Creamy Turkey Tetrazzini – Great for Turkey Leftovers!

This creamy turkey tetrazzini will make your whole family happy and is great for turkey leftovers or I make it with chicken a lot too.  🙂

Our daughter loves pasta, and when she has to make dinner for her home economics class, that's usually what she chooses.  This recipe is versatile because you can eat it right out of the pan when it's ready, OR throw it in a baking dish with lots of cheese on top to make it even more dreamy.

Wondering if we should be eating pasta?

Well here's my take on it…  First of all, it depends on how well your body tolerates grains.  If the answer is ‘not well', then you should avoid it, and in that case, a rice pasta works well for those who are eating grain-free.  If you do tolerate grains well, sprouted pastas are better for us, since the anti-nutrients are broken down in the sprouting process, but honestly, I don't like the taste of those.  If you do, great.  So instead, what we do is just eat spelt pasta or einkorn pasta, more traditional forms of wheat, but not too often, and always with plenty of protective bone broth and healthy fats like butter and cream.

(Read more about how healthy fats help you:  Click here for how to Eat Carbs Safely and Lower the Glycemic Index of Foods.)

This is easy to make it ahead of time, too!

This makes one medium-large pot of tetrazzini or one 9×13 baking dish.  It's easy to double or triple this recipe to make one for a friend and/or for your freezer.  Remember that if you use those aluminum disposable pans to freeze in, first line it with parchment paper to keep the food from touching the aluminum.

Print Recipe

Creamy Turkey (or Chicken) Tetrazzini

Servings: 1 9x13 pan

Author: Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Ingredients

• 16 ounces pasta of your choice we like spelt pasta or einkorn pasta – we used rotini, but spaghetti is more traditionally in a tetrazzini.
• 3 cups or so of cooked leftover pastured turkey or pastured chicken (If you don't have any cooked, just cut 1-2# of poultry into pieces and stir-fry with preferably pastured butter or ghee, and spices like sea salt, pepper, seasoned salt, etc. Only cook the chicken until it's no longer pink – overcooking makes poultry dry and icky.)
• 1/2 cup butter pastured butter is best
• 1/2 onion chopped (fresh or dried onion if you don't have fresh)
• 2-3 cloves garlic chopped (again, fresh if you have it, if not, dried garlic is fine)
• 8 Tablespoons flour I use spelt flour or einkorn flour
• 6 cups liquid — I use a combination of bone broth milk, and or cream, but really any of those will be good if you only have one – remember, never use reduced fat OR ultra-pasteurized milk! Read more about healthy milk here.

Seasoning amounts are approximate – just taste-test 'til it's yummy:

• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1 teaspoon oregano fresh if you have it, if not used dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon parsley again, fresh if you have it, if not use dried parsley
• 2-3 cups cheese of your choice any and all kinds are good with this recipe, but we usually use Parmesan and/or Mozzarella cheese
• Optional: peas

Instructions

• Cook your poultry, if it's not already cooked, and cut it into smallish pieces, then set aside.  Start cooking your pasta according to directions.  (Best is cooking in filtered water.)
• Melt butter in a large saucepan with the onions and garlic, and cook on low-medium heat until they're soft and translucent.  Whisk in the flour and cook on low-medium heat (don't let it burn) for 2 minutes.  Add liquid slowly and keep whisking as the sauce thickens.  Keep on low so the sauce doesn't stick and burn as you finish the recipe.  Add more liquid if needed to keep it from getting too thick.
• Add salt, pepper, and herbs.  Taste-test to see what it needs, maybe more salt?  Stir in the peas, if desired, and the turkey and pasta too, until it's all well-covered in the sauce.  Serve right away with shredded cheese on top OR…
• Pour into a buttered or parchment paper lined 9x13 baking pan, top with cheese and bake at 350* until cheese is melted and starts to get golden.  You can easily make this ahead and bake it later, or make extra for friends or for your freezer!

Let me know what you think!

• Click here for more main dish recipe ideas
• Click here for more poultry recipes/turkey leftover ideas