Relax your dinner prep with this easy 30 Minute Stovetop Turkey Tetrazzini recipe. It’s quick to make (just one pot!) and is sure to become a new family favorite – plus it makes great use of Thanksgiving or Christmas leftovers.
I have to admit, I used to love standing in the kitchen for hours. But these days I’m memorizing every quick and easy one dish recipe I can get my hands on – and especially so after a holiday cooking marathon!
This pasta dish is a great way to use up your turkey leftovers without having to do too much work after all that work for your big holiday dinner. It’s quick and easy to prep with just a few ingredients – and only one pot to wash!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- Cooked turkey: If you don’t have any leftover turkey, feel free to poach about 1 – 1.5 pounds of fresh turkey and use that in the recipe. You can also use rotisserie chicken, or poach some chicken breasts if you want to cook it from scratch.
- Milk: Feel free to use half and half or evaporated milk in place of the regular milk. I do not recommend using all heavy cream in place of the milk, as it makes the dish very, very rich. But you may very well use half cream, half milk.
- Dairy: I usually make this with low fat milk and sour cream (those post-holiday food choices, am I right?!). But feel free to use regular.
- Mushrooms: I used white button mushrooms, but feel free to use brown ones or any other mushrooms you like.
- Spaghetti: Regular, whole wheat or high fibre are all good choices for this recipe! Using a long, thin pasta shape is classic in this dish. However, you can also make this with a short shape like spirals or bowties (I do this a lot, because it’s much easier than episode of toddler vs spaghetti).
- Seasoning: Feel free to use dried parsley, dried thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper to season your dish. I used homemade chicken stock and leftover roasted turkey, so there was plenty of seasoning and flavor going on. If you use low sodium chicken broth, you may need salt and pepper, plus the herbs I mentioned to give the dish more flavor.
How to make Turkey Tetrazzini
You start by sautéing the onion and mushrooms in a little oil (plus seasoning, if using) (1). Cook them until they are very soft and the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated, about 5 minutes (2).
Next, pour in the chicken stock (3) and milk (4). Stir well, then bring to a boil (5).
Now add the dry spaghetti (6) and simmer them until al-dente (7).
Finally, stir in the turkey and heat through (8). Then take off the heat and add the cheeses (9).
Stir well (10), then serve straight away!
Recipe tips
- Cook the mushrooms and onions long enough, to make sure they are fully soft and the liquid coming from the mushrooms has evaporated again. This is how the dish gets the best taste, and doesn’t turn out soupy.
- Please do not pre-cook the pasta! It really goes in dry. If you pre-cook your spaghetti, you will make Tetrazzini soup.
- Once the Tetrazzini are cooked, I recommend serving them right away. The longer the pasta sits, the more of the sauce it soaks up – it can make the dish feel a little dry if it rests on the counter for more than 5 minutes once it’s ready.
Serving suggestions
We enjoy this with a big salad on the side. If you’re not into salads, a side of roasted broccoli, sautéed green beans or sautéed zucchini is also nice!
More leftover turkey recipes
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.
Printable recipe
30 Minute Stovetop Turkey Tetrazzini
Recipe details
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ cup chopped onion optional
- 10 ounces sliced white button mushrooms
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth see notes about seasoning
- 2 ½ cups milk whole or 2% preferred
- 1 (12-oz) box spaghetti uncooked (regular, whole wheat or high-fiber all work)
- 2 cups cooked and shredded turkey OR rotisserie chicken OR around 1 pound cooked turkey breast
- ½ cup sour cream low fat or full fat both work
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese grated
- Italian parsley chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot one medium-high heat. Add the onion (if using) and mushrooms and cook until starting to soften. This should take about 2-3 minutes.
- Pour the chicken stock and milk into the pot bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the spaghetti to the pot and cook until almost al-dente, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cooked turkey meat and finish cooking until the pasta is done.
- Take the pot off the heat, stir in the sour cream, butter and cheese. Serve immediately garnished with chopped parsley, if you like.
Notes
- Milk: Feel free to use half and half or evaporated milk in place of the regular milk. I do not recommend using all heavy cream in place of the milk, as it makes the dish very, very rich. But you may very well use half cream, half milk.
- Mushrooms: I used white button mushrooms, but feel free to use brown ones or any other mushrooms you like.
- Spaghetti: Using a long, thin pasta shape is classic in this dish. However, you can also make this with a short shape like spirals or bowties (I do this a lot, because it’s much easier than episode of toddler vs spaghetti).
- Seasoning: Feel free to use dried parsley, dried thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper to season your dish (add the seasoning to the onion and mushrooms). I used homemade chicken stock and leftover roasted turkey, so there was plenty of seasoning and flavor going on. If you use low sodium chicken broth, you may need salt and pepper, plus the herbs I mentioned to give the dish more flavor.
- Cook the mushrooms and onions long enough, to make sure they are fully soft and the liquid coming from the mushrooms has evaporated again. This is how the dish gets the best taste, and doesn’t turn out soupy.
- Please do not pre-cook the pasta! It really goes in dry. If you pre-cook your spaghetti, you will make Tetrazzini soup.
- Once the Tetrazzini are cooked, I recommend serving them right away. The longer the pasta sits, the more of the sauce it soaks up – it can make the dish feel a little dry if it rests on the counter for more than 5 minutes once it’s ready.
Gail says
I had left over smoked turkey. It made this dish very tasty. We ate it the first night and had it again the next night. Just reheated it in the microwave. My first attempt at making something in my new Instant Dutch Oven.
JoGee says
I made this for supper with the last of our Thanksgiving turkey and it was delicious. We all had second helpings. This is definitely going to be our go-to recipe! Yummy!
Liz says
great meal for day after Thanksgiving. I omitted the onions and mushrooms because my son doesn’t like them but it still came out yummy. the angel hair sucked up the liquid pretty quick so I slowly added another can of chicken broth. love that it’s one pan. next time I’ll do the mushrooms and onions when he’s back at school 😉
Susie Hamilton says
I broke my leg. Husband was the cook. We had left overs. We needed something easy, fast because we had company coming for dinner. This meal was perfect, tasty, easy clean up, just added a salad and ‘voila’. Great meal made by my husband. Thanks honey
Nora says
I’m so glad, Susie! And I hope your leg will be better, soon!
Judy Ferrell says
This was an easy dish to make. Thanks for sharing it with us. My husband told me this is differently a keeper.
Regina says
I tried this recipe tonight and it was great! I used angel hair pasta because that’s what I had. It soaked up a little too much sauce. I put the leftovers in a container with a touch more chicken broth so when I reheat it, it won’t be too dry.
I’ll definitely make this recipe again!!!
Laura A. Gray says
I have been looking for this recipe for years and finally found it! This is totally awesome ?! I love ❤️ this yummy ? dish, especially by adding my own spices‼️ Thanks ? so much.
~ Laura G. from Colorado
Nora says
So glad, Laura! Hope you enjoyed the recipe!
Leah Millee says
I made this recipe with some leftover smoked turkey I had. I had never actually made a tetrazzini dish and I have to say this will be added to my regular meal planning! My family loved this dish! I couldn’t find the fat free sour cream so I used regular. I also thought the dish could use some seasoning so I added a small amount of salt, pepper and dried thyme. I had a small amount of frozen peas that I had slightly cooked in the microwave that I added to it last minute as well. They really gave it great color along with the fresh green parsley. Here in Indiana during Spring you never know what your going to get! This week has been low 40’s and sunny so this was a warm, cozy but light dish that was the perfect combo for this week! Yummy!
Laura A. Gray says
I like the idea of adding peas! Will try it next time! Thanks ? for your great idea!
Vicki says
Could you make this recipe with zoodles instead of pasta?
Nora Rusev says
Vicky, you can definitely cook a sauce like this and serve it over zoodles. But you can’t just use zoodles in place of the pasta and cook it all in one pot. The sauce thickens only because the pasta is there, so that unfortunately wouldn’t work. Sorry!
Christy says
Excellent! My kids even loved it!
Shari says
What a delightfully moist and creamy Turkey Tetrazzini! The best part is that only one pan is needed! The only addition that I made was minced garlic, but I love garlic! Then topped it with more fresh grated Parmesan. Thanks for sharing
Nora Rusev says
Shari, thank YOU for making my recipe! I’m so glad it turned out well for you, and thank you so much for coming back to leave a review. I appreciate it!
Becky says
This was delicious–even my picky eater loved it! I did saute several cloves of minced garlic before adding the liquid; other than that, I made as described. This is one I’m sure I’ll return to! Thank you!
Nora Rusev says
Such a great idea with the garlic, Becky. And I’m glad your family enjoyed the tetrazzini! Thanks for your review, I appreciate it so much.
suzy says
I would do a little less milk….make it less soupy. Overall, very good!
Nora Rusev says
Thanks for your feedback, Suzy! I appreciate it.