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By Taylor Stinson | 2 Comments | Posted: | Updated:
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This is the Best Ever Turkey Tetrazzini! The easy creamy pasta dish with mushrooms and peas makes leftover turkey delicious again.
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Spaghetti – try egg noodles, linguine or angel hair pasta instead. You can also use any leftover pasta you might have.
- Leftover turkey – you can also use leftover or rotisserie chicken.
- Button mushrooms – substitute for baby portobello/cremini mushrooms or a small can of drained mushrooms. You could also leave the mushrooms out altogether.
- Butter – use 1 tbsp. olive oil or coconut oil instead. For a low cholesterol option, use unsalted butter.
- Garlic – fresh minced garlic is best but ¼ tsp. garlic powder would also work.
- Flour – use your favourite gluten-free flour substitute or arrowroot to help thicken the sauce.
- Dry white wine – while wine adds amazing flavour to the sauce, you can also use chicken broth, vegetable broth, milk or a non-sweetened milk substitute.
- Heavy cream – half and half or sour cream will help make the sauce nice and rich with less calories.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Parmesan – use cheddar, gruyere or mozzarella instead (just keep in mind it will change the flavour).
- Frozen peas – peas are classic to this dish, but almost any frozen veggie blend can be used instead.
- Fresh parsley – leave this out altogether if you don’t have any on hand or top with another herb like fresh thyme.
How to make turkey tetrazzini
Step 1: Cook the pasta.
Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and reserve a cup of pasta water.
Step 2: Sauté the mushrooms.
Meanwhile, cook the mushrooms in butter until they release their liquid.
Step 3: Make the sauce.
Sauté the garlic in butter, then whisk in the flour and add the wine. Simmer until reduced, then stir in the pasta water, heavy cream, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese. Bring the sauce to a boil.
Step 4: Add everything back into the pot.
Add the pasta, cooked turkey, mushrooms and peas to the pot with the sauce.
Step 5: Toss to combine.
Toss the mixture well to combine and cook for a few mins until heated through.
Step 6: Serve and enjoy!
Garnish with parsley and extra parmesan cheese, then serve and enjoy.
Recipe tips & variations
This turkey tetrazzini recipe is pretty customizable! Here are some tips for making it your own:
- Sauce: Instead of making your own creamy sauce, you can swap out the heavy cream, white wine and all purpose flour for a can of cream of mushroom soup.
- Leftovers: This recipe is a great way to get rid of any leftover Thanksgiving turkey, but you could also make it using leftover pasta noodles or veggies to cut down on prep time.
- Pasta: Use different noodles like egg noodles, linguine or angel hair pasta.
- Vegetables: You can add more veggies to this pasta dish like broccoli, zucchini, carrots, celery, peppers or green beans. Sauté up to 2 cups of extra veggies when you're cooking the mushrooms.
- Crunchy topping: Add the pasta to a greased baking dish and top with a couple tablespoons of panko breadcrumbs, then broil in the oven until the top is lightly browned.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you make it with another kind of protein?
Of course! You can still enjoy all the flavors of tetrazzini by making it with chicken. You could even make a vegetarian version by leaving out the protein entirely and adding in more veggies like onions, broccoli, zucchini, carrots, peas and more.
What do you serve on the side?
Turkey tetrazinni is a meal in and of itself – you’ve got protein, veggies and carbs all in one dish. If you want to serve something on the side, I’d suggest a nice green salad or some crusty bread.
Can you make this recipe gluten-free or dairy-free?
If you want to make this recipe gluten-free, just swap out the noodles for any gluten-free noodles of your choice, and substitute the flour for a gluten-free flour. To make it dairy-free, use vegan butter, your favourite non-dairy milk and nutritional yeast instead of parmesan (just keep in the mind the sauce won't be as thick).
Can you make turkey tetrazzini ahead of time?
You can cook this turkey tetrazzini and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days, which makes it a great option for meal prep. You could also prep all the components ahead of time by cooking the pasta, chopping up the veggies and cooking the turkey.
How do you make it with raw turkey?
If you don't have any leftover turkey lying around, you can easily cook some turkey breast in the Instant Pot. Once it's cooked, cut it up into pieces then add it to the recipe as normal.
Storing and reheating
Keep any leftover turkey tetrazzini in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat for 1 to 2 minutes in the microwave – I recommend sprinkling some water over top first so the pasta doesn’t dry out.
You can also reheat your leftover tetrazzini in a casserole dish. Just bake it in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes at 325° Fahrenheit. Sprinkle on some fresh parmesan and dig in!
Can you freeze turkey tetrazzini?
Yes! Like most turkey tetrazzini recipes, this one is definitely freezer-friendly If you have a lot of leftovers or you just want to prepare this dish ahead of time, you can freeze your tetrazzini for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
Thaw the tetrazzini in the fridge overnight and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes at 350° Fahrenheit until hot and bubbly.
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Best Ever Turkey Tetrazzini Recipe
This is the Best Ever Turkey Tetrazzini! The easy creamy pasta dish with mushrooms and peas makes leftover turkey delicious again.
4.90 from 19 votes
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Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 387kcal
Author: Taylor Stinson
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb spaghetti
- 2 cups leftover turkey or chicken
- 8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 cup frozen peas
- Fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water for 7-9 minutes until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water and set aside.
Meanwhile, saute mushrooms in a large skillet with a little bit of butter for 3-4 minutes until they release liquid and are cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside.
Once pasta is removed from pot, add it back to heat and melt butter. Add garlic, sauteeing for 30 seconds until fragrant. Whisk in flour, then add wine. Simmer for 2-3 minutes until slightly reduced. Stir in pasta water, heavy cream, salt & pepper and parmesan cheese, bringing to a boil.
Add pasta, leftover turkey, mushrooms and peas, tossing well to combine and cooking for 2 minutes or so until heated through.
Garnish with parsley and extra parmesan cheese, then serve and enjoy.
Video
Notes
Swap out the heavy cream, white wine and flour for a can of mushroom soup instead. It’s a great way to cut down on prep time!
Use 2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken instead of leftover turkey.
Store the leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or in the oven for 20-30 minutes at 325° F.
Freeze your turkey tetrazzini for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight then reheat in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 350° F.
Nutrition
Calories: 387kcal (19%)Carbohydrates: 36g (12%)Protein: 28g (56%)Fat: 13g (20%)Saturated Fat: 8g (50%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 76mg (25%)Sodium: 517mg (22%)Potassium: 502mg (14%)Fiber: 3g (13%)Sugar: 4g (4%)Vitamin A: 616IU (12%)Vitamin C: 11mg (13%)Calcium: 143mg (14%)Iron: 2mg (11%)
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Created by Taylor Stinson
Hey there, my name's Taylor! I’m the founder of The Girl on Bloor, a food blog where I share healthy meal prep recipes for busy people. I'm a busy city girl living in downtown Toronto on (you guessed it!) Bloor Street. I've got 10 years experience meal prepping, along with a Master's degree in journalism, and you can find my work across the internet featured on publications such as Buzzfeed, HuffPost, Women's Health, Reader's Digest and more. I also run the awesome 5-Day Meal Prep Challenge, which is a free email course and Facebook group where I share my meal planning strategies and easy meal prep tips and recipes. Be sure to check out my free beginner’s guide to meal prep and follow me on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to get my latest recipes and meal prep tips!
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Brandon Pulkrabek says
Made it exactly like the recipe except I had frozen peas with carrots so I used that. It was fantastic. Not too watery or liquidy. Sauce held to the noodles. Really enjoyed. Thanks Taylor!Reply
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed, Brandon 🙂 Thanks for leaving your review!!
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