Turkey Tetrazzini
This classic turkey tetrazzini recipe is creamy, cheesy, and full of noodles – a reliable way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers!
The countdown to Thanksgiving is officially on! We cannot believe that it’s only a week from Thursday… it totally snuck up on us this year! We're totally ready for our kitchen to be a hot mess of pie crust, cranberry sauce, stuffing, peeled potatoes, and a turkey ready to take a dip in some hot oil. We can’t wait to fill our belly with all sorts of deliciousness next week!
It seems that no matter how much we manage to eat on Thanksgiving day, there is always an infinite amount of leftovers. The good news is, Thanksgiving leftovers take well to reheating, making them straightforward to eat again and again. The bad news? There are only so many turkey sandwiches one can eat. It gets boring, fast. Luckily, we’re not relegated to turkey sandwich prison; you can repurpose that turkey in a ton of different ways. Previously, we've made our grandma’s famous Thanksgiving leftovers casserole, a turkey-rice soup and turkey pot pie. Those are all fabulous, but we have to say, we think turkey tetrazzini definitely takes the cake.
We can’t resist any type of baked noodle dish, be it baked ziti, macaroni and cheese, or something like tetrazzini.
We also can’t help myself when it comes to picking the crisp bread crumb and cheese-coated noodles off of the top layer. Shhh, if anyone asks, it wasn’t us!
We won’t lie. We ate this tetrazzini for lunch and dinner multiple days in a row after making it. That’s sort of a big deal for us, as we tend to accumulate leftovers without finishing them off. Ask our husband about the sheer number of take out and Tupperware containers that threaten to take over a refrigerator. It’s downright scary. Not this time, though. This time we finished every last morsel and was seriously bummed when we realized it was gone. We secretly didn’t even want to share it. Between the noodles, the creamy sauce, mushrooms, turkey and peas, it was baked perfection.
This turkey tetrazzini is a total no-brainer when it comes to using up some of that leftover turkey, plus, don’t throw away that almost-empty bottle of wine! You can use it in this, too! It’s the reliable dish to pop in the oven when you’re taking out all of the Christmas decorations; total comfort food.
What’s your favorite way to use up leftover turkey?
Four years ago: Cinnamon-Sugar Candied Pecans
Five years ago: Pumpkin Roll
Six years ago: Cranberry Sauce
Turkey Tetrazzini
Yield: 4 to 6 servings This classic Turkey Tetrazzini recipe is creamy, cheesy, and full of noodles - a reliable way to use up turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving!- 12 ounces (340.2 g) mushrooms, sliced
- 11 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- ¼ cup (31.25 g) all-purpose flour
- 12 ounces (340.2 g) egg noodles
- 1½ cups (366 ml) whole milk
- ¼ cup (59.5 ml) heavy cream
- 2 cups (473.18 ml) turkey stock (can substitute chicken stock/broth)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) white wine (can substitute stock or broth)
- 3 cups (298.2 g) chopped cooked turkey
- 1 cup (145 g) frozen peas
- 6 ounces (170.1 g) Gruyère cheese, shredded (about ¾ cup shredded), divided
- 3 ounces (85.05 g) grated Parmesan cheese, about ⅔ cup, divided
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup (108 g) plain bread crumbs
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish; set aside. Fill a large pot with water and put it over high heat to boil.
- In a large, 12-inch skillet with sides, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until all of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to a bowl and set aside.
- In the same skillet, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking occasionally, until the flour is browned and has a nutty aroma, about 3 minutes.
- While the flour cooks, add the noodles to the boiling water and cook to al dente. While the noodles are cooking, continue on with the recipe.
- Slowly whisk the milk, cream, turkey stock and wine into the butter/flour mixture. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Drain the pasta when it is finished, then add the cooked pasta, mushrooms, turkey and peas to the sauce in the skillet, tossing everything together until it is evenly coated. Add half of the Gruyere and half of the Parmesan cheese, stirring until the cheese is melted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons unsalted butter. In a small bowl, toss together the bread crumbs, remaining Gruyere, remaining Parmesan and the melted butter. Toss with a fork until the bread crumbs and Parmesan are evenly moistened. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top of the tetrazzini.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the top is golden brown. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
Nutritional values are based on one servingThis recipe was originally published on November 21, 2012.
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings
- Prep: 40 minutes
- Cook: 40 minutes
- Total: 1 hour 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 12 ounces ( 340.2 g ) mushrooms, sliced
- 11 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- ¼ cup ( 31.25 g ) all-purpose flour
- 12 ounces ( 340.2 g ) egg noodles
- 1½ cups ( 366 ml ) whole milk
- ¼ cup ( 59.5 ml ) heavy cream
- 2 cups ( 473.18 ml ) turkey stock (can substitute chicken stock/broth)
- ¼ cup ( 60 ml ) white wine (can substitute stock or broth)
- 3 cups ( 298.2 g ) chopped cooked turkey
- 1 cup ( 145 g ) frozen peas
- 6 ounces ( 170.1 g ) Gruyère cheese, shredded (about ¾ cup shredded), divided
- 3 ounces ( 85.05 g ) grated Parmesan cheese, about ⅔ cup, divided
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup ( 108 g ) plain bread crumbs
Method
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish; set aside. Fill a large pot with water and put it over high heat to boil.
- In a large, 12-inch skillet with sides, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until all of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to a bowl and set aside.
- In the same skillet, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking occasionally, until the flour is browned and has a nutty aroma, about 3 minutes.
- While the flour cooks, add the noodles to the boiling water and cook to al dente. While the noodles are cooking, continue on with the recipe.
- Slowly whisk the milk, cream, turkey stock and wine into the butter/flour mixture. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Drain the pasta when it is finished, then add the cooked pasta, mushrooms, turkey and peas to the sauce in the skillet, tossing everything together until it is evenly coated. Add half of the Gruyere and half of the Parmesan cheese, stirring until the cheese is melted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons unsalted butter. In a small bowl, toss together the bread crumbs, remaining Gruyere, remaining Parmesan and the melted butter. Toss with a fork until the bread crumbs and Parmesan are evenly moistened. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top of the tetrazzini.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the top is golden brown. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
This recipe was originally published on November 21, 2012.
