Turkey Tetrazzini Is Ree's Favorite Way to Use Up Leftovers (2024)

I couldn't wait. I'm sorry.

I had planned to save my Thanksgiving turkey leftover recipes for the week after Thanksgiving (so you'd have time to plan your after-Thanksgiving meals) but this one is just too yummy not to share right now. It's turkey tetrazzini, one of my all-time faves. You'll want to roast a whole turkey just so you can make this. But you can also use rotisserie chicken if you happen torun out of turkey, or want to make it any other time of year.The wine totally makes it!

What is turkey tetrazzini made of?

It's a baked pasta recipe using a creamy, cheesy white wine sauce as the base. Cooked spaghetti, mushrooms, green peas, black olives, turkey, and bacon make up the bulk of the casserole and then it gets topped with panko breadcrumbs. Yum!

What's the difference betweentetrazzini and spaghetti?

Well, spaghetti is a type of pasta whereas tetrazzini is a specific dish made with pasta. But if you're wondering the difference betweenrecipes likechickenspaghetti and chicken tetrazzini, it's all about the sauce. The spaghetti one is seriously cheesy, with lots ofcheddar mixed in the creamy sauce and sprinkled on top before it bakes. There's also pimentos and bell pepper mixed in. The sauce for tetrazzini is still creamy and cheesy, but it's a little lighter tasting since there's white wine and more veggies mixed in.

What do you serve withturkey tetrazzini?

Polish off any leftover Thanksgiving sides, or if you're sick of all that, make a big fall salad! Tetrazzini is decadent, comfort food, so anything fresh and crunchy is welcome. Of course, a leftover slice of pumpkin pie wouldn't hurt for dessert.

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Yields:: 12 serving(s)
Prep Time:: 30 mins
Cook Time:: 20 mins
Total Time:: 50 mins

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb.
thin spaghetti, broken in half
4 Tbsp.
butter
4
cloves garlic, minced
1 lb.
white mushrooms, quartered
1/2 tsp.
salt, plus more to taste
1 c.
white wine
1/3 c.
flour
4 c.
turkey (or chicken) broth, plus more for thinning
1
8-oz. packagecream cheese
3 c.
cooked turkey, shredded or diced
1 c.
finely chopped black olives
1 1/2 c.
frozen green peas
4
slices bacon, fried and cut into bits
1 c.
grated monterey jack cheese
1 c.
grated parmesan cheese
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 c.
panko breadcrumbs
See Also
Pasta Pomodoro (Spaghetti Pomodoro) | The Mediterranean Dish Thanksgiving Leftovers for Safe Keeping, Weekend Grazing Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Chicken Tetrazzini - creamy Italian pasta bake

Directions

1. Step1Cook thepasta until not quite done oral dente according to package instructions (it will finish cooking in the oven). Drain, rinse, and set aside.
2. Step2In a large pot, heat thebutter over medium-high heat. Add thegarlic and saute for a couple of minutes. Add themushrooms and salt, then saute for a couple minutes more. Pour in the wine and allow it to cook with the mushrooms for several minutes, or until the liquid reduces by half.
3. Step3Sprinkle in theflour, then stir the mushrooms around for another minute. Pour in the broth and stir, cooking for another few minutes until the roux thickens.
4. Step4Reduce theheat to medium low. Cut thecream cheese into pieces and add it to the pot. Stir to melt (don't be concerned if the cream cheese remains in little bits for awhile; it'll melt eventually!). Add the turkey, olives, peas, bacon, and cheeses. Stir to combine, adding salt and pepper as needed.
5. Step5Add the cooked spaghetti and stir 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.
6. Step6Pour the mixture into a large baking dish and sprinkle the top with panko breadcrumbs. Bake at 350°Funtil the casserole is bubbly and the crumbs are golden brown,20 minutes.

The cast of characters: leftover turkey, butter, mushrooms, white wine, salt, pepper, cream cheese, Monterey jack, parmesan, turkey broth, peas, black olives, bacon, and garlic.

Add some butter and chopped garlic to a pot over medium heat. (My new favorite trick: storebought peeled garlic minced in a Pampered Chef chopper. This is not a paid advertisem*nt. Amen.)

Saute the garlic for a minute or so…

Then throw in the mushrooms.

Stir around the mushrooms and let them cook…

Then add a little salt.

Pour in a good cup of white wine…

Then you need to let the mushrooms cook and bubble and go nuts for several minutes, or until the liquid is reduced by half.

At that time, you will need to sit on your hands in order to prevent yourself from scarfing down the entire pan of wine-cooked mushrooms because there’s nothing better in the world.