Turkey Tetrazzini
Turkey Tetrazzini made with leftover turkey and spaghetti in a creamy cream cheese and Parmesan sauce, baked until the top is golden. No mushrooms and no canned soup, and it freezes beautifully.
Servings: 8
Calories: 697kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- ½ cup butter unsalted
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 8 ounce cream cheese room temperature
- 3 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 2 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups Parmesan cheese grated
- 4 cups turkey cooked and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Cook the spaghetti according to package instructions until al dente, tender but still firm when bitten.
- Add the butter and olive oil to a saucepan and melt over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes until the onion has softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds until aromatic.
- Whisk in the flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, milk, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and bring to a boil. Stir in the cream cheese and 1 ½ cups of the Parmesan cheese until melted.
- Stir in the cooked turkey then add the cooked spaghetti. Toss everything together until well combined. Transfer everything to a greased 9x13-inch casserole dish and top with remaining ½ cup of Parmesan cheese.
- Transfer the casserole dish to the oven and bake for 30 - 45 minutes until heated through and the top is starting to brown.
Video
Notes
- Cook the spaghetti to al dente and no further. It keeps cooking in the oven and pasta cooked fully on the stove comes out soft.
- Bring the cream cheese to room temperature before it goes into the sauce. Cold cream cheese seizes into lumps in hot liquid. Use block cream cheese rather than whipped.
- Bake time runs 30 to 45 minutes depending on temperature going in. Cold turkey straight from the fridge takes closer to 45. Everything warm, check at 30.
- For a cream of mushroom soup version, skip the butter, olive oil, flour, broth and milk. Soften the onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons of butter, then whisk in 2 cans (10.5 ounces each) of condensed cream of mushroom soup, 1 cup of chicken broth and 1 cup of milk, then add the cream cheese and Parmesan as written. Cream of chicken soup works the same way. This swap hasn’t been tested in my kitchen, so treat the amounts as a starting point.
- For mushrooms, cook 8 ounces of sliced cremini in a dry pan until the liquid has cooked off, then stir them in with the turkey. Raw mushrooms will thin the sauce.
- Assemble ahead and refrigerate up to 2 days, or freeze unbaked up to 3 months. Add 10 to 15 minutes to the bake time from cold.
- Fettuccine, linguine or egg noodles can replace the spaghetti.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 697kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 128mg | Sodium: 632mg | Potassium: 542mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1016IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 430mg | Iron: 2mg
