Lighter Chicken Tetrazzini

My Lighter Chicken Tetrazzini gives you all the flavour of the original using lower fat ingredients to make it a healthier option. Traditional Chicken Tetrazzini’s creamy sauce contains lots of butter, milk and cheese so it can’t help but be indulgent. I wouldn’t dream of calling this version ‘low calorie’ or ‘low fat’ but it’s definitely lighter.

Tips for Making Chicken Tetrazzini

Replacing part of the milk with chicken stock makes this dish a lot lighter. I found it was still a good idea to use two percent (semi-skimmed milk) as skimmed milk though or it made the sauce for the Chicken Tetrazzini too thin. I also replaced the butter with olive oil which is lower in saturated fat and used extra vegetables so I could cut down on the amount of meat required for the dish. Of course, it’s still important to use a fair amount of chicken. It is after all, Chicken Tetrazzini!

I use a lot less cheese in this recipe than most traditional Chicken Tetrazzini recipes call for. The beauty of Parmesan cheese is its strong flavour which means you don’t need as much of it to make a seriously delicious sauce. Use freshly grated Parmesan though. Please don’t buy those room temperature packages of pre-grated Parmesan cheese you find in the pasta aisle. They are full of preservatives and the stuff inside the package tastes about as much like proper Parmesan cheese as mud tastes like chocolate.

If you do not have any cooked chicken breast, you can poach some chicken breasts or even use some shredded rotisserie chicken in a pinch.

You may notice that the pasta in my Lighter Chicken Tetrazzini is curly. Although spaghetti is the traditional pasta for this delicious dish I like to use Fusilli Lunghi. These long, elegant twirls of spaghetti resemble old fashioned telephone cords. Of course, it’s perfectly fine to use ordinary spaghetti if you prefer.

How To Serve

As I’m going for the lighter side of things when it comes to this recipe, I like to serve it with a fresh green salad lightly dressed with some good olive oil and balsamic vinegar. You could of course serve some garlic bread alongside the Chicken Tetrazzini as well if you want to be a little more indulgent (never a bad thing in my opinion!).

Lighter Chicken Tetrazzini – Printable Recipe

Created by: April J Harris

Lighter Chicken Tetrazzini

Course Main Dish

Cuisine North American

Servings 4 servings

My Lighter Chicken Tetrazzini gives you all the flavour of the original using lower fat ingredients to make it a healthier option.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 8 ounces fusilli lunghi or spaghetti
• 4 tablespoons mild olive oil divided
• 2 medium leeks cleaned and thinly sliced
• 1 red pepper de-seeded and finely sliced
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• ½ cup chicken stock
• 2 cups milk You may not need it all
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese divided
• 1 cup finely chopped cooked chicken breast 1 to 2 chicken breasts depending on size
• ¾ cup slivered almonds

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (170°C).
• Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add a pinch of salt.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
• Sauté the leeks for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan along with the red pepper and mushrooms.
• Sauté the vegetables for a further 3 or 4 minutes until they have begun to soften.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta in the pot of boiling salted water according to package directions.
• When the vegetables in the frying pan have begun to soften, sprinkle the flour on top and stir though.
• Cook for a minute or two.
• Gradually add the chicken stock, stirring and allowing the sauce to thicken after each addition.
• Gradually add the milk, stirring and allowing the sauce to thicken after each addition. After you have added about 1¼ cups milk, stir in the pepper and all but three tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese. Set the remaining cheese aside.
• Check the thickness of the sauce. You want a smooth sauce that will cling nicely to the pasta, so if necessary add a bit more milk until this consistency is achieved.
• Stir the chicken and ½ cup of the slivered almonds into the sauce.
• When the pasta is cooked, drain it and return to the saucepan.
• Add the chicken, vegetable and cheese sauce to the pasta and stir gently but thoroughly to coat.
• Transfer the mixture to lightly greased 13 x 9 inch casserole dish and sprinkle with the remaining almonds and Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes until the top of the casserole is beginning to turn golden brown.

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