Chicken Tetrazzini
This Chicken Tetrazzini is a comforting and creamy cheesy pasta bake that tastes anything but slimming – perfect if you're counting calories or following a plan like Weight Watchers!
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NutritionPer Serving
- Calories435
- Carbs44g
- Fat8.8g
- Saturates0.7g
- Protein51g
- Sugars8.9g
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For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card at the end of this post. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff to know in the blurb!
If you’ve never heard of Tetrazzini before, it’s an American dish that is usually made with spaghetti, diced chicken or seafood and mushrooms. All of the ingredients are then baked in a buttery, creamy cheese sauce flavoured with wine or sherry – yum! This dish doesn’t exactly scream ‘low calorie’, but here at Pinch of Nom we love a challenge so we thought we’d try our hand at creating a slimming friendly version – and it tastes AH-MAZING even if we do say so ourselves!
Our Chicken Tetrazzini uses a clever mix of stock and light cheese spread instead of the heavy, cheese sauce and a wine stock pot in place of the alcohol. Using a strong Parmesan or cheddar in the breadcrumb toppings means that this dish packs an extra, cheesy punch without adding unnecessary calories or Points.
This is such a comforting pasta dish that no one will ever believe that it’s slimming friendly and it’s the perfect way to beat those cheese cravings!
What diets is this Chicken Tetrazzini suitable for?
This Chicken Tetrazzini recipe can be made suitable for dairy free diets by swapping the following ingredients out for dairy free alternatives;
- Light cheese spread
- Parmesan
It could also be made suitable for gluten free diets by substituting the following ingredients for gluten free versions;
- Chicken stock cube
- Dried spaghetti
- Wholemeal bread
You can also make this dish vegetarian by swapping the following ingredients out for vegetarian alternatives;
- Chicken
- Chicken stock cube
Please make sure to double, and triple check all of your ingredients if you’re cooking for people with allergies.
Do you need any special ingredients to make this Chicken Tetrazzini?
This recipe doesn’t need any fancy ingredients – you should be able to find everything in your local supermarket.
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This post contains affiliate links: what this means
If you don’t already have a large roasting dish, you can pick up one like this from Amazon.
You’ll also need a large saucepan which you can grab over on Amazon as well.
How many calories are in this Chicken Tetrazzini?
There are 435 calories per portion in this Chicken Tetrazzini, which means it falls into our Weekly Indulgence category.
This Chicken Tetrazzini is perfect if you’re following a calorie controlled diet, and fits well with any one of the major diet plans such as Weight Watchers.
As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain a healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. Obviously, if your goal is to lose weight then you might want to adjust these slightly! You can read more about these recommendations on the NHS website.
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 220°c.
Step 2
Add the chicken, onions, and garlic granules to a large saucepan. Spray with low-calorie cooking spray and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes until the outside of the chicken has coloured, and the onions begin to soften.
Step 3
Add the stock and white wine stock pot to the saucepan. Add the mushrooms and stir.
Step 4
Simmer over a medium heat for 15 minutes until the stock has reduced and the chicken is cooked through. Once done, remove from the heat.
Step 5
While the chicken and mushrooms are cooking, add the spaghetti to another saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to simmer for 10 minutes until the pasta is cooked and softened.
Step 6
Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the chicken along with the spinach. Stir to combine until the spinach has wilted slightly.
Step 7
Add the light cheese spread to the saucepan and stir to coat the pasta and chicken mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Note: it may not need any salt depending on the saltiness of the stock and cheese spread you used).
Step 8
Pour the mixture into a roasting dish and set aside while you prepare the topping.
Step 9
In a blender, blitz the bread to make breadcrumbs. Stir in the grated cheese and mustard powder to the breadcrumb mix.
Step 10
Sprinkle the breadcrumb mix on top of the spaghetti and chicken and spritz the top with low calorie cooking spray. Place into the middle of a hot oven for 20 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden.
Step 11
Remove from the oven and serve.
What could I serve with this Chicken Tetrazzini?
This Chicken Tetrazzini doesn’t really need any accompaniments as it’s a meal in itself, but if you wanted to serve something alongside it, then the following dishes would work really well:
How do you know when this Chicken Tetrazzini is cooked?
You should bake this Chicken Tetrazzini in a hot oven for around 20 minutes or until the top is lightly golden and crisp.
Standard advice here in the UK is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and stayed at that temperature for 2 minutes. This is to keep your family safe.
How long can you keep Chicken Tetrazzini in the fridge?
Once you’ve put it out, ideally you should eat it within 4 hours.
If you allow any leftovers to cool, make sure to refrigerate in a container with a lid and chill. You can keep leftovers of Chicken Tetrazzini in the fridge for approximately 3 days or so.
Can I freeze Chicken Tetrazzini?
Yes you can! This recipe can be frozen, but please remember to do the following;
- Freeze it as soon as it is cold enough.
- Use a container or bag that is suitable for freezing.
Don’t forget to add a label with what it is, and on what date you put it in the freezer!
Our Chicken Tetrazzini can be frozen with the breadcrumb topping, but if you’re batch cooking this recipe, then we’d suggest leaving the breadcrumbs off and adding them when defrosted to make sure it stays crispy!
How do I reheat Chicken Tetrazzini?
From chilled: Reheat in a microwave until piping hot throughout.
From frozen: Defrost thoroughly and then reheat in a microwave until piping hot throughout.
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Chicken Tetrazzini
This Chicken Tetrazzini is a comforting and creamy cheesy pasta bake that tastes anything but slimming - perfect if you're counting calories or following a plan like Weight Watchers!
-
Prep Time
10 MINS
-
Cook Time
40 MINS
- KCals 435
- Carbs 44G
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220°c.
- Add the chicken, onions, and garlic granules to a large saucepan. Spray with low-calorie cooking spray and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes until the outside of the chicken has coloured and the onion begins to soften.
- Add the stock and white wine stock pot to the saucepan. Add the mushrooms and stir.
- Simmer over a medium heat for 15 minutes until the stock has reduced and the chicken is cooked through. Once done, remove from the heat.
- While the chicken and mushrooms are cooking, add the spaghetti to another saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to simmer for 10 minutes until the pasta is cooked and softened.
- Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the chicken along with the spinach. Stir to combine until the spinach has wilted slightly.
- Add the light cheese spread to the saucepan and stir to coat the pasta and chicken mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Note: it may not need any salt depending on the saltiness of the stock and cheese spread you used).
- Pour the mixture into a roasting dish and set aside while you prepare the topping.
- In a blender, blitz the bread to make breadcrumbs. Stir in the grated cheese and mustard powder to the breadcrumb mix.
- Sprinkle the breadcrumb mix on top of the spaghetti and chicken and spritz the top with low calorie cooking spray. Place into the middle of a hot oven for 20 minutes or until the top is lightly golden.
- Remove from the oven and serve.
Looking for Slimming World Syns or Weight Watchers (WW) Points?
With ever-changing plans and point calculations, we have made the decision to remove WW Points from the website - referring to your individual plan or advice from your consultant is always going to give the most accurate results.
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We agreed with Slimming World to remove their trademarked terms from our website
Recipe notes
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12 comments
See what others have to say
BereniceSunday 22nd January 2023
Hi is there a vegetarian version of this? Could I substitute Quorn?
HollyTuesday 31st January 2023
Hey Berenice, we haven’t tested this recipe using Quorn but it should work okay, if you give it a try let us know how you get on!
JennyTuesday 1st February 2022
Can I use any type of pasta instead of spaghetti?
HollyTuesday 1st February 2022
Hey Jenny, Yes you can use any pasta shape, hope that helps!
Debbie PlattenThursday 3rd June 2021
Could I use frozen spinach?
HollyFriday 4th June 2021
Hey Debbie, yes you could use frozen spinach just make sure it’s defrosted and drained well before adding it in. Hope that helps!
Jodie JohnsonSaturday 8th May 2021
Had this tonight. Added some courgette and peppers, very nice. ☺️
HollyMonday 10th May 2021
Hey Jodie, thanks so much for letting us know you enjoyed this recipe! The addition of courgette and peppers sound great!
SJSaturday 13th February 2021
Made this last night, absolutely gorgeous. My teenage son went back for seconds and then thirds! Thank you.
HollyMonday 15th February 2021
Hey, thanks so much for your message so glad you enjoyed the Chicken Tetrazzini!
Melanie HibbenTuesday 12th January 2021
Chicken tetzarrini
Which book is he recipe in?
Have the 3 latest ones
HollyTuesday 12th January 2021
Hi Melanie, the Chicken Tetrazzini is one of our website recipes so doesn’t appear in any of our books
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