Leftover Turkey Tetrazzini

Time to put that leftover turkey to a tasty use. Whip up this turkey tetrazzini casserole with these easy step by step photo instructions.

Publisher’s Note: Originally published November 29, 2015. Updated with expanded text, and discussion along with updated photos.

Many of us (me usually) end up with too much turkey, and you can only do so many turkey sandwiches. So let’s do something great with it.

I loosely based this recipe on Turkey Tetrazzini 2 on Allrecipes.com. There were issues.: No salt, no pepper, no taste. These and others were pointed out by over 600 comments most of which fixed the issues and give it 5 stars anyways.

My Rating:

A 4.5 from the wife… a straight four from me.

Pro Tips: Recipe Notes for Leftover Turkey Tetrazzini

What is Tetrazzini?

While we Americans think of this as a classic Italian dish, it is all American. Named after Italian opera star Luisa Tetrazzini, it first appeared in San Francisco in the early 20th century where Tetrazzini was a long-time resident.

There is no exact definition, so the recipes do vary a lot. It is usually poultry or seafood with a sauce of Parmesan and usually mushrooms severed over linguine or spaghetti.

There can be some wine involved in the cooking and it is frequently baked as a casserole. SO… I’m still calling it Italian.

The Turkey

Use dark or light meat. I think you should cube it but shredded would be ok but harder to eat. You can vary the amount of turkey to use up what you have.

This should be an easy recipe to cut in half, but I was cooking for leftovers and company. You can adjust the number of servings in the recipe card below. It will calculate the ingredient adjustments for you but not change the instructions. You will need to do those yourself.

I skipped the mushrooms as usual due to family food allergies. Toss about 1 cup in with the celery if you wish.

Preheat oven to 350 convection or 375 conventional.

Cook 1 pound of pasta to al dente per package instructions. Used Linguine or spaghetti. Cube 4 cups of leftover turkey. White meat preferred.

Dice 1 small onion, crush four cloves garlic, dice two stalks celery.

Melt one stick butter (1/2 cup) over medium heat. Add onion and celery and cook about 3-4 minutes until clearing. Add the four cloves of crushed garlic and cook one more minute. Add one teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Add 1/2 cup flour. Stir until browning some about 2 minutes.

Add one 14 oz can chicken broth while continuously stirring bring to boil and when starting to thicken, add three cups milk and one cup Parmesan cheese. Continue a light boil and stirring while thickening — about three more minutes.

Remove from heat, add four cups cubed turkey, one pound cooked pasta, one cup of frozen peas. Mix well and transfer to a nine by 12-inch baking dish.

Mix one cup Italian Panko breadcrumbs with 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese and sprinkle over the top of the casserole.

Bake for about 35 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.

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4.14 from 45 votes

Leftover Turkey Tetrazzini

Time to put that leftover turkey to a tasty use. Whip up this turkey tetrazzini casserole with these easy step by step photo instructions.

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time35 mins

Total Time1 hr 5 mins

Author: Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

Servings/Adjustment: 12

Ingredients

• 4 cups diced turkey - white meat preferred
• 1 onion - small
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms - optional
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 14 oz chicken broth
• 3 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese - shredded - divided
• 1 pound pasta - spaghetti or linguine preferred
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup Italian Panko bread crumbs

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 convection or 375 conventional.
• Cook one pound of pasta to al dente per package instructions. Use linguine or spaghetti. Cube 4 cups of leftover turkey. White meat preferred.
• Dice 1 small onion, crush four cloves garlic, dice two stalks celery.
• Melt one stick butter (1/2 cup) over medium heat. Add onion and celery and cook about 3-4 minutes until clearing. Add mushrooms with celery if using. Add the four cloves of crushed garlic and cook one more minute. Add one teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
• Add 1/2 cup flour. Stir until browning some about 2 minutes.
• Add one 14 oz can chicken broth while continuously stirring bring to boil and when starting to thicken, add three cups milk and one cup shredded Parmesan cheese. Continue a light boil and stirring while thickening. About three more minutes.
• Remove from heat, add four cups cubed turkey, one pound cooked pasta, one cup of frozen peas. Mix well and transfer to a nine by 12-inch baking dish.
• Mix one cup Italian Panko bread crumbs with 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese and sprinkle over the top of the casserole.
• Bake for about 35 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.

Recipe Notes

Pro Tips:

1. You can use light or dark meat. I prefer cubed but shredded is OK.
2. This recipe moves a bit fast. Please read and understand the recipe before starting.
3. Use pasta of your choice, but spaghetti or linguine are preferred.
4. This is an easy recipe to cut in half. Adjust the servings under the ingredient list. It will do the calculations for you but the instructions will not adjust. You can handle that.
5. I skipped the mushrooms as usual due to family food allergies. Toss about 1 cup in with the celery if you wish.

Nutrition Facts

Leftover Turkey Tetrazzini

Amount Per Serving

Calories 331 Calories from Fat 135

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 15g 23%

Saturated Fat 8g 40%

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 4g

Cholesterol 61mg 20%

Sodium 1112mg 46%

Potassium 336mg 10%

Total Carbohydrates 28g 9%

Dietary Fiber 3g 12%

Sugars 5g

Protein 21g 42%

Vitamin A 14%

Vitamin C 6%

Calcium 23%

Iron 13%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

Have a question or something not clear? Ask in the comments.

 

Nutrition is for one serving. Number of servings is stated above and is my estimate of normal serving size for this recipe.

All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

If you like this recipe or find it useful, the pleasure of a nice 4 or 5 rating would be greatly appreciated.

Originally published November 29, 2015