This turkey tetrazzini recipe is loaded with hearty pasta, leftover turkey, and a creamy, cheesy sauce that’s baked until bubbly and golden brown.
Why this recipe works
Turkey tetrazzini is the best way to use up leftover Thanksgiving turkey, because what’s better than a cheesy comforting casserole the day after you spent hours prepping a giant meal?
This bubbly baked dish combines your leftover turkey with a simple cream sauce, peas, pasta of your choice, and plenty of cheese for the best-ever turkey hot dish that only requires you to layer the ingredients together in a casserole dish.
Ingredients you will need
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions
TURKEY – This recipe uses leftover turkey. You can use leftover Thanksgiving roasted turkey or prep a batch of crockpot turkey breast. Feel free to shred or cube the turkey, both ways will work well. If you prefer to use chicken you can hop over to our chicken tetrazzini recipe!
SAUCE – We’ve used two 10 oz cans of cream of mushroom soup as well as a 10 oz can of cream of chicken soup. If you’d like to use only cream of mushroom or cream of chicken, go right ahead! This particular sauce is quite thick, to minimize the thickness of it reduce the count of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soups to 2 cans total instead of 3, or simply add more chicken stock to loosen it up. For an alternative to canned soup, try our homemade cream of chicken soup. If preferred, you can use frozen peas instead of canned peas or substitute them altogether with broccoli florets or sliced mushrooms.
PASTA – You can use whatever type of noodle you’d like. We prefer spaghetti, however, fettuccine, linguine, angel hair, penne, egg noodles, or ziti are all great options as well.
How to Make Turkey Tetrazzini
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- Preheat the oven to 325F and lightly grease a 9×13 casserole dish.
- Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions, removing from the water once they are al dente.
- In a large bowl add the turkey, soups, peas, sour cream, chicken stock, sea salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and ground pepper and mix well.
- Toss the cooked spaghetti into the sauce and mix until well combined.
- Add the spaghetti and turkey mixture into the casserole dish and top with ¼ cup parmesan cheese, cheddar, and mozzarella.
- Bake for 30 minutes covered with aluminum foil. Remove aluminum foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.
- Optionally garnish with additional parmesan cheese and fresh chopped parsley.
Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips
Store leftovers in an air-tight container kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. When reheating, you might want to add a bit of water, chicken stock, or milk to help loosen it up. Reheat individual portions in the microwave or the entire casserole in a 350F oven for around 25-30 minutes, covered.
Serving Suggestions
Serve turkey tetrazzini with garlic bread, dinner rolls, or a nice leafy salad on the side. Optionally top the casserole with buttered breadcrumbs or crushed Ritz crackers towards the end of baking for additional texture.
More Related Recipes
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Turkey Tetrazzini
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 1 pound dried spaghetti
- 1 ½ pounds leftover cooked turkey chopped into bite-sized chunks. about 6 cups worth
- 20 ounces cream of mushroom soup two 10 ounce cans
- 10 ounces cream of chicken soup
- 14 ounces canned peas drained
- 1 ½ cups sour cream
- ⅓ cup low sodium chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Things You’ll Need
Before You Begin
- This recipe uses leftover turkey. You can use leftover Thanksgiving roasted turkey or prep a batch of crockpot turkey breast. Feel free to shred or cube the turkey, both ways will work well.
- We used two 10 oz cans of cream of mushroom soup as well as a 10 oz can of cream of chicken soup. If you’d like to use only cream of mushroom or cream of chicken, go right ahead!
- This particular sauce is quite thick, to minimize the thickness of it reduce the count of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soups to 2 cans total instead of 3, or simply add more chicken stock to loosen it up. For an alternative to canned soup, try our homemade cream of chicken soup.
- If preferred, you can use frozen peas instead of canned peas or substitute them with broccoli florets or sliced mushrooms.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325F and lightly grease a 9×13 casserole dish.
- Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions, removing from the water once they are al dente.
- In a large bowl add the turkey, soups, peas, sour cream, chicken stock, sea salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and ground pepper and mix well.
- Toss the cooked spaghetti into the sauce and mix until well combined.
- Add the spaghetti and turkey mixture into the casserole dish and top with ¼ cup parmesan cheese, cheddar, and mozzarella.
- Bake for 30 minutes covered with aluminum foil. Remove aluminum foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.
- Optionally garnish with additional parmesan cheese and fresh chopped parsley.
Expert Tips & FAQs
- Store leftovers in an air-tight container kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. When reheating, you might want to add a bit of water, chicken stock, or milk to help loosen it up. Reheat individual portions in the microwave or the entire casserole in a 350F oven for around 25-30 minutes, covered.
Nutrition
Kristen Rittmer
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Claire says
We enjoyed this recipe but thought it could have a little extra flavor as it was very mild. I used broccoli instead of peas. I think asparagus would go well too. Probably will add some more spices next time and maybe some cayenne. Last 10 minutes of cook time will add french fried onions for some texture. Will definitely make again for turkey leftovers. Thank you for the recipe!
Lynda Boucher says
I am anxious to try this as I have some left over turkey from a month ago and wanted to use it up.
I also froze some stuffing and am going to add that too.
I forget to rate your recipes but if it’s not seafood, I keep most of them.
I love that I always have everything on hand! Keep it up!
Amanda Davis says
Thank you so much for saying that, I really appreciate it!