Healthy Tetrazzini with Chicken and Broccoli is a simple pasta recipe with a homemade sauce! This casserole-style pasta dish is nutritious, with vegetables and whole-wheat noodles, but also a delicious comfort food recipe!
Looking for more pasta dishes? Check these out 30 Minute Simple Roasted Tomato and Sausage Pasta, Creamed Pasta with Bacon and Vegetables and Quick and Easy Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese.
Simple Chicken Broccoli Tetrazzini
Hello all!
After a long holiday weekend filled with family reunions, swimming parties, and a birthday party, I'm feeling super ready to eat well again. I love to enjoy party food but I also love to get back into a healthier routine once the parties are over. And there's no better time to start than today. Here's a great recipe for healthy tetrazzini with chicken and broccoli for you to make tonight. It's quick, easy, delicious, and healthy!
The bones of this healthy tetrazzini recipe come from my Aunt RaNae out of our family cookbook that my sister and I printed a few years ago. I loved when she made her version when I was a kid! In the picture I used a fettuccine noodle even though the recipe calls for thin spaghetti (it's the only kind of whole wheat noodle the store has here!). I would recommend finding the thin spaghetti; the texture is just better with it. Add a quick homemade sauce, some chicken, and broccoli, and you've got yourself a meal in a dish.
I served this healthy tetrazzini with some cantaloupe and a spinach salad for a complete meal that we all loved. Plus it made enough that I had enough leftovers for lunch the next day. Gotta love that!
For this recipe, I recommend:
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What does al dente mean?
In Italian, al dente means "to the tooth". This means that the noodle will feel firm when you bite down on it with your front teeth.
Should you rinse pasta?
Should you add salt to pasta water?
Yes! A general rule is to add 1 tablespoon of salt per pound of noodles. If you don't salt your water, your pasta will be very under seasoned.
Healthy Chicken and Broccoli Tetrazinni
- Total Time: 1 hr 5 min
- Yield: Serves 8
Description
Healthy Tetrazzini with Chicken and Broccoli is a simple pasta recipe with a homemade sauce! This casserole-style pasta dish is nutritious, with vegetables and whole-wheat noodles, but also a delicious comfort food recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 pound whole wheat thin spaghetti, broken in half and then cooked al dente
- 1 package frozen broccoli
- 2 cups cooked chicken
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 7 tablespoons whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and salt and stir to combine. Cook the butter and flour mixture for 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth to the butter mixture. Stirring constantly, gradually bring the mixture up to a boil, turn down the heat, and then simmer for an addition 2 minutes until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in the milk and Parmesan until the cheese melts.
- When the noodles are done cooking, put the frozen broccoli in the bottom of the colander before you drain the water. Pour the hot water and noodles over the top of the broccoli and stir to combine.
- Spread the cooked spaghetti and broccoli mixture in the bottom of a greased 9 by 13-inch baking dish and then pour half of the sauce over it. Top with the chicken or turkey pieces and then drizzle the remaining sauce over the top. Top with mozzerella.
- Cover and bake until hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes until the cheese is slightly browned. Let the tetrazzini cool in the pan for 10 minutes before serving.
- Prep Time: 25 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: chicken tetrazzini recipe, healthy tetrazzini recipe, chicken broccoli tetrazzini recipe, how to make tetrazzini, healthy pasta recipes, healthy pasta dishes, best chicken tetrazzini recipe
If you liked Tetrazzini with Chicken and Broccoli, try these:
- One Pot Cheesy Sausage Pasta
- How to Make Homemade Noodles
- Homemade Pumpkin Noodles
- Linguine Rosa with Shrimp
- Spinach Bacon Pasta Salad
- One Pot Pasta Primavera
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
- Cheesy Chicken Tetrazzini with Mushrooms
- Simple Italian Pasta Salad
- Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
I hope your day is great and that you enjoy this quick, easy and healthy Chicken Broccoli Tetrazzini.
Mary
Do you know how many calories are in this dish? It was wonderful. My whole family really enjoyed it!
Danielle
My family likes this okay but I wasn't really impressed. The sauce didn't seep in to all the noodles and the whole thing was a little bland. It made a ton so we will be eating it for days though.
ajf54
Hi! Tried this and my husband and I ate it two nights in a row, it is that good. Very forgiving recipe, found I didn't have Parm to grate and used dried Parm (spaghetti cheese?) instead. Thanks so much for giving me another dinner to add to our rotation. Next time I will divide the pan into thirds and freeze one or two sections for 'those' nights...
savanah
Do you put how many calories each serving is?
Angie
How much broccoli is in your package?
Megan Eby
Do you have the nutrition facts?
Megan
I was wondering how many servings are in these recipes? I do not have kids and honestly my fiance is not into healthy eating so most days it will just be me so I was wondering how much this makes so I can cut down or prepare for left overs 🙂
Melissa
This makes a whole 9x13 pan, so at least 12 servings. I wouldn't say this one was too healthy though (I mean it's great, but it doesn't taste like anything other than a chicken and pasta dish). I think he'll like it 🙂 You might want to cut it in half and put it in a 9x9 pan though so that you don't have so much. Most of my recipes serve 4-6 though.
Michele
This was delicious. I did not use mozzarella. I substituted 1 cup Cabot sharp cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup parmesan to make the cheese sauce. Turned out GREAT!!
Melissa
Yay!!! Everything is better with Cabot cheese!!! I love that stuff 🙂
reallifedinner
This looks so yummy Melissa. I shared it on The Mother Huddles Facebook Page. 🙂 Maria
Clancy
Wow! I made this and the kids devoured it! And I can never get all 4 of them to agree on anything :)) I used 1/2 cup cheddar instead of the mozzarella cos that's all I had, and it was still great 🙂 Thank you!
Carly
I made exactly as the recipe stated and my son ate three helpings! As a single mom, i'm always searching for good food that is affordable and won't go to waste. It's was delicious as is, yet I can see where if people wanted to experiment there is plenty of room to do so. I am so glad I found your Blog!
Jacqui
Just made this. Soooo easy and delicious. Thanks
TINA
made just as stated. needs more flavor. would suggest garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and/or can of diced tomatoes drained.
Amanda
Any suggestions on milk? Whole milk? 1%? Organic? And butter in all recipes - unsalted? I really want to have my family start to eat clean - we have our own chickens and garden ( would I be able to sustain it during winter in a DIY greenhouse? Loving these recipes!!
Melissa
Milk is hard for me to recommend. If you can find good raw whole milk I feel like it's the best option, but it isn't always realistic to tell people. I buy 2% or whole organic when raw isn't available. Again, it's a do the best that you can thing. I do like whole or 2% though just because the fat keeps you fuller longer. Good luck Amanda!