Instant Pot turkey tetrazzini is great using leftover turkey or rotisserie chicken! Cooked with tender noodles and vegetables all in one pot, you’ll love it.
Looking for an easy leftover turkey recipe after Thanksgiving or Christmas? Try our Instant Pot turkey tetrazzini recipe. In under 10 minutes you can prepare a tasty meal for your family in just one pot with very little prep. That’s my kinda’ Instant Pot recipe y’all! (originally published 11/19)
I hate to waste! That’s why each year I try to come up with a few new leftover turkey recipes I can then share with you!
- Our favorite has always been these turkey turnovers, but this year it was time for a leftover turkey Instant Pot recipe!
Let’s start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
- You can make this as a Ninja Foodi recipe too for sure.
- Then LIKE our IP Facebook page for new ideas daily.
- This is a great InstaPot cookbook to grab too.
I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot. It is easier to clean and will avoid the burn message too.
For reference, this is the pressure cooker I have and use for all recipe creations.
You could use this same recipe and swap in diced rotisserie chicken or canned tuna too.
That way you can add it to your meal rotation year round! I guarantee you’ll love it enough to make it over and over again.
Instant Pot turkey tetrazzini
- Diced leftover turkey – duhhhh, you probably have that and that’s why you’re here
- How long can keep leftover turkey? 3-4 days is the general rule when refrigerated.
- Uncooked egg noodles – these work best if you’re cooking everything at the same time
- If you want to use the longer “traditional” style noodles you see in the first photo, it’s best to boil those separately
- Frozen peas – okay you can leave them out but I like to incorporate some sort of vegetable in every meal
Mushrooms – I love quartered baby bella in Instant Pot casseroles because they stay somewhat firm
- Garlic salt
- Salt and pepper
- Broth
- Heavy cream
- Cheese is optional but seriously it takes it over the top
- Fried onions (homemade or canned) sprinkled on top of each serving – OH MY yes you have to try this too
Can you use your Crockpot Express or Mealthy pot to make this too? Of course!! We’re equal opportunity pressure cooker lovers here, no judgement. 😉
Where did turkey tetrazzini originate?
The dish is named after the Italian opera star Luisa Tetrazzini actually. It is believed to have been invented around 1908–1910 by Ernest Arbogast.
- He was the chef at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, California, where Tetrazzini was a long time resident.
What is turkey tetrazzini made of?
Quite a few recipes use condensed soup to make preparation quick and easy. I too make a lot of casseroles using condensed soup. Sometimes it’s an issue when using a pressure cooker though.
- This one is from scratch with more of a homemade cream of mushroom base.
I think it turns out better, and at the end of the day you can adjust seasonings to your liking.
Leftover turkey pasta recipe
First you’ll want to dice up your meat, bite size is always best. You can use white or dark meat or a combination of both. Like I said, precooked chicken breasts could be used as well.
- Add the chicken or turkey into your pot, then add mushrooms that have been quartered.
- you don’t want them too small or they’ll become mushy
- Then add garlic salt, pepper, and other seasonings you like.
- Pour in your frozen peas and then your uncooked noodles go on top.
- Chicken broth is poured over them to get them wet, but you’ll need to gently fold them in just so they’re pretty submerged.
- Set to pressure cooking mode, high for 3 minutes followed by a quick release.
- Now it’s time to thicken it up with heavy cream and cheese.
- Remember – the longer this sits the thicker this comfort food will become.
- Serve topped with parmesan cheese and/or fried onions to take it over the top.
Cooking time is just 3 minutes if using small egg noodles! Spaghetti noodles would need to be broken into 3 equal parts and not stirred in. I wouldn’t recommend these other than making my Instant Pot spaghetti though.
Can you freeze turkey casserole?
Since this has pre cooked meat, you have more flexibility. You could essentially freeze this casserole uncooked (without the noodles), and save the cooking for later.
You’d need to completely thaw it out before putting it into your pressure cooker though.
- Once it’s cooked you could freeze the leftovers, or store them in the fridge. Either way it is best to use airtight containers or freezer bags.
How to use leftover turkey
- You can make turkey pot pie soup
- Our turkey burger boats are fun!
- Other pasta dishes you could substitute precooked turkey in are Instant Pot tuna casserole and Instant Pot chicken noodle casserole
- Turkey enchiladas are great
Try our Instant Pot turkey soup served with a dollop of sour cream on top is fab.
Ready to make turkey tetrazzini in an Instant Pot now? I’ve provided a recipe to print below with the nutritional information included as well.
Seriously though, ignore that and just enjoy this with your family!
Want to see a few of my favorite things that I am totally obsessed with?? Take a peek and see how many you might already have…twinsies!
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***** If you LOVED this recipe give it 5 Stars below and let everyone know what you thought about it. 😉
Time needed: 7 minutes.
Instant Pot Turkey Tetrazzini
- Add ingredients
Put your leftover diced turkey, onions, frozen peas, quartered mushrooms and seasonings into your pot.
Pour your bag of egg noodles in and then pour your broth on top of them. Gently press noodles in so they’re mostly submerged into the liquid. Do not stir. - Cook
Close the lid and steam valve and set to high pressure for 3 minutes. Do a quick release when done. Lift lid, gently stir contents, pour in half and half and cheese and gently stir all ingredients together again.
- Thicken
Put lid back on ajar just so cheese can melt and casserole can continue to thicken for about 4 minutes.
Lift lid, gently stir and serve or allow to sit for 5 more minutes to continue to thicken more before serving. The longer it sits the thicker it gets.
Instant Pot Turkey Tetrazzini
Ingredients
- 1.5 c turkey precooked, diced into bite size pieces
- 1 c frozen peas optional
- 1 c mushrooms quartered, baby bellas are firmer and work the best
- 3 c broth chicken, beef or vegetable
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt may add more later once done, to taste
- 1 c half and half
- 1.5 c cheese optional but yummy, shredded cheddar and jack/mozzarella is go
- 12 oz egg noodles extra wide egg noodles works best
- 1/2 onion diced
Instructions
- Put your leftover diced turkey, onions, frozen peas, quartered mushrooms and seasonings into your pot.
- Pour your bag of egg noodles in and then pour your broth on top of them. Gently press noodles in so they're mostly submerged into the liquid.
- Close the lid and steam valve and set to high pressure for 3 minutes. Do a quick release when done.
- Lift lid, gently stir contents, pour in half and half and cheese and gently stir all ingredients together again.
- Put lid back on ajar just so cheese can melt and casserole can continue to thicken for about 4 minutes.
- Lift lid, gently stir and serve or allow to sit for 5 more minutes to continue to thicken more before serving. The longer it sits the thicker it gets.
russ
Tuesday 6th of December 2022
Really good not bad at all. I will make this again. The only addition after the cream of mushroom soup I filled the can with white cooking wine poured it on the mushrooms. Step #4 I used heavy cream.
Steve
Friday 2nd of December 2022
Delicious and a perfect use for frozen leftover Thanksgiving turkey. I thawed the turkey and had more than the recipe called for but added more broth and it turned out great!
The Typical Mom
Monday 5th of December 2022
Oh good!
Lynn
Wednesday 23rd of November 2022
I had to improvise a bit. The recipe called for 6 cups of broth but I knew that this would make the dish dry and maybe not rehydrate the noodles fully. I doubled the broth and the dis turned out perfectly, not juicy or runny at all. Just a note if you use uncooked turkey or chicken just add 3 minutes to the cook time and you're good.
Jessica
Tuesday 3rd of August 2021
Made this last night and it was delicious! I used an 8 quart pot and had to adjust by adding quite a bit more liquid and upped the time to 4 minutes but it turned out great. I used 4 cups chicken broth and added one can of Campbells cream of chicken and mushroom soup with a can of water (so total of about 5 1/2 cups of liquid as opposed to the 3 c in the recipe). I'm new to the IP so I was worried it would be a disaster but it was sooooo good. Didn't have the crispy onions and forgot parmesan so will add those next time. Thank you!
The Typical Mom
Tuesday 3rd of August 2021
Glad it was a hit
Stacey McCrary
Thursday 7th of January 2021
I used your recipe three nights ago but used canned turkey. Now I will be the first to say I have never been a fan of turkey tetrazzini but this was good! Everyone was happy. And as a new owner of an instant pot,I'm glad I was advised to look for recipes on Pinterest. Thank you. This will be definitely one we will be using again!
The Typical Mom
Thursday 7th of January 2021
Glad it was a hit