Your whole family is in for a treat tonight! This creamy gluten free chicken tetrazzini recipe is so easy to make using leftover rotisserie chicken! If you have missed chicken spaghetti, this easy tetrazzini recipe is worth making!
You can enjoy this recipe in about 45 minutes, even less if you meal prep it the night before baking.
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Before going gluten-free, I made a friend's chicken spaghetti recipe fairly often. It was pure comfort food in a bowl, and it was definitely not very healthy. It used canned condensed milk and a lot of other processed ingredients.
My recipe is not only a healthy version of a chicken tetrazzini bake but full of all that delicious creamy flavor. It was a huge hit with my kids!!
Add in mushrooms and lots of cheese as I did, or add in the vegetables you have on hand to make it even better.
If you love this recipe, you will want to check out all of my easy Gluten Free Dinner Recipes!
Why This Recipe is Great:
- This recipe is not only flexible in what ingredients you use, but it is also wildly popular for dinner in our family. My chicken tetrazzini with mushrooms recipe is creamy and full of big chunks of rotisserie chicken.
- You can enjoy this recipe in about 35 minutes, even less if you meal prep it before baking.
- Although you can use any leftover chicken, I love to use rotisserie chicken. You can pick up a gluten free rotisserie chicken at Costco or another grocery store that carries gluten free rotisserie chicken to make this recipe even easier.
We love comfort food like this tetrazzini. If you love comfort foods, you will also love my Gluten Free Chicken and Dumplings recipe.
Ingredient Notes:
- Gluten Free Spaghetti - I prefer Tinkyada and Jovial brands for this recipe because they hold together with the sauce and baking.
- Rotisserie Chicken - I love the flavor rotisserie chicken adds to this casserole, but you can use any leftover chicken.
- Cheddar Cheese - Use your favorite. I love sharp cheddar, but you can use another cheese if you like.
- Heavy Cream and Milk
- Butter - Use unsalted butter.
- Mushrooms - You can use any mushroom or add any veggies to customize this recipe.
- Onions - I prefer yellow onions.
- Garlic - Fresh or minced.
Are you ready to try this easy gluten-free chicken spaghetti recipe?
Tips For Sucess:
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the water if you are cooking gluten free spaghetti. After 1-2 minutes of the pasta cooking, use a fork to separate the pasta so it doesn't stick together.
- Cook the spaghetti 1 minute less than the package directions.
Recipe Step-By-Step Directions:
The first step is to gather up your chicken tetrazzini ingredients and put them all on the counter. I find it helps keep me organized, and I do this for any cooking or baking I do.
Step 1: In a skillet, add the butter, onion, and garlic and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.
Step 2: Add the mushrooms and cook until softened.
Step 3: Add the tapioca starch to the cooking vegetables and mix well. Mixing in the thickener now will prevent big lumps in the tetrazzini sauce.
Step 4: Add the rest of the liquid ingredients and cheese.
Step 5: Tear up the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add in the rotisserie chicken or any grilled chicken leftovers. Mix well.
Step 6: Cook your gluten free spaghetti pasta in a large pot. I add a teaspoon of oil to the pot to prevent the spaghetti from sticking. Important: Cook the pasta one minute less than the package directions indicate! This will help it hold up to the tetrazzini sauce better.
Every brand of gluten free pasta has different cooking directions based on the ingredients the pasta is made with, so definitely read the cooking directions. Read these tips to learn how to keep gluten free pasta from getting mushy.
Step 7: Drain the spaghetti in a colander and put it back into the big pot. Pour in the chicken tetrazzini sauce.
Step 8: Add the pasta and chicken mixture to a casserole dish and top with more cheese. Bake for 20 minutes at 375º F until the cheese is bubbly.
Serve it hot with these Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon or these kid-friendly Maple Roasted Carrots.
Meal Prep Instructions:
To meal prep this recipe ahead, I recommend making the chicken and tetrazzini sauce recipe ahead. Because gluten free pasta can be finicky, I would boil the pasta and then mix it all up to bake when you are ready. You can also make this as a freezer meal.
You may want to try your hand at making homemade Air Fryer Rotisserie Chicken.
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ:
I really like how Tinkyada and Jovial gluten free pasta hold up to sitting and baking in the sauce. Other brands may work well, but I haven't tested them in this recipe.
You can use any pasta you like in this recipe.
My favorite gluten free rotisserie chicken is found at Costco. Other stores also carry it including Nob Hill (part of Raley's supermarkets), Safeway (definitely confirm in case there is a regional recipe difference), and at our farmer's market, Rotti Rotisserie. Note: Whole Food rotisserie is NOT gluten free.
You can use any cooked chicken in this recipe. If you use plain boiled chicken, you may need to add more seasoning to the tetrazzini sauce.
This chicken tetrazzini will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
You may also love this one-pot Gluten Free Cheeseburger Pasta recipe.
More Gluten Free Chicken Dinners:
If you love chicken as much as we do, check out all of my gluten free chicken recipes. Here are some of my favorites:
- Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie with a Drop Biscuit Crust
- Crispy Gluten Free Fried Chicken
- Slow Cooker Curry Chicken Legs (great if you are on a budget!)
- Instant Pot Gluten Free Chicken Stew
📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Chicken Tetrazzini
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken * see note
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- ⅓ cup onion diced
- 1 tablespoon light oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 2 cups chicken stock low sodium
- 3 tablespoons tapioca starch * see note
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 ¾ cups cheese I used cheddar
- 1 package gluten free spaghetti * see note
- 1 teaspoon light oil for the pasta water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375º F.
- Put a large pot of water to boil. Add 1 teaspoon light oil to the water.
- In a skillet, add a tablespoon of oil and heat 1 minute. Add the onion and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add in the mushrooms and cook on medium heat until softened.
- Stir in the tapioca starch into the vegetables. This will prevent lumps when you add the liquids.
- Add the rest of the liquid ingredients and half the cheese and mix. Add the rotisserie chicken and mix well. Bring to a boil.
- Cook the spaghetti, but cook it for 1 minute less than the package directions. This will help the spaghetti hold up to being baked in the sauce better.
- Turn the heat on the chicken mixture down to low heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Drain the spaghetti in a colander and pour it back into the pot. Pour the chicken mixture over the pasta and mix it well.
- Pour the tetrazzini into a casserole dish and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake at 375º F for 20 minutes until the cheese is bubbly. Serve hot.
Notes
- I love to use leftover rotisserie chicken in this recipe. You can use any leftover chicken, but if you use boiled chicken, you will need to adjust the seasonings in the casserole.
- Tapioca starch is just one gluten free option as a thickener. You can also use cornstarch, potato starch, or arrowroot starch.
- The two brands of gluten free spaghetti I tested in this recipe were Jovial GF and Tinkyada. Both held up well to being baked in the sauce but I highly recommend cooking the pasta one minute less than the package directions.
- You can use any cheese depending on the flavor you like for this chicken tetrazzini. I have used cheddar, pepper jack, and a Mexican cheese blend.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn't test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
This post was updated from an older February 2021 post with more recipe details
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Barbara
Really good, I halved the recipe for the two of us and it worked perfect. One alteration was I had GF fettuccini noodles from Trader Joe's and used that instead of spaghetti noodles. Also cooked them one minute less that stated and the texture was perfect after baking. Will definitely add to the dinner rotation schedule.
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you for sharing your modifications. I will have to try it with Trader Joe's fresh pasta next.
Rhonda H Hurt
Has anyone substituted cauliflower rice for the spaghetti? Just curious how that would work.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Rhonda, I haven't heard anyone mention this. I suspect a rice made with chickpeas or lentils would work well.
Rita Griffin
I made the Tetrazzini with left over turkey and used Barilla spaghetti noodles. I followed the recipe exactly, no need to change it, it it delicious. My hubby says it's a keeper. Oh, and I only boiled the noodles for 9 minutes.
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad everyone loved it. Thank you for the cooking time with Barilla spaghetti. I know that will help others who use that brand.
Jerrie
What do you think it would taste like with left over turkey?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Jerrie, this is perfect for leftover turkey!! I actually make this every year with some leftovers.
Jerrie
I just saw the link again that I followed to get to this recipe. It is a what to do with left over turkey! Haha. That tells you how crazy my life is right now. Haha. I am going to make this on Friday. It sounds yummy. Have a happy Thanksgiving.
Sandi Gaertner
No worries. I think we are all going a little crazy at this time of year. I hope you have an incredible holiday!
Carlene Fairchild
Love the recipe.
I made it using GF FETTICINE instead of regular spaghetti.
I would add more chicken next time as mine didn't seem to have that much in it.
Sandi Gaertner
I love the idea of using fettuccine. So yummy!
Natalie
Sounds delicious. And quite easy to make. I will have to make this for my family. Thank you for this lovely recipe!
Sandi Gaertner
You are so welcome Natalie :-).
Nellie Tracy
This is a fabulous recipe! My family LOVES it!
Sandi Gaertner
You made my day. Thank you Nellie :-).