| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 35 min |
| Prep: | 35 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 6 to 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 9 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound white mushrooms, sliced
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups whole milk, room temperature
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 12 ounces linguine
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
- 1 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/4 cup dried Italian-style breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Spread 1 tablespoon of butter over a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Melt 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil in a deep large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot pan and cook until pale golden and just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool slightly. Coarsely shred the chicken into bite-size pieces and into a large bowl.
- Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil to the same pan. Add the mushrooms and saute over medium-high heat until the liquid from the mushrooms evaporates and the mushrooms become pale golden, about 12 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme, and saute until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it evaporates, about 2 minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the bowl with the chicken.
- Melt 3 more tablespoons butter in the same pan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, cream, broth, nutmeg, remaining 1 3/4 teaspoons salt, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Increase the heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 10 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 9 minutes. Drain. Add the linguine, sauce, peas, and parsley to the chicken mixture. Toss until the sauce coats the pasta and the mixture is well blended.
- Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish. Stir the cheese and breadcrumbs in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the pasta. Dot with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown on top and the sauce bubbles, about 25 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 805 |
| Total Fat | 41 g |
| Saturated Fat | 22 g |
| Carbohydrates | 53 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 12 g |
| Protein | 52 g |
| Cholesterol | 200 mg |
| Sodium | 1126 mg |
Reviews
I have been making this recipe of Giada’s for so many years, at least 12 or 13. It is so perfect. Always a hit. Does anyone know when it was first posted on FN?
So I added more S&P to it so that it was very flavorful I also added one green pepper which gives it the peppery taste without the heat, I also added used my homemade chicken broth which added a ton of flavor. My mom use to make this dish and I can remember her adding jalapeño peppers to it. Blessings and good eating
It came out kind of bland, boring. I have a ton of leftovers. What can I do to make the leftovers more tasty? (I must admit I used 4 cups of leftover rotisserie chicken in place of the 4 chicken breasts.)
As a long-time fan of food, fun, cooking and Giada De Laurentiis, I’ll be doing an interpretation of this today, which I expect the Family to give Five Stars. As I progress I’ll be listening to recordings from 1913, oh my. https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/mastertalent/detail/101892/Tetrazzini_Luisa
My daughter loves this dish. Now when she’s home from college , it’s a fan favorite! Love it.
I’ve made this often over the years. It is a bit bland. But living in the SW, I just added some hot chopped green chile, autumn roast if you can find it. I add about a cup which seems like a lot, but the dairy somewhat offsets the heat.
I have made this recipe numerous times with rave reviews from friend and family! Make it just as it is! No substitutes!
I make both chicken and turkey tetrazzini with real goat’s milk yogurt, due to a cow’s milk allergy, and since switching to yogurt, I have to say I would never make it any other way. For one thing, the pleasant tang of yogurt takes care of the so-called blandness of this dish. I don’t make a bechamel, but a custard instead, mixing the yogurt with a couple of eggs (I make two big casseroles of this because it’s such a favorite in our family, and I give the second one, uncooked, to my daughter to cook for their dinner). I don’t use flat noodles. Instead, I use pasta shells because they hold more sauce. I use pecorino Romano cheese because of the cow’s milk allergy, fresh chives, and slivered almonds. I’ve used Panko, and it’s fine, but I prefer my breadcrumbs, when I have enough (we have a bread slicing board that catches the breadcrumbs in a wooden tray, where they stay on top of my toaster until I need them). I don’t put peas in it because they skew the taste toward bland sweetness, but I do serve buttered sweet peas (cooked with stevia in the scant bit of water instead of sweet white wine) on the side. I’m making chicken tetrazzini today, and in place of the parsley I’m considering adding tarragon, since it’s considered a classic combination with chicken. Keeping the chives, though.
Delicious! I used sherry since that’s what I had on hand and fat free half and half to cut down on richness and calories. Next time I would add more peas and topping.
I took the advice of several reviewers. To overcome the potential bland taste I added 1/4 cup chopped sweet red peppers and the dried thyme once the onions were added to the shrooms. Additionally, i seasoned the chicken well with salt, pepper and garlic salt so it had a good flavor. My husband likes sun dried tomatoes in a lot of dishes so I tossed in a few when all the ingredients were mixed together. I had no Italian bread crumbs but used Italian Panko instead to which I used a 1 to 1 ratio of parm cheese. I liked the Panko better. We like our foods saucier so I did use less than 12 ozs of pasta. The additions gave this more depth of flavor without overcoming the other delicate flavors.