Creamy Turkey Tetrazzini (No Canned Soup Needed!)

Turkey Tetrazzini

Turkey Tetrazzini is the quintessential creamy casserole for using up leftover turkey! With tender pasta, peas, mushrooms, and turkey baked in a cheesy, garlicky cream sauce with an irresistible crispy topping, this is comfort food at its finest.

Healthy turkey tetrazzini in a baking dish

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Leftover turkey, upgraded.

Don’t get me wrong: I adore a good leftover turkey sandwich. But sometimes it’s nice to change things up. This turkey tetrazzini recipe turns your leftovers into a proper meal!

With a few Well Plated tricks—a splash of vinegar here, some sun-dried tomatoes there—this turkey tetrazzini ditches the canned soup with delectable results. It has SO much flavor!
But even without the canned soup, this tetrazzini is still super creamy and cheesy. Which is exactly what you want in a comfort food casserole!
This is one of those casseroles that’s great for freezing, either for yourself or for a friend or family member who could use some easy meals stashed in the freezer. (Chicken Tetrazzini? Also fantastic for freezing!)

5 Star Review

“This is so creamy and SO GOOD. We love it!”
— Elaine —

Key Ingredients

You’ll find the full list of ingredients in the blog post below, but here are some notes to keep in mind.

Turkey. Looking for more ways to use your extra Thanksgiving Turkey? Check out this collection of Leftover Turkey recipes!
Pasta. I used whole wheat spaghetti noodles for an extra nutrition boost, but you can use regular spaghetti instead.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes. These little red beauties pack a big tomato flavor punch that’s incredibly tasty in this dish.
Mushrooms and Peas. While the sun-dried tomatoes are my little unique twist, mushrooms and peas are classic additions to tetrazzini! I like to use cremini mushrooms rather than white mushrooms; they have a little more depth to them.
White Whole Wheat Flour. If you don’t keep white whole wheat flour on hand, regular all purpose flour may also be used.
Cream Cheese and Greek Yogurt. I used reduced-fat cream cheese and plain Greek yogurt for a creamy, tangy sauce. (Low-fat sour cream also works if you’re not a yogurt fan.)
Cheese. This dish uses a mix of Parmesan and provolone, mozzarella, or Monterey Jack. The blend results in melty, dreamy, cheesy goodness.

How to Make Turkey Tetrazzini

Get Started. Cook the pasta. You want it to be a little bit under-cooked, so aim for almost al dente. The pasta will absorb the liquid from the sauce while the turkey tetrazzini bakes in the oven, so if it’s cooked all the way, it will end up bloated and soggy by the end of the baking time.

Cook the Vegetables. Sauté the onion, then stir in the sliced mushrooms, along with the garlic. Add that splash of vinegar to brighten things up.

Add the Flour. Sprinkle the flour over the veggies, then stir it in. Make sure it’s fully cooked; it can be hard to tell visually since it will darken from the mushrooms’ juices, so be sure to stir it in well and cook for the full 2 minutes. If you rush this, the sauce will have an unpleasant raw flour taste.

Finish the Sauce. Pour in the broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook until the liquid reduces, then remove from the heat. Add the cream cheese, Worcestershire, and spices.

Assemble. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes, turkey, peas, and cheese, followed by the yogurt and then the pasta. After adding the pasta, you want the sauce to look kind of soupy. If it’s too thick, you’ll end up with dry turkey tetrazzini, so add some extra broth until it reaches that soupy consistency.

Finish. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish and top with the Panko bread crumbs. Bake turkey tetrazzini at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. Broil if desired. Let sit for a few minutes, then dig into that crunchy topping! ENJOY!

A plate with salad and healthy turkey tetrazzini

What to Serve with Turkey Tetrazzini

This recipe is really a meal on its own, but if you want to round things out (or stretch it to last another day or two), here are some potential side options.

Bread. Because sometimes the only acceptable side dish for a carb-y comfort food casserole is more carbs. Try Homemade Dinner Rolls or Drop Biscuits.
Salad. If you’d rather go the lighter route, try my Apple Walnut Salad.
Veggie Sides. An easy vegetable side dish like Sautéed Green Beans or Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts is perfect.

Turkey Tetrazzini Video

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Turkey Tetrazzini

Turkey tetrazzini turns leftovers into a hearty casserole! With mushrooms, peas, and pasta in a cheesy cream sauce, it's total comfort food.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 10

Total Time 1 30

Servings servings

Calories 500kcal

Author Erin Clarke / Well Plated

Ingredients

16 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
⅓ cup dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion finely chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
16 ounces cremini (baby bella) mushrooms sliced
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
¼ cup white whole wheat flour
3 to 4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel) cut into pieces
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups cooked, shredded turkey (or chicken*)
10 ounces frozen green peas
⅔ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
⅔ cup shredded Provolone and Mozzarella cheese, or Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup whole milk plain Greek yogurt
½ cup Panko breadcrumbs whole wheat if possible

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a deep 9×13 or similarly sized baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
Break the pasta noodles in half. Cook in a large pot of salted water until it is just below al dente (it should not be completely crunchy but should still be too chewy to eat; the pasta will cook more in the oven). Drain and set aside
Place the sun-dried tomatoes in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside to rehydrate (if using oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, you can skip this step; simply drain them and pat off excess oil).
In a Dutch oven or similar large, deep pot, heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onion and sauté until softened and turning translucent, about 5 minutes; adjust the heat as needed so that the onion cooks but does not brown.
Add the mushrooms and garlic, then increase to medium-high heat. Sauté until the mushrooms begin to soften and give up their liquid, about 5 minutes, stirring periodically.
Stir in the sherry vinegar and let cook 30 seconds.
Sprinkle the flour over the top, then stir to coat the mushrooms. Continue cooking and stirring periodically for 2 minutes. No white bits of white flour should remain.
Slowly pour in 3 cups of the broth, stirring all the while to avoid any lumps. Bring to a gently boil and let cook, stirring fairly often, until the mixture is reduced by about 1/3, about 6 to 8 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat. Add the cream cheese, Worcestershire, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Stir until the cream cheese is mostly melted (some bits may remain, which is just fine).
Drain and roughly chop the sun-dried tomatoes. Add to the pot with the turkey, peas, Provolone cheese, and Parmesan cheese.
Stir until the cheese is melted, then stir in the Greek yogurt. Taste and add additional salt and pepper as desired.
Add the cooked spaghetti and stir it to combine. If it looks very thick, add more broth as needed. It should look a little bit soupy, as some of the broth will cook off in the oven.
Pour or scoop the spaghetti mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the Panko over the top. Bake the turkey tetrazzini for 25 minutes, or until the casserole is hot and bubbly. If you’d like to brown the topping further, pop the casserole under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes until it is done to your liking, watching carefully so that it does not burn. Remove from the oven and let rest a few minutes. Enjoy hot.

Video

Notes

*To quickly and easily prepare shredded chicken, see my stovetop method for How to Cook Shredded Chicken, Instant Pot Chicken, or Crock Pot Shredded Chicken.
TO STORE: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight storage container for up to 4 days.
TO REHEAT: Reheat leftovers in a baking dish in the oven at 350 degrees F or in the microwave.
TO FREEZE: Freeze turkey tetrazzini in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

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