Your new favorite leftover turkey recipe! Our Easy Turkey Tetrazzini recipe is a leftover turkey casserole with soft egg noodles, chock-full of flavor from mushrooms, peas, and a creamy, cheesy sauce.
You may want to make a larger Thanksgiving turkey just so you have enough for this easy Turkey Tetrazzini Casserole! It’s that good!
Thanksgiving leftovers are one of the best parts of the holiday, and it’s even better when you can make them into something a little new and different the next day. One of our favorite leftover Thanksgiving recipes is Turkey Tetrazzini casserole!
Our leftover turkey recipe starts with a creamy sauce with Italian seasonings and two different kinds of cheeses. It gets mixed with turkey, mushrooms, and peas, and then baked with hot egg noodles and topped with crunchy, buttery breadcrumbs.
This easy turkey tetrazzini is the perfect answer to what to make with leftover turkey! Turkey Tetrazzini casserole is a great way to use leftover turkey that’s flavorful, comforting, and perfect for an easy lunch or dinner. Your family will love it!
What is Tetrazzini?
Tetrazzini is an American casserole typically consisting of turkey, chicken, or tuna, baked with pasta in a creamy béchamel sauce, with mushrooms and a crunchy topping. Turkey Tetrazzini is a classic, as is Chicken Tetrazzini, and both are delicious!
The dish is thought to be named after an Italian opera singer, Luisa Tetrazzini, who was a long-time resident of San Francisco, California. A hotel chef in San Francisco named Ernest Arbogast is said to have created and named the dish after Tetrazzini.
What is bechamel sauce?
Bechamel Sauce is a beautiful thing! Velvety, smooth, rich and full of flavor, this sauce elevates so many dishes. Made with only a few simple ingredients that you most likely already have on hand, it is a staple in the kitchen.
Bechamel sauce is essentially a white sauce that is milk-based and thickened with a white roux. Various seasonings can be added depending on the flavors you want to bring out.
Ingredients for Bechamel Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/4 cups milk, heated
- Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Bechamel Cheese Sauce Recipe Tips:
- This is your base for the bechamel sauce but you can now add additional flavors to create a more flavorful sauce as we did in this recipe.
- You can add your favorite cheese to make a deliciously smooth cheese sauce. It is a perfect base for so many delicious recipes, especially macaroni and cheese.
- We doubled the bechamel sauce for this recipe, added an onion for flavor and lightened it up a bit by adding chicken broth. And of course, we added cheese! Our bechamel sauce is packed with flavor.
Bechamel Sauce Uses
- Bacon Macaroni and Cheese
- Bolognese Sauce
- Scalloped Potatoes
- Chile con Queso
- Spinach Gratin
- Vegetables in Cheese Sauce
- Cheese Sauce for just about anything!
Turkey Tetrazzini Recipe Ingredients
- 12 oz. egg noodles
- cooking spray
- 8 Tbsp. butter, divided
- 1 small onion, diced very fine
- 4 Tbsp. flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 3 cups turkey meat, cooked and shredded*
- 6 oz. canned sliced mushrooms
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)
*For the turkey, try making our recipe for the Best Turkey Recipe ever! You will be blown away by how flavorful and moist this turkey is. Its herby, citrusy flavor is truly incredible. With crispy skin from Garlic Herb Butter, we know you’ll find it as irresistible as we do!
Turkey Tetrazzini Recipe Tips:
- If you don’t have a turkey and still want to make this delicious recipe, use a rotisserie chicken or boil chicken breasts. It will be just as delicious.
- Make sure to dice the onion very fine. This should be a smooth, decadent and creamy cheese sauce.
How to Make Turkey Tetrazzini
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Spray a 9×13″ baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Cook egg noodles in a large pot, according to package instructions. Strain and set aside.
- Add 4 Tbsp. of butter to a large skillet with diced onion. Cook on medium-high until translucent.
- Add flour and whisk until thick paste forms.
- Slowly add chicken broth and then milk, whisking until smooth and creamy.
- Mix in Italian seasoning and nutmeg.
- Mix in turkey, mushrooms, peas, and cheeses. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add in cooked egg noodles and gently mix to combine. Add to the casserole dish and smooth into an even layer.
- In another saute pan, melt the remaining 4 Tbsp. butter over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs and cook until golden, stirring constantly. Remove from pan immediately so they don’t continue to brown in the hot pan.
- Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly over top of the casserole.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, until bubbling and heated through.
Gluten-free Turkey Tetrazzini Recipe
You can easily make our Chicken Tetrazzini recipe gluten-free by using gluten-free pasta and brown rice flour. It turns out great and you will not miss out on any of the flavors of this delicious dish.
Do you have picky eaters?
Recipe Tip: If you have a mushroom or pea hater in your house, you can leave out the mushrooms and peas in this recipe and it will still be delicious!
Side Dishes for Turkey Tetrazzini
- Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
- Smashed Brussels Sprouts
- Gluten Free Stuffing
- Green Beans Almondine
- Fresh Vegetable salad
And try it with Caramel Apple Cake or Pumpkin Dump Cake for dessert!
For more ideas on what to do with leftover turkey, try replacing the chicken in Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup with Egg Noodles with turkey, instead, or mix your shredded turkey into Broccoli Apple Salad!
And don’t forget about our delicious Turkey Sliders – the epitome of the perfect leftover turkey sandwich!
We hope you love this idea for what to do with leftover turkey! Remember you can always make our tetrazzini with a rotisserie chicken. It is so good, you will want to make it year-round. We know we do.
Let us know if you love to create new dishes out of leftovers too! We love to hear from you.
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Turkey Tetrazzini Recipe
🥘 Ingredients
- 12 oz egg noodles
- cooking spray
- 8 tbsp butter, divided
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 tsp italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 3 cups turkey meat, cooked and shredded
- 6 oz canned sliced mushrooms
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup mozzerella cheese
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)
🔪 Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Cook egg noodles in a large pot, according to package instructions. Strain and set aside.
- Add 4 tbsp of butter to a large skillet with diced onion. Cook on medium-high until translucent.
- Add flour and whisk until a thick paste forms.
- Slowly add chicken broth and then milk, whisking until smooth and creamy.
- Mix in italian seasoning and nutmeg.
- Mix in turkey, mushrooms, peas, and cheeses. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add in cooked egg noodles and gently mix to combine. Add to casserole dish and smooth into an even layer.
- In another saute pan, melt remaining 4 tbsp butter over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs and cook until golden, stirring constantly. Remove from pan immediately so they don't continue to brown in the hot pan.
- Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly over top of the casserole.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, until bubbling and heated through.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was updated on October 19. 2019.
Let us know what you think or ask a question about the recipe!