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Turkey Tetrazzini

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If you need to use up leftover turkey, my turkey tetrazzini is the perfect dish to do that with. 

This week coming up is Thanksgiving week. I don't know about your family, but our family eats a lot of turkeys. When I say a lot, I mean a lot! Now, I am all for turkey as it is on Thanksgiving, but about the 4th day of leftovers, I am ready for something new. That is where my Turkey Tetrazzini comes in.

My husband could eat turkey as it is for a whole 365 days. He loves turkey. But for me, I need a little variation from time to time, so during the holidays, I create fun recipes using up our leftover turkey.

How to Make Turkey Tetrazzini

At the end of this post, you will find a few more of my favorite recipes that I have created over the years using Turkey, but for today, we are going to talk about this amazing new turkey recipe I recently created.

Now, before you can make turkey leftovers, you HAVE to cook your turkey right? I always choose Honeysuckle White simply because it is a name I can trust.

For one, I love that it is a fresh young turkey, which means right from the get-go it is going to be moist and delicious. But the main thing I love is that it is gluten-free, has no growth promoting antibiotics and it is raised by independent family farmers.

Anytime I can help a farmer out, I love doing that. Nothing like knowing where your bird comes from.

Honeysuckle White turkeys can be purchased at any of your local grocery stores. I found mine at Walmart in the fresh turkey section.

The Best Bird for Turkey Tetrazzini

If you want a moist and succulent bird, brine it first. A brine is simply a water, salt, sugar, and spices mixture that your turkey soaks in for a couple of days.

What I do is get a cooler, fill it with tons of ice, pour my brine in and let the turkey stay in this. It keeps your turkey cool so that you don't introduce bacteria, but it infuses your bird with amazing flavor.

Once you are done brining it, you do a rub on it. First — pat it dry. Then set a stick of butter or two out at room temperature.

Rub your turkey down with the softened butter and place the rest in the cavity (be sure to remove the neck and giblets from your turkey).

Then, rub it down with your favorite spices. For this bird, I made a cajun-flavored turkey.

Then cook it according to the temperature on the package. This turkey has a pop-up timer on them, but I have learned that those are not always accurate so I steer clear of those.

I use a digital thermometer and when my bird hits 150 degrees (test in the thickest part of the thigh and thickest part of the breast) it is done. It will rest and get up to 160 degrees, but the FDA says your bird needs to be at 165 degrees internally.

Now, you have this delicious and extremely flavorful turkey that is simply amazing. My family only eats white meat, so I save the dark meat for soups, stews, tacos, stuffing, and more.

But now that you have your bird done, let's talk about this awesome leftover turkey recipe.

The Best Way to Use Up Leftover Turkey

This recipe uses chicken broth, spaghetti noodles, Parmesan Cheese, Panko bread crumbs and it is simply one of the best dishes you will ever taste!

It is made similar to baked spaghetti (if you have ever had that).

Cook your spaghetti noodles according to package directions and set them aside.

Dice up your turkey and get all your spices gathered. Putting this together goes quick and it only has to cook for 30 minutes in the oven so you have a hot and scrumptious meal on the table in under 30 minutes.

Mix together your chicken broth and flour to create a roux. Then add in all your spices in a saucepan and then throw in your turkey and let it bubble until it thickens a bit and then pour into a 13×9 pan. Your dish at this point will still be quite thin, but when it cooks, it will thicken up and make this delicious sauce on your noodles.

Then top it with panko bread crumbs and Parmesan Cheese. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes and then remove and allow it to sit for a bit.

When it comes out, you will have a delicious turkey noodle bake like no other! The top gets crispy and crunchy and the inside is creamy and perfect!

Seriously — this is one of the best leftover dishes I have ever made. You can add in things like peas, mushrooms, carrots, whatever you want to make it heartier. I like mine without all that stuff, but you can add in whatever you like.

Check out these other turkey recipes

Yield: 10 servings

Turkey Tetrazzini

Turkey Tetrazzini

This dish is the perfect way to use up those Thanksgiving leftovers.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 pound Thin Spaghetti, Broken In Half
  • 4 Tablespoons Butter
  • 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
  • 1 pound White Mushrooms, Quartered (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 3 cups Chicken Broth
  • 1/3 cup Flour
  • 3 cups Cooked, leftover Turkey, Shredded Or Diced
  • 1-1/2 cup Frozen Green Peas, optional
  • 1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
  • Salt And Pepper, to taste
  • Extra Broth For Thinning
  • 1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs

Instructions

  1. Cook pasta until not quite done - al dente according to package instructions (it will finish cooking in the oven.) Drain, rinse, and set aside.
  2. In a large pot, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute for a couple of minutes. If you are adding mushrooms, do it now and salt, then saute for a couple more minutes.
  3. Pour in 1 cup of the chicken broth and allow it to cook with the mushrooms for several minutes, or until the liquid reduces by half.
  4. Sprinkle in flour, then stir the mushrooms around for another minute. Pour in the rest of the broth and stir, cooking for another few minutes until the roux thickens.
  5. Reduce heat to medium low. Add the leftover turkey, and the peas(if you are adding these). Stir to combine, adding salt and pepper as needed.
  6. Add the cooked spaghetti and stir it to combine. Splash in more broth as needed; you want the mixture to have a little extra moisture since it will cook off in the oven. If it's a little soupy, that's fine! Add up to 2 more cups of liquid if you think it needs it.
  7. Pour the mixture into a l13x9 baking and sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese and Panko crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes, or until the casserole is bubbly and the crumbs are golden brown.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 415Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 67mgSodium: 788mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 5gSugar: 5gProtein: 25g

Did you make this recipe?

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Julie Blanford

Wednesday 27th of June 2018

Ummmmmmm. Where is the heavy cream in list of ingredients & amount? Would love to try it but..

Jennifer Sikora

Thursday 5th of July 2018

I have since removed the heavy cream notation and updated the recipe :) Thanks for catching my slip up!

Stephen Sikora

Wednesday 13th of June 2018

You mention heavy cream in the write-up, but not in the actual recipe... oops?

Jennifer Sikora

Thursday 5th of July 2018

It was an accident. I have removed it. I was originally going to make it with heavy cream but changed my mind and went the traditional way.

Kelly Hutchinson

Tuesday 24th of November 2015

When we buy turkey or a turkey breast, it is a Honeysuckle. I need to make this Tetrazzini for my husband!

Krystal

Tuesday 24th of November 2015

I have never made this before, and the first time I heard about it was last week! It sounds like a fun recipe!

Janis @MommyblogExpert

Tuesday 24th of November 2015

What a delicious way to use up leftover turkey. Which reminds me, Thanksgiving is just 2 days away and I still have to go BUY a turkey!

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