutes as directed.
In spite of this cooking detour, the final dish still bubbled and browned as described. And true to its stubbornly forgiving casserole nature, it tasted super comforting and addictive. PHEW! Recommend!
Originally published March 16, 2022
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If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
We wanted to love this dish but were were disappointed. There is quite a bit of work and ingredients and the end result just didn’t have enough flavor for us. This may be good for a family that prefers a “comfort dish” or isn’t very adventurous. We renamed it the “Plain Jane Casserole”.
Thomas, so sorry you didn’t enjoy the dish. Tetrazzini is by nature a comfort dish–lots of carbs and creamy sauce. We have plenty of adventurous, spicy dishes on the site. I’d be happy to help if you give me an idea of the kind of foods you prefer.