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! Everyone enjoys this easy tetrazzini recipe. You can make this recipe in about 45 minutes, even less if you meal prep it the night before baking.
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❤️ Sandi’s Recipe Summary
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 a healthy option. It used canned condensed milk and a lot of other processed ingredients. 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.
Check out all of my easy Gluten-Free Dinner Recipes! 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:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- 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.
- Butter – Use unsalted butter.
- Heavy Cream – Adds the creaminess.
- Mushrooms – You can use any mushroom or add 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?
How to Make Gluten-Free Chicken Tetrazzini (Step-By-Step)
The first step is to gather your chicken tetrazzini ingredients and put them all on the counter. It helps keep me organized, and I do this for any cooking or baking.
Step 1: Add the butter, onion, and garlic to a skillet 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 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 helps it hold up better in the tetrazzini sauce.
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.
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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.
Tips For Success:
- Add 1 TBSP 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 for 1 minute less than the package directions.
Meal Prep Instructions:
To meal prep this recipe ahead, I recommend making the chicken and tetrazzini sauce 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.
Frequently Asked Questions:
I 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 include 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 Foods 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 fresh for 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 dinner 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
Love This Recipe?
💬 Did you make this gluten-free tetrazzini recipe? I would love to hear how it turned out. Your feedback helps others (and helps me keep improving these recipes for you). ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Gluten Free Chicken Tetrazzini With Leftover Chicken (30 Minutes!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken * see note
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- ⅓ cup diced onion
- 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
Method
- 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 1 tablespoon light oil and heat 1 minute. Add 1/3 cup diced onion and 3 garlic cloves. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add in 1 cup sliced mushrooms and cook on medium heat until softened.
- Stir in 3 tablespoons tapioca starch into the vegetables. This will prevent lumps when you add the liquids.
- Add 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 1/2 cups milk, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, and 2 cups chicken stock, and half the cheese and mix. Add 2 cups rotisserie chicken and mix well. Bring to a boil on medium heat.
- Cook 1 package gluten free 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.
Nutrition
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.
Private Notes
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This post was updated from an older February 2021 post with more recipe details
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. I have been testing and creating gluten-free recipes for over 15 years. Creating gluten-free recipes that do not taste gluten-free is my goal for every recipe. Sometimes I only have to test a new recipe a couple of times, and others it takes multiple times. I do this so you get reliable, delicious results every time!
Sandi, I rarely, if ever, have heavy cream on hand. How would leaving it out affect your recipe? Thanks!
Hi Melanie, the heavy cream makes this good, and I haven’t trialed a swap. The first thing that comes to mind is evaporated milk, but I haven’t tested it in this recipe. That being said, I do have a recommendation for the future. I keep a bag of Anthony’s Heavy Cream Powder on hand. That way I can mix it up whenever I need it, and I don’t have to worry about fresh heavy cream going bad in my pantry.