Hi guys! Nicole from Cooking for Keeps here back with another one of my favorite recipes!
My Mom was an awesome cook growing up, and most of the time, her dinners were more on the gourmet side, but she also made sure to include some of the classics she grew up eating like spaghetti and meatballs, meatloaf, pot roast and my personal favorite – chicken tetrazzini.
Layers of noodles, intertwined in a cheesy, creamy sauce, studded with mushrooms and juicy pieces of chicken, what’s not to love?? It’s comfort food at its finest.
To this day, once the first fall leaves settle to the ground, chicken tetrazzini is the first cold-weather dish I crave. Typically I make the full-fat version without batting an eyelash, but I’m trying to stick to a healthy diet these days, so I wanted to try and come up with a version that still had the comfort factor going on, but with a fraction of the fat and calories.
Instead of using the half and half and full-fat cheese called for in my original recipe, I went with a mixture of low-fat milk and chicken stock which still has all the creaminess you could want in a casserole. Full-fat cheese is subbed out with 2% milk cheddar and the white-flour noodles are subbed out for whole-wheat.
Everything is tossed together along with plenty of chopped, cooked chicken, the mixture is transferred into a casserole dish and then it’s topped off with plenty of breadcrumbs for that crunchy topping I can’t live without.
Creamy, cheesy and every bit as good as the original.
What Is Tetrazzini?
Tetrazzini is an American food made with diced poultry or seafood and mushrooms.
It is served in a butter/cream and parmesan sauce usually flavored with wine or sherry.
Tetrazzini is usually served hot over linguine, spaghetti, or some similarly thin pasta.
How Do You Know When Pasta is Done?
Really, the only way to know if pasta is done is to taste it.
Pasta should be al dente, or firm to the bite.
Lightened-Up Chicken Tetrazzini
Lightened-Up Chicken Tetrazzini
Ingredients
- 12 ounces whole-wheat egg noodles
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ small onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt, divided
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 ¼ cups hot low-fat milk
- ¾ cup hot low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups shredded 2% milk cheddar cheese
- 1 ½ cups cooked, cubed chicken
- 1 ½ cups bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Grease a 9-inch square baking dish.
- Cook egg noodles until aldente.
- Set aside.
- In a large pot, heat butter over a medium heat.
- Add onion, garlic, mushrooms and ½ teaspoon salt.
- Saute until onions are softened and mushrooms are cooked.
- Stir in flour, cook 1 minute.
- Whisk in hot milk, broth and remaining salt.
- Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add in cheese. Stir until melted.
- Toss sauce with noodles and chicken.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- In a small bowl, combine parsley and bread crumbs.
- Pour noodle mixture into prepared pan.
- Top with breadcrumbs.
- Bake until breadcrumbs are golden grown and casserole is bubbling, about 25 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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Connect with Nicole:
Kim
The recipe does not say when to add the broth.
Sweet Basil
Thank you so much Kim! There was a typo in the instructions. I have corrected it. It should be added with the milk.
Samina @ The Cupcake Confession
Mmmm, this looks so scrumptious! Love the fact that it has been lightened – up! Whipping this up for dinner is going to make my fam very VERY happy!
Whitni @ A Cookie & A Kiss
I LOVE chicken tetrazzini! But it is usually definitely the most healthy meal! Will have to try this healthier version!