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Three Cheese Chicken Tetrazzini — serving inspiration
Illustrative serving idea.

Kitchen notes · a little help before you start

Three Cheese Chicken Tetrazzini

A bubbling dish of chicken tetrazzini is a generous thing to put on the table. There is creamy pasta underneath the cheese, with mushrooms and chicken waiting in each serving. Let it settle for a moment, then claim a piece with some of that browned top.

Prep
15 min
Cook
45 min
Total
60 min
Original yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
15 listed

Make it part of your week

Estimating…
Main courseItalian AmericanChickenItalianPrep: 15 minutes or lessTotal: 31–60 minutesBakingBaked & roasted
Recipe categories & planning details
Meal type
Main course
Primary protein
Chicken
Cuisine
Italian American · Italian
Cooking method
Baking · Baked & roasted
Preparation & total time
Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 31–60 minutes

A few quick notes

1. Cook spaghetti short of done

Stop the pasta two minutes before its package time, drain and set aside before it joins the sauce for baking.

2. Let mushroom moisture cook away

Cook the mushrooms with garlic, butter and seasoning until they release water and most of that liquid cooks off.

3. Stir while cream cheese melts

Stir nearly constantly during the sauce stage so the softened cream cheese melts in, keeping to its stated cooking window.

Get to know the ingredients

Softened cream cheese

Soften the block before starting and cut it into smaller pieces for adding with broth and cream to the pan.

Chicken pieces

Cut the raw chicken into inch-sized pieces and season before cooking with onion until almost cooked through.

Two topping cheeses

Parmesan goes over the even pasta layer first, followed by shredded mozzarella, before the dish bakes uncovered.

Let’s make it

Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.

MAKE IT YOURS

Ingredients

Original recipe: Serves 6. Original quantities shown.

Estimating…

Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.

How to make it

0 of 10 steps complete

Make room for Three Cheese Chicken Tetrazzini

Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.

The last little job

Rest before portioning

Let the baked pasta sit briefly, then use a spatula to cut portions so everyone gets some melted cheese topping.

A little more help as you go

Do not over-reduce the sauce

The directions warn that cooking the sauce longer than its stated stage can make it too thick and dry out the pasta.

Watch the final broil

After the uncovered bake, broil briefly to brown the top, keeping a close eye on the cheese as directed.

A few questions you might have

Can I choose white mushrooms?

Cremini or white mushrooms are both listed, sliced before cooking with the garlic, remaining butter and Italian seasoning.

Does the chicken stay in for sauce-making?

Move it to a plate after its first cook, then return it with the drained spaghetti after turning off the sauce heat.

Is the mozzarella stirred into the cream sauce?

It is the second topping cheese, sprinkled after the Parmesan over the assembled pasta in the baking dish.

Which oven rack does the recipe use?

Move the rack to the oven's top third during preparation, before the dish's baking and brief final broiling stages.

When do I combine the pasta and sauce?

Turn the sauce heat off, return the chicken, add cooked drained pasta and stir before transferring everything to the baking dish.

Any more cooking tips?

You can use cooked/rotisserie chicken instead if you wish (follow the recipe as normal but skip step 4 then add 3-4 cups of the cooked chicken in step 7). 12 ounces spaghetti is 3/4 of a pound (16 ounce) package. Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Storage & reheating safety

For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.

These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures

Recipe source: saltandlavender.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.

Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.

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