This Turkey Tetrazzini recipe is perfect for leftover turkey after Thanksgiving. With its creamy sauce, noodles and cheesy top; Turkey Tetrazzini is classic comfort food and great for the whole family.

My mom and dad always host Thanksgiving dinner for the extended family. So it was several years into our marriage that I actually baked my first turkey. And since 2 people can’t eat a whole turkey, we had plenty of leftovers. When trying to come up with a recipe to use up the leftover turkey, hubs said, “make Turkey Tetrazzini of course”. I went to look for a recipe… but was told “on no, only my mom’s recipe will do”. 😉

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So I called my mother-in-law and asked for a copy of her recipe. She said she didn’t really have a recipe (which I understand better now- a little of this a little of that…) The next time she made her tetrazzini, she called me and I copied down the recipe as she made it on the other end of the phone. My MIL is diabetic and in general, they always had very healthy meals. This rich recipe definitely falls off the “healthy” mark- with heavy cream and egg yolks. But it’s good to splurge from time to time.

There are a few interesting things about this recipe: nutmeg and tempering. When I first made this recipe I thought the nutmeg was curious since this spice usually makes me think of pies and cider, not a casserole. So at first, I used less nutmeg, but gradually I added more and more because it really does add depth to this dish.

As a new cook, “tempering” was an intimidating step. But again, once I did it a few times it isn’t that difficult. The reason you need to temper the eggs into the sauce is so that you don’t get scrambled eggs from the hot sauce.

With such fond and nostalgic memories connected, this recipe has become a family favorite. It’s what hubs calls “rib-sticking” comfort food. During (and often after for the discounted price) the Thanksgiving season, I specifically buy a bird to have turkey leftovers for this recipe. And I am sure it will be one of those meals that my kids ask for when they come home from college. It’s just that good- for the stomach and the soul!

Turkey Tetrazzini

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Ingredients

¾ C butter
¾ C flour
3 t salt
½ - 1 t nutmeg
4 C milk
2 C chicken broth I use bouillion
4 egg yolks
1 C heavy cream
1 lb spaghetti
4-5 C chopped turkey
1 can mushrooms, diced optional
cheddar cheese to top

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.
Cook spaghetti as packaged.
Heat butter, flour and salt in a stockpot until golden brown to create a roux base.
Then wisk in milk, nutmeg and chicken broth- cook to a boil. Let boil a couple min then turn down to simmer.
In a separate bowl, mix together 4 egg yolks and heavy cream.
Temper the eggs into the roux sauce from above, temper it by adding some of the hot roux sauce-by spoonful, slowly- to the egg mixture and then slowly adding tempered egg mixture back into hot roux sauce.
In a large lasagna pan (like a 10X15) or 2 9X9 (giveaway or freeze one) layer noodles, turkey (and mushrooms if desired) and then pour sauce over and mix to encorporate.
Bake 30-40 min, then add cheese for 10 min.