Turkey Tetrazzini is the perfect leftover Thanksgiving turkey recipe with tender turkey, creamy sauce, pasta, vegetables, and a crispy Parmesan topping. You may want to cook extra turkey this year for this casserole. Or make it with rotisserie chicken for Chicken Tetrazzini.
🦃Ingredients
Turkey—diced or shredded cooked
Pasta—linguine or spaghetti
Aromatics—onion and garlic
Vegetables—celery, frozen peas, mushrooms (optional)
Pantry—milk, chicken broth, butter, flour, salt, black pepper
Topping—Italian panko breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese
Table of Contents (scroll for more)
Featured Comment from CG:
"5 stars. I really enjoyed this easy recipe. It is a great way to use up leftover items and very family friendly."
Use that leftover Thanksgiving turkey with this classic turkey tetrazzini casserole recipe. The whole family will love this easy-to-make casserole.
I try not to use a "can of soup" or cream cheese in pasta recipes, which are unnecessary here. Fresh from scratch is better, and this recipe uses a roux instead to thicken the sauce.
👨🍳How to Make Turkey Tetrazzini
Preheat the oven to 350° convection or 375° conventional.
Cook the pasta. Cube or shred about 4 cups of leftover turkey.
Dice the onion and celery, and crush the garlic. g
Melt butter over medium heat and add onion, celery, and mushrooms. Cook for about 3-4 minutes until the celery is clearing. Add the four cloves of crushed garlic and cook one more minute. Add salt and black pepper.
Add sprinkle in the flour. Stir until browning some, about 2 minutes.
Add the chicken or turkey broth while continuously stirring. Continue to stir, bring to a boil, and when it starts to thicken, add the milk and some Parmesan cheese. Continue to simmer and stir while thickening—about 3 more minutes.
Remove from heat add the turkey, cooked pasta, and frozen peas. Mix and pour into a 9 by 13 inch baking dish coated with PAM or butter.
Mix Italian Panko breadcrumbs with shredded or grated Parmesan cheese and sprinkle over the top of the casserole.
Bake for about 35 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
🦃Ingredient options and variations
Turkey or chicken
Turkey meat must be previously cooked and may be either turkey breast or dark meat cut into cubes or shredded. Browned ground turkey may also be used.
To make Chicken Tetrazzini instead, use precooked chicken like a rotisserie. Otherwise, the recipe is unchanged.
Pasta
Linguine is the perfect pasta for this turkey casserole, but any other standard pasta like spaghetti, bow tie pasta, or egg noodles cooked al denta will work well.
Vegetables
Celery, onion, mushrooms, and peas are very typical additions. The celery, mushrooms, and onion need some precooking since the casserole doesn't cook that long. The peas are better if added frozen.
In other tetrazzini recipes, fresh baby spinach, sliced green beans, black olives, broccoli, and red or green peppers may be added.
Topping
Only one topping is acceptable in our house—a mixture of Parmesan cheese and Panko breadcrumbs. I suggest using Italian-flavored breadcrumbs, but use what you want.
⬇️How to make this recipe half-size
The full recipe makes 12 servings in a 9 by 13 casserole pan. A half-size recipe for 6 servings fits in a 6 by 9 or an 8 by 8 baking dish.
- Use the recipe card and adjust the number of servings to six.
- Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
- Cooking time will only be slightly less. You are cooking to a nicely browned topping—all the ingredients are already cooked and safe.
📖Leftover Turkey Recipes
While this Turkey Tetrazzini is my favorite, here are a few other choices. My Simple Chicken Pot Pie includes Turkey Pot Pie. You can also use leftover turkey meat in Three Bean Turkey Chili or Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice Casserole.
Part of the Leftover Ham and Turkey Recipe Roundup, where you will find more leftover recipes.
How to make turkey tetrazzini ahead
You can make this casserole ahead in an oven-safe pan. After adding the topping, seal well and freeze for 3-4 months.
Be sure to defrost the frozen casserole overnight in the refrigerator before cooking.
Storing leftover turkey casserole
Once cooked, this pasta casserole is good refrigerated for 4 days or frozen for 3 months.
To reheat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator if frozen. Then reheat in the microwave, covered in the oven, or air fryer.
❓FAQs
Previously cooked meat like rotisserie chicken, other poultry, or ham are good substitutes. There are seafood versions, but I'm not going there with this recipe.
If you don't have leftovers, cook some baked chicken or turkey breast.
There is no reason for canned cream of mushroom soup or cream cheese. This sauce is made using a traditional roux method of thickening for sauces or liquids. It mixes flour with fat, is cooked briefly, and then combined with liquid and whisked until thickened. or mam
See How to Make Gravy from Scratch for more information on the roux method of thickening.
To make tetrazzini gluten-free, use gluten-free panko breadcrumbs and pasta. Plus, an alternative thickener for the flour. Corn starch would be a good choice if not being frozen.
To make tetrazzini dairy-free, the turkey or other meat must be cooked without dairy. The butter and milk can be alternative dairy-free versions. The Parmesan is replaced with a goat version of Ramano cheese.
Like any dish, check each specific ingredient for gluten or dairy if you need them eliminated—they tend to creep in unexpectedly.
What is Tetrazzini?
While 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. Tetrazzini recipes usually have poultry or seafood and mushrooms with a Parmesan sauce, then served over linguine or spaghetti or as a baked casserole. Some wine can be involved in the cooking.
The sauce found in most versions of tetrazzini is very similar to Alfredo sauce.
SO... I'm still calling it Italian.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
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📖 Recipe
Leftover Turkey Tetrazzini
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta - spaghetti or linguine preferred
- 4 cups diced or shredded cooked turkey - about
- 1 small onion -
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms - optional
- 4 cloves crushed or minced garlic
- ½ cup butter - one stick
- ½ cup flour
- 14 oz chicken broth
- 3 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese - shredded or grated
- 1 cup frozen peas
Topping
- 1 cup Italian Panko bread crumbs
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese - shredded or grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° convection or 375° conventional.
- Cook 1 pound of linguine or spaghetti to al dente per package instructions. Cube or shred about 4 cups of leftover turkey.
- Dice 1 small onion, crush four cloves of garlic, and dice two ribs of celery.
- Melt one stick of butter (½ cup) over medium heat and add onion, celery, and mushrooms. Cook for about 3-4 minutes until the celery is clearing. Add the four cloves of crushed garlic and cook one more minute. Add one teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
- Add ½ cup flour by sprinkling over the pan. Stir until browning some, about 2 minutes.
- Add one 14 oz can of chicken or turkey broth while continuously stirring. Continue to stir, bring to a boil, and when it starts to thicken, add three cups of milk and one cup of shredded or grated Parmesan cheese. Continue to simmer and stir while thickening—about three more minutes.
- Remove from heat, and add four cups of cubed or shredded cooked turkey, one pound of cooked pasta, and one cup of frozen peas. Mix well and pour into a 9 by 13 inch baking dish coated with PAM or butter.
- Mix one cup of Italian Panko breadcrumbs with ½ cup of shredded or grated Parmesan cheese and sprinkle over the top of the casserole.
- Bake for about 35 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
Your Own Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- You can use light or dark meat. I prefer cubed, but shredded is OK. You can also use precooked chicken, like rotisserie chicken, or even ham.
- This recipe moves a bit fast. Please read and understand the recipe before starting. And have the ingredients out and ready to go.
- Use pasta of your choice, but spaghetti or linguine are preferred.
- This is an easy recipe to cut in half. See the post for details.
- I skipped the mushrooms as usual due to family food allergies. Cook about 1 cup in with the celery if you wish.
- Good refrigerated for 4 days or frozen for 3 months.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
© 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.
Adapted from Turkey Tetrazzini on Allrecipes.com.
Publisher's Note: Originally published November 29, 2015. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Susan Hamilton
Great basic recipe! A few tweaks here and there due to what I had on hand, and came out with a fabulous dish. I did add a bit of poultry seasoning. Yums! Thanks!
P.S. Your website is the reason I can grill stuff so that we have a yummy dinner in the spring, summer & fall! Thanks! I hope your whole family is doing well.
Sincerely, Susan
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Susan,
Sorry the delayed response, life happens fast some times.
I love a good noodle casserole with great topping. And I'm so glad you find the grilling tips useful.
Thanks for the note and rating.
Dan
Nancy Malburg
Hi, my name is Nancy and I live in northern Illinois. I found your recipe on the internet, it just looked better than all the rest. It is very good!! I used left over boneless turkey and stir fried the onions celery, carrots, and broccoli prior to adding the milk and the chicken broth, I used lower salt broth. I also added mozzarella shredded cheese when adding the linguine. I did use the panko crumbs and the Parmesan cheese in the top. It was very good and I will make this again. I would like to try this recipe with shredded chicken. I also like that no canned or awfully salty canned sauce was used in this recipe. Thank you and I will try your other recipes in the future. Have a good new year.
Melissa
I love this recipe and have made it a couple times. I was wondering if I can just use the meat I cooked off the bone. Just a variety of shredded light and dark. I think it will be fine, ousted wanted some input .
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Melissa,
Welcome to the blog.
Yes, any turkey or chicken meat will be fine. But I want to point out that leftovers over 4 days of age should be discarded.
Dan
Ed
Thank you for the perfect “Turkey-day” leftover recipe!
I halved the recipe because there are only three of us and we all enjoyed it very much BUT found it to be on the dry side. I have two “vegetable adverse” eaters so I omitted the peas and mushrooms but followed everything else as written. I’m pretty good at following a recipe but still a novice in the kitchen so I’m not that great at “tweaking” them yet. I’m thinking the missing moisture from the veggies might be the reason it came out dry? Maybe?? What would you suggest to adjust the recipe so it won’t be dry next time? Just up the broth and/or milk? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again for the recipe... will definitely be making again!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Ed,
Welcome to the blog.
If it was too dry, another 1-2 oz of broth in the sauce will be fine. The real question is why? The veggies can release a bit of fluid but not that much. I suspect the turkey was a bit dryer and absorbed some liquid. Or the pasta... we will never know.
Thanks for the note, question, and the rating.
Dan
Ed
So, yeah. Can I change my rating to 5 ⭐️‘s? Was my first turkey and now that you mention that it might have been ‘a bit dryer’ I’m pretty sure is was Cooker Error, lol.... I way over cooked that poor bird for fear of not cooking it enough! The ‘popping’ thingy in the turkey never did ‘Pop’ and it cooked waaaayyyyy longer then the times listed on the tag 🤦♂️ Cook and learn, lol.
Thanks again and Happy New Year!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Ed,
Rating fixed. I do have a turkey breast "how to" that gives excellent results. https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/how-to-roast-a-turkey-breast-the-easy-way/ I don't have a full turkey recipe. Never trust those pop up timers.
Dan
Allen Arthurs
All went Well until combining the liquid mixture with the turkey and spaghetti. I went to a large deep skillet, saw that it was not big enough so went a big chili pot. Made it early in the day so covered and refrigerated until supper time. Not sure how long to bake but will bake until bubbly and brown. May suggest to use a big pot to begin with to save having to wash so many dishes. Of course, I am a somewhat old and lazy man. Ask my wife. Lol
CG
I really enjoyed this easy recipe. It is a great way to use up leftover items and very family friendly with the ingredient multiplier at the top that adjusts ingredient amounts automatically. Thanks for posting it !
Katherine Aust
I made this recipe, but had to omit the mushrooms because my husband doesn't like them. I added a couple of tablespoons of dry sherry to the onion/celery/butter before stirring in the flour. Accidentally grabbed angel hair pasta and used shredded Swiss. The dish was fabulous and even better the next day. Thanks!
Dawn
I am confused about the salt. You show a picture of kosher salt but don’t mention kosher salt in directions. Also, your pictures used to always show Morton’s kosher salt. This picture is a different brand and even when I enlarge the picture I can’t tell what it is. I have been reading lately that Morton’s and Diamond Crystal are the two major brands and they measure differently. What brand are you now using?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Dawn,
Welcome to the blog.
Sorry for any confusion. Here is a link to my discussion about salts. https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/abbreviations-salts-and-oven-temperature/
--------------------------
This is from that page:
All recipes on this blog have nutritional estimates. With salt, if it says “salt”, it is table salt. If it say Kosher salt, it will be Diamond Kosher salt or the equivalent of Morton Kosher salt.
If the recipe says “to taste” for the amount of salt, it is my estimate of average usage.
1 teaspoon table salt = 1 1/4 teaspoon Morton kosher salt = 2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
If a recipe called for Kosher or coarse salt, it is using Diamond Crystal as a reference. I usually buy Diamond Crystal and adjust accordingly.
Also, things like sea salt etc. usually are in the Morton salt range.
BUT since salt is mostly to taste, use what you want.
____________________
So this recipe is 1 teaspoon salt (table salt) or the equivalent in what you have. 1 1/4 teaspoon of Mortan Kosher or 2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal.
I frequently use less salt for my taste. And since Diamond Crystal is the least "salt" of the salts, it is what I usually buy but I now have to get 3 pound boxes. A real bummer.
Dan
Trish
I dont know if it's just me and not feeling well, but I didnt care for the recipe and I love every ingredient.
DrDan
Hi Trish,
Welcome to the blog.
Sorry, it didn't work well for you.
Dan
Jeanne Tomlin
How is a dish that serves twelve 'servings for two'? Talk about deceptive advertising.
DrDan
See https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/recipes-not-two-servings/
KJill
Thank you for the timely reminder that milk, butter, flour and seasonings makes the perfect comfort food out of leftover meat, veg and starch. I didn't follow your recipe very closely other than the proportions for the 'gravy' and procedure - good basic technique is always a safe starting point. Leftover turkey, roast carrots, broccoli, brown rice, added finely chopped very mild chili to onion/garlic/celery, reduced the cheese to topping only. I always enjoy the dog pictures. Thanks
DrDan
Hi KJill,
Welcome to the blog.
A recipe is just "guidelines" anyway (see https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/so-how-is-recipe-like-pirate-code/). It is always good to remind the readers that these things should be adjusted to your needs at the time.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Kari
Hi Dr Dan
If I have shredded turkey How can i measure it to be cubes?
DrDan
Hi Kari,
Welcome to the blog.
Use about the same volume with shredded or cubed. With casseroles, soups, stews, and chili, I view the amount of meat as a bit variable, a little more or a little less is fine.
Dan
Debbie
Why is your website called Cooking for Two when I have yet to find a recipe for just two people??? I'm confused....
DrDan
Hi Debbie,
You are not the first to ask so I have it discussed in this page. https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/recipes-not-two-servings/ .
The recipes are generally for smaller households and most non-meat recipes will be for more than two with leftovers. Many are cut down for other massively big recipes.
Most of the meat recipes are for two or can be easily done with two servings and you will see that.
Also, the recipe card can adjust the quantities of ingredients to the number of servings you want. It does not adjust the instructions.
Hope that helps.
Dan
Jo
Can you freeze the leftovers?
DrDan
It should be good in a refrigerator for about 3 days and freezer for 2-3 months.
Dan
George
Thanks for the great recipe.
It really made a large amount of food and we enjoyed the leftovers from this the rest of the week as well. The taste was fantastic!
Also fairly easy to make, even for a novice like me.
Ellise
Best tettrazinni recipie I have made thus far!
Chris
One of our holiday favorites! One of my relatives always served this at our family homecoming the Sunday after Thanksgiving each year and I loved it.