Turkey Tetrazzini Recipe
This version is extra creamy (on purpose!) because the pasta continues to soak up the sauce as it bakes. It’s an easy, crowd-pleasing dinner that comes together with pantry ingredients, and it makes fantastic leftovers for lunches during the week.
Why You’ll Love This Turkey Tetrazzini
This turkey tetrazzini (pronounced teh·truh·zee·nee) is a perfect comforting leftover recipe to reinvasion the turkey leftovers beyond soups and sandwiches. (Not that turkey noodle soup is not amazing and if you haven’t tried my turkey cranberry brie grilled cheese, you haven’t lived!) This leftover turkey casserole is great because it’s:
- Perfect for leftover turkey – An easy way to turn holiday leftovers into a completely new, cozy dinner.
- Creamy and comforting – The sauce is rich, creamy, and cheesy filled with mushrooms, onions, and peas.
- Family-friendly – Mild, cheesy flavors kids love, with enough savory depth for adults.
- Golden panko topping – Adds the perfect crunchy finish to balance all the creamy goodness.
- Flexible – Works with spaghetti, fettuccine, egg noodles, rotini… whatever you already have.
Tips for the Best Turkey Tetrazzini
- Don’t overcook the pasta – it will soften more as it bakes.
- Taste the sauce before mixing to make sure it’s well-seasoned.
- It’s okay if the casserole looks very saucy before baking – pasta will soak in some liquids in the oven.
- Rotisserie chicken works beautifully if you’re not using turkey.
Key Ingredients Tips and Substitutions
- Leftover Turkey: use a combination of turkey breast and thigh meat or just one or the other. Whatever you have. Substitute: Rotisserie chicken or any cooked chicken works perfectly.
- Spaghetti (or any pasta): Spaghetti is classic for tetrazzini but any pasta will work. Substitute: Egg noodles, fettuccine, linguine, or rotini.
- Butter + Oil: The combination adds flavor and prevents the butter from burning while sautéing the vegetables.
- Shallots, Mushrooms & Garlic: These add savory depth to the sauce and build the signature tetrazzini flavor. Substitutes: Use Vidalia (sweet) onion instead of shallots, use any type of mushrooms instead of cremini, and skip garlic if needed.
- AP Flour: all purpose flour works well to thicken the sauce.
- Sherry: Sherry gives the sauce a classic, subtle sweetness and depth. Substitute: Omit entirely, or use a white wine or extra broth.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: this type of cream will give you the best rich and creamy sauce. Substitute: Half-and-half works, but the sauce will be slightly thinner.
- Monterey Jack + Parmesan: when planning on using cheeses in sauces and soups, always get a block of cheese and grate it yourself! Substitute: Mozzarella will work as a base and for more flavor grate some gruyere, or Swiss instead of Jack. Use Romano or Pecorino instead of Parmesan.
- Peas: use fresh, frozen or canned, all will work. No need to thaw frozen peas. Do drain off liquid from canned peas.
- Gluten Free Substitutes: if you need to make the recipe gluten free, you need to substitute flour for 1:1 all purpose gluten free flour. Panko for gluten free Panko crumbs. And use your favorite and sturdy gluten free pasta.
How to Make Turkey Tetrazzini
Cook the pasta: Boil spaghetti in salted water so it infuses pasta with flavor and cool until al dente so it doesn’t get mushy as it bakes.
Sauté the vegetables: Cook shallots, garlic, and mushrooms in butter and oil until golden and fragrant. Remember not to sauté garlic too long or it will be bitter.
Make the cream sauce: Sprinkle flour and mix to coat veggies. Add sherry and stir, slowly pour in stock while constantly and slowly stirring. Stir until thickened and lower the heat. Finish with heavy cream. Season well and remember to taste and adjust seasoning if needed!
Add turkey and peas: Stir them into the creamy mushroom sauce and take off heat.
Assemble the pasta casserole: Mix cooked pasta with both cheeses, then pour the turkey mixture over and toss together.
Add topping and bake: Mix panko, parmesan, and parsley together then mix in with melted butter. Top the pasta mixture with the Panko topping evenly. Bake at 350°F for about 40 minutes.
Make Ahead, Storage, and Reheating
Make Ahead: you can make this dish ahead of time but partially! I recommend preparing just the cream sauce mixed with turkey and peas but don’t mix it with pasta until ready to bake. As pasta sits in the fridge, it will soak up a lot of sauce and casserole would come out dry. So store the sauce mixed with meat and veggies and reheat it when you want to mix it with cheeses and cooked pasta. Bake as instructed.
Freezing: you can freeze it but note there will be some texture changes. Assemble it in an aluminum baking dish. Freeze unbaked (best texture) tightly wrapped for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight or for up to 24 hours in the fridge and bake.
Storing: store leftovers covered air-tight in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Reheating: Warm individual portions in the microwave or reheat a whole pan in the oven at 325°F, adding a splash of stock or cream if needed to loosen the sauce and reinvigorate the pasta.
Frequently Asked Questions
Spaghetti is classic for tetrazzini, but fettuccine, egg noodles, or rotini all work well.
Yes, use leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken, or baked chicken all work great.
More Leftover Turkey Recipes
- Leftover Turkey Noodle Soup
- Turkey Tenderloin
- Leftover Turkey Noodles
- Creamy Spinach Turkey Casserole
- Thanksgiving Leftovers Sliders
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Easy Cheesy Turkey Tetrazzini Recipe
Equipment
- 9×13 casserole baking dish
- 10-12 inch cooking pan
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp avocado or olive oil
- 2 shallots sliced
- 16 oz cremini mushrooms sliced
- 4-6 garlic cloves pressed
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sherry
- 3 cups chicken or turkey stock
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- Salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 5-6 cups cooked leftover turkey meat chopped
- 8 oz Monterrey Jack cheese grated
- 1 cup parmesan cheese shredded or shaved
- 1 lb uncooked spaghetti or fettuccine, or noodles, or rotini
- 1 cup peas frozen or canned*
Topping:
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 3 Tbsp butter melted
- 2 Tbsp minced parsley
Instructions
- Start with getting all of the ingredients ready, cut and measured.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and grease a 9×13 deep casserole baking dish.
- Cook pasta in a large pot on salted water while making the sauce. Cook al dente since pasta will cook more in the casserole. Once done, strain and set aside.
- Preheat a large cooking pan over medium heat and melt butter. Once butter is melted, stir in oil.
- Add sliced shallots and cook until translucent and golden. Move aside and add pressed garlic. Let garlic cook for a few seconds, until fragrant and mix with onions.
- Add sliced mushrooms, mix, and let them cook until cooked down and start to become golden brown as well. Mix every few minutes.
- Sprinkle flour all over mushrooms and stir to coat them evenly.
- Pour in sherry as you stir and keep stirring as you slowly pour in the chicken stock. Keep slowly stirring to mix everything evenly and smoothly and bring it to a gentle simmer.
- Lower the heat to medium low and pour in the heavy whipping cream as you continue to gently and slowly stir. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and let it cook a few minutes until heated through and thickened. (Taste to make sure you have enough seasoning!)
- Once thickened, mix in chopped turkey meat and peas.
- Spread cooked pasta in the prepared casserole dish. Add in grated Monterrey Jack cheese and parmesan cheese. Pour in all of the turkey and sauce mixture and use tongs or two large forks to mix everything evenly. (Yes, it will be saucy! It's a good thing!)
- For the topping: mix Panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and parsley together and mix in melted butter until evenly coated.
- Spread the Panko topping all over the mixed casserole in the baking dish. Bake at 350℉ for about 40 minutes. Serve right away.
Nutrition
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Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Nice Post.
Thank you!!