Happy Thanksgiving! Over the years, Thanksgiving has become my very favorite holiday to celebrate and today’s gluten-free Turkey Tetrazzini has become my very favorite way to celebrate turkey leftovers!
Okay, other than my birthday … did I just say that? Hehe. But let’s get on to today’s celebration and delicious ways to use turkey leftovers, including today’s recipe, gluten-free Turkey Tetrazzini. (Make it gluten-free Chicken Tetrazzini when it’s not around Thanksgiving or you don’t have turkey on hand.)
![Gluten-Free Turkey Tetrazzini - Great Way to Use Turkey (or Chicken) Leftovers [from GlutenFreeEasily.com]](https://glutenfreeeasily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Gluten-Free-Turkey-Tetrazinni-Gluten-Free-Easily.jpg "Gluten-Free Turkey Tetrazzini - Great Way to Use Turkey (or Chicken) Leftovers [from GlutenFreeEasily.com]")
On Thanksgiving, sharing a meal with one’s loved ones and counting one’s blessings (past and present), and hopefully reaching out to others who could use a hand, well it doesn’t get much better than that in my opinion. Today’s Thanksgiving was as special as so many others. I hope yours was, too.
Please know that I sincerely count each of you in my blessings. Thank you for being here and taking the time to give so much of yourselves to me, gfe, and other gfe readers!
As a prelude to my Thanksgiving recipe, let me give you a little comedy relief … an important quality is to be able to laugh at one’s self. I actually consider myself fairly good at that trait. I consider it a survival skill. Here’s what I posted yesterday on Facebook on my experience making this recipe:
“I’ve got a Thanksgiving Cooking Comedy of Errors going on here. Making gluten-free Turkey Tetrazzini so I can share it with you all. First, the package of pasta that has an inside plastic package impresses me … until I find out it has a large hole in the end. So I lose half of it to the floor. Then I cook the other half and realize that I was supposed to cook it in chicken broth with other ingredients. (I only cook this dish once a year … I forget. Sigh.) So I then cook it properly.
As I’m putting away the remaining uncooked pasta (which I’ve put in a ziploc bag), I drop the whole thing in the dog’s water dish. Blech! And water goes everywhere.
What worse than expensive gluten-free pasta? Gluten-free pasta you never even get to use! A girl’s gotta laugh right? So I’m a little behind on making my recipe and getting my post done today. But it will be up later.
Turkey Tetrazzini is worth the wait, believe me, and you won’t need the recipe until Friday anyway, right? Think I’m going to pull a Julia Child (the SNL version of her anyway) and start drinking wine while I cook. I don’t think I could do any worse and I will be relaxed when the next “catastrophe” strikes.”
If turkey is on your menu today, you might want to save a little for this recipe. Hubby’s review this time around:
“That was delicious. I ate too much. It was so good … I’m almost speechless.”
Silly man, but I eat those comments up! (Pun intended.) I also brought that gluten-free Turkey Tetrazzini out for the Thanksgiving meal today. It’s different than what we usually eat, but all enjoyed it. You can make this Turkey Tetrazzini right away or freeze enough of your leftover turkey to make it on another day when you need some tasty comfort food.
And if you’re not into Turkey Tetrazzini, below the recipe I give you a few more gfe ideas for your turkey (or even veggie) leftovers and even a couple more from my some favorite friends. Enjoy!
![Gluten-Free Turkey Tetrazzini --Great Way to Use Turkey (or Chicken) Leftovers [from GlutenFreeEasily.com]](https://glutenfreeeasily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/PB230013.jpg "Gluten-Free Turkey Tetrazzini --Great Way to Use Turkey (or Chicken) Leftovers [from GlutenFreeEasily.com]")
![Gluten-Free Turkey Tetrazzini --Great Way to Use Turkey (or Chicken) Leftovers [from GlutenFreeEasily.com]](https://glutenfreeeasily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/PB230012.jpg "Gluten-Free Turkey Tetrazzini --Great Way to Use Turkey (or Chicken) Leftovers [from GlutenFreeEasily.com]")
![Gluten-Free Turkey Tetrazzini --Great Way to Use Turkey (or Chicken) Leftovers [from GlutenFreeEasily.com]](https://glutenfreeeasily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/PB230023.jpg "Gluten-Free Turkey Tetrazzini --Great Way to Use Turkey (or Chicken) Leftovers [from GlutenFreeEasily.com]")
![Gluten-Free Turkey Tetrazzini --Great Way to Use Turkey (or Chicken) Leftovers [from GlutenFreeEasily.com]](https://glutenfreeeasily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/PB230029.jpg "Gluten-Free Turkey Tetrazzini --Great Way to Use Turkey (or Chicken) Leftovers [from GlutenFreeEasily.com]")
More Gluten-Free Ways To Use Turkey Leftovers
To make sure you have 10 worthwhile (aka totally delicious) ways to use your turkey leftovers, here are the other recipes for you!
~ Turkey (or Chicken) A La King
~ Turkey (or Chicken or Vegan) Pot Pie
~ Turkey (or Chicken or Beef) Enchilada Casserole
~ Savory Lemon-Kissed Sun-Dried Tomato Artichoke Turkey (or Chicken) Clafoutis
~ Saucy Cheesy Turkey (or Chicken) Veggie Pasta Skillet Supper
~ Turkey (or Chicken) Salad with Cilantro-Lime Dressing
~ Crunchy Long Grain and Wild Rice Casserole
~ Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Ham and Turkey (use up some of your ham and turkey)
~ Everything Soup (use up most of your leftovers, like turkey, ham, and veggies)
And when I want to venture outside the gfe recipe box and want to use turkey leftovers, specifically “cold” recipes in these two cases, I call upon some favorite recipes from my other blogger buddies:
~ The Best Mayo-Free Chicken Salad from Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom (best use of macadamia nuts EVER)
~ Pesto Chicken Salad from The Whole Gang (even my non-pesto loving husband loves this recipe!)
Gluten-Free Turkey Tetrazzini Recipe
Cooking the noodles in broth with the chopped vegetables really takes this tetrazzini up a notch! It's a wonderful plan for after Thanksgiving if you simply don't want to eat leftovers for days but it's also great all year long! I didn’t have quite enough parsley on hand so I also added some of the celery leaves; they often add great flavor in dishes. I used 2 tablespoons of almond flour combined with one teaspoon of coconut oil for my topping. While cheese can be omitted completely in this recipe, I like it when cheese is included much more … even dairy-free cheese, or you can add a sprinkle or two of nutritional yeast for a dairy-free cheesy taste in place of the cheddar cheese and/or the Parmesan cheese. Recipe adapted from recipe from one Mr. GFE’s cousin Janet shared.Gluten-Free Turkey Tetrazzini
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Ina Gawne says
Shirley – this sounds wonderful! A dish I have never had, can’t wait for Christmas Turkey leftovers – we are so going to have this dish! I so hear you on the bloopers in the kitchen…I have a post coming up where I actually forgot some major step in the recipe…grrrr!
Shirley says
Hi Ina–Wow, you’ve never had Tetrazzini? Well, I think you will fall in love, dear. 🙂 Another reason to look forward to Christmas! I think these kinds of bloopers (as you call them … hey, don’t folks get paid good money for bloopers? LOL) are fairly normal. We’re naive when we think they don’t happen to others. 😉 I can’t wait for your post, but I’m sorry about the boo boo!
Hugs,
Shirley
Jeanette says
I know it must have killed you to lose a box of gluten-free pasta – I hate wasting any food, especially expensive food! You just have to laugh in those situations, there’s nothing else to do. By the way, I read that celery leaves are actually supposed to be very good for you. Thanks for sharing all these leftover turkey recipes – your tetrazzini sounds wonderful, thanks for the dairy-free tips.
Shirley says
Hi Jeanette–The pasta loss was painful. One minute I was thinking what a great idea the inner plastic bag was and the next I was picking up pasta noodles and thinking “false sense of security”! Yes, one has to laugh. I got an email once that share a similar story and basically said that it was the higher power’s way of getting one’s attention, making one slow down, etc. So now every time that happens, I look heavenward and think, “hey, okay, I hear you.” 😉
I always use all my celery leaves. They’re great in chicken salad, soup, etc., but I didn’t know all their health benefits. I also use them in place of cilantro for the cilantro haters.
Turkey Tetrazzini is a real treat. 🙂 And there’s already reader rave review on the df version … love that!
Thanks, dear!
Shirley
Alta says
Shirley, this seems comforting and something the kids would enjoy. (and hubby) I remember really liking turkey tetrazzini, but I haven’t had it in many years. What brand of pasta do you prefer? I have typically used Tinkyada, but it seems so heavy. I’ve found Lundberg seems to be more true to “gluten-y” pasta in texture, but it’s harder to find. Thoughts? 🙂 Hope your Thanksgiving turned out well.
Shirley says
Hi Alta—I think you all would enjoy this dish. 🙂
I can’t recall the Lundberg products right now, although I know I’ve enjoyed some in the past. I agree with you on Tinkyada’s heaviness, but it still seems to be the pasta I use the most. I was pretty happy with Goldbaum’s pasta, too, but don’t know that it was necessarily less heavy. I don’t like corn pasta. There are a few other pastas that I’ve heard good things about that seem to merit a full review in the future. Some are fairly expensive though and I don’t like expensive. 😉 I was surprised at how easy making one’s own pasta was when I did it. I have some lasagna in my future and I plan to make my own for that. So easy to just make big sheets … no need for individual noodles. With enough liquid, one doesn’t have to cook the noodles ahead of time. 😉
Thanksgiving was wonderful; hope yours was, too! 🙂
Shirley
Shirley says
Alta–One more thing I thought of … I also love the rice stick noodles from the Asian market. We use them in pasta dishes, chicken noodle soup., etc. They are very light and don’t have much flavor on their own, so I often find them perfect for my needs in taking on the flavor of the sauce or other ingredients. And, last, but not least, they are very inexpensive–love that! While they are not certified gluten free or even labeled gluten free (at least not most of the time), I’ve never had an issue with them.
Shirley
Zoe says
Happy Thanksgiving, Shirley! I have those moments on a regular basis, laughing at myself for some reason or other. I often make fun of situations as well; not to mock or anything malevolent, just to lighten the mood if necessary. Anyway, enough about me and my sense of humour – this recipe looks good and I love seeing recipes that make use of leftovers. 🙂 I really want to do more in that area, at some point. I do feel sorry about the pasta, though – but, like you said, if you can laugh about it, it’s not so bad. 🙂
P.S. Just wanted to add in response to Alta’s comment, we bought some Lundberg brown rice noodles (elbow noodles) when we were in the States last, and it was so good! We loved the texture and chew. I’m hoping we find it somewhere here, maybe at our Whole Foods.
Alta says
Zoe – I’ve only found them by ordering through Azure Standard, and not everyone has that option (and I might not for much longer!). I haven’t tried looking at Whole Foods though (no idea why), so I’ll have to check as well!
Zoe says
Yes, forgot to mention that we found them at Whole Foods in Tustin, California.
Shirley says
Hi Zoe–Thank you, dear! I’m so glad you are clued into the “real” Joy of Cooking! 😉 I’m happy to help folks out with leftover ideas. Sometimes we simply can’t think of anything new when admiring out stash of food, but tired of the same meal. Speaking of which, I loved your potato pancakes. Now those are comfort food!
Thanks, too, for answering Alta’s inquiry on pasta, so we’ll all know about your success with Lundberg elbow noodles! 🙂
xo,
Shirley
Kay Guest says
Hey Shirley!
Expensive gluten free pasta in the dog’s water bowl, you really make me laugh, but I’m afraid I would have said ?!+_@#$#!
This recipe looks wonderful, as always!
Love,
Kay
Shirley says
Hey Kay–I knew you’d get a kick out of my story. It was such a good one, that I just had to share, you know? Believe it or not, I didn’t curse. Well, maybe I said “crap,” which some folks consider cursing. 😉
Thanks re: the recipe! 🙂 Hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving! xoxo,
Shirley
Heidi @ Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom says
Thank you for the birthday shout out Shirley! I had not idea it was Steph’s birthday too until she called me yesterday to say Happy Birthday (seriously, I just want to put her in my pocket and carry her around with me, LOL!).
Thank you for sharing your comedy of errors, I really needed that laugh as I was having a small one of my own yesterday. I left an empty skillet on a flaming burner for who knows how long yesterday – and didn’t realize it until I picked it up with my hand. OUCH!! I quickly put it down on my John Boos wood chopping block (not cheap mind you) and when I went to move it some 20 minutes later…I discovered that I now have a huge, PERMANENT black circle on my cutting board!
Much love my dear, dear friend!
xoxoxo,
Heidi
Shirley says
You bet, Heidi! I know you guys will always remember your shared day from this point on. 😉 And yes, Steph is both the cutest and the best! 🙂
Wowser on leaving the burner on and “tattooing” your chopping block … so sorry! Still I’m glad that you don’t have any permanent marks on your hand (hope not anyway!). Don’t stress over it … chopping blocks need some character. If you decide you need a new one though, ship that one to me. I love castoffs. 😉
Love and hugs for your birthday, Thanksgiving, and always,
Shirley
Kalyn says
I’ve had a few cooking days like that where things just keep going wrong, but it looks like your dish still turned out great! I love Turkey (or chicken) Tetrazzini, need to make it again sometime.
Shirley says
Hi Kalyn–I think those days are inevitable for any of us who spend a fair amount of time in the kitchen … it’s just the odds, right? 😉 Yes, treat yourself to some Turkey or Chicken Tetrazzini in the future. It’s one of those dishes that most of us enjoy so rarely, so we fall in love with it all over again. 🙂
Having your Roasted Green Beans with Garlic, Ginger, and Red Bell Pepper as part of our leftover dinner—just love that dish!
Shirley
Gretchen @gfedge says
OK, you got my attention – tetrazinni it is. But I’ll be making it low carb with shiritake noodles because ’tis the season of way too many carbs! My leftover vegan gravy will be the sauce.
Shirley says
Hi Gretchen–LOL … Tetrazzini can definitely get one’s attention. 😉 Using your leftover vegan gravy is a great idea! Hope your version turned out sufficiently low carb, but creamy enough to make you happy. 🙂
Shirley
Cindy says
OMG! It’s good to hear an experienced cook like yourself, Shirley, has moments like those. I also had one of those yesterday. I decided to make an chocolate torte that I read about on a blog – last minute – so I was going fast and my normal bowl (with a handle) was dirty from making my pumpkin pie so I grabbed a metal pan – and dropped the entire thing into the bowl with eggs -splattering it all over. But I was not going to waste it so I salvaged what I could. The torte turned out to be AMAZING! My kids – who are picky about gf food – loved it. The only thing gf about it was the pecan/shortbread crust. Glad you had a great Thanksgiving.
Shirley says
Hi Cindy–You made me chuckle, dear. I’m no different than anyone else, but thank you! And boy does that chocolate torte sound amazing. Pecan shortbread crust alone would make me happy! Did you find the recipe on another blog? I’d love to check it out, although mine not turn out as well as yours because happy accidents are hard to repeat. 😉
I’m imagining your beautiful family gathered round you eating that delicious torte … what a wonderful Thanksgiving scene! Hugs,
Shirley
Tiffany says
Made this for dinner last night and even my non-gluten/dairy free husband had 2.5 helpings! He couldn’t believe that something dairy/gluten free could be so creamy and delicious! Thanks!! 🙂
Shirley says
Wooohooo, Tiffany!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your success with us all. 🙂 When we can make a dish that makes those without food intolerances happy as well, it’s a wonderful thing! All gluten-free, dairy-free dishes should be that way IMHO … otherwise, why would we want to eat them? 😉
Thanks again, dear! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! 🙂
Shirley
Megan @ MAID in Alaska says
This looks like something my entire family will enjoy, Shirley! Thank you! 🙂
Megan
ps- I’m sorry you lost your pasta!!
Shirley says
Hey Megan–I’m chuckling here … “lost your pasta” sounds a whole lot like “lost your cookies”! And it makes just losing some through the hole in the pasta bag seems like a much more pleasant thing. 😉 Anyway, I know I’m being silly, but that’s how it hit me. LOL And I do think you would all enjoy this tetrazzini!
Now I must know … with moose in your driveaway and all around, do you ever eat/prepare dishes that include moose?
Hugs,
Shirley
Megan @ MAID in Alaska says
Hi Shirley,
LOL… I guess it could also sound like “she’s lost her marbles!” If you ever tell me that you’ve, “lost your pasta” I’ll know what you mean! ;p Too funny! Thanks for the laugh, Shirley! It’s been a rough week… nice to have a bit of a laugh.
If we had the moose meat, I definitely would prepare meals with it. It’s very tasty – my hubby is just not a hunter. I have some black bear in my freezer though! A very nice man (he knows my parents and knows of my health problems) gave me some extra meat he had. I’ve been wanting to do a post on it, but it’s not bad cooked all day in the crock pot with Penzey’s Bavarian seasoning on it. Tastes a lot like roast beef!
Hope you are enjoying your weekend!
xoxo
Megan
Shirley says
Megan–Delayed response (I’ve been away and too busy when I’m home … bad Shirley!), but I’m so sorry you’ve had a rough week, dear! I’m happy to give you a chuckle any time. My hubby is not a hunter either, but we have other family members who are.
Bear that’s “not bad” didn’t sound too great until you mentioned that it tastes like roast beef. I’ve never heard of the Bavarian seasoning, but know most of the other Penzey’s seasonings. Will have to check it out–thanks!
We had a nice long weekend with a little getaway even … now I’m back at work though! 😉
xoxo,
Shirley
Stephanie says
Shirley – This sounds amazing!! I cannot wait to attempt it! In fact I am planning on making this (or some variation of it – you know me can’t leave anything alone). I noticed that in the directions you mention onions, but it doesn’t say hoe much in the ingredient list 🙁
Shirley says
Hey Stephanie–Thanks so much for the heads up on the discrepancy! Per our discussion on Facebook, I’m so glad that you used a small amount of onion that was pleasing to both of you. Most importantly, I’m glad you really liked the recipe! 🙂
Shirley
Carol, Simply Gluten-free says
You get Thanksgiving cards?!? No one ever sends me Thanksgiving cards, I am jealous! This dish sounds wonderful. And thanks for the laugh – you know I am laughing with you, right?
xo,
c
Shirley says
Hi Carol–Well, I must rectify that next year, dear, and send you a Thanksgiving card, because I am thankful for you! 🙂
Turkey Tetrazzini is quite pleasing. 🙂
Sure … laugh with me or at me any time! 😉
xo,
Shirley
Dave says
The recipe turned out fine for my wife & I, Thanks!
As a veteran Midwest chef, I found the instructions vague in regards to cooking the pasta. How many steps on the “package” were supposed to be followed? Packages say to rinse well, but there were no instructions in that regard, so I partially drained it, as the mushroom sauce didn’t appear to be enough for the casserole.
Shirley says
Hi Dave–Welcome to gfe! 🙂 Sorry you found the instructions insufficient, but I did say to follow the pasta instructions only in regard to cooking time. Since you’re cooking the pasta (plus celery, green pepper, etc.) in the chicken broth which I emphasize in the recipe, you don’t drain the pasta. Did you cook your pasta in water instead? Not sure what happened, but I’ve always had plenty of sauce for this recipe and I’m glad that in the end the resulting casserole pleased you all. 😉
Shirley
vegetarianmamma (Cindy) says
Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays Party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂 I can’t wait to see what you share next time!
-Cindy
April J Harris says
Oh bless you, Shirley, what an experience you had! I’m so grateful I’m not the only one who has calamities in the kitchen! Your Turkey Tetrazzini looks wonderful – what a great way to use up leftovers! Although I would definitely try it with chicken too! Thank you so much for sharing, and for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Link Party.
Shirley Braden says
Hey April–Finally catching up on comments again. Calamities in the kitchen are so “humanizing,” right? 😉 Because Son and his girlfriend were here at Thanksgiving, all the leftover turkey went pretty quickly. So no Turkey Tetrazzini after Thanksgiving this year! Chicken Tetrazzini is coming up soon though. I hope you’ll try this recipe one day because it really is fantastic. The fact that you cook the pasta in the broth with other ingredients makes it so flavorful. Thanks for commenting and for allowing me to be part of Hearth and Soul!
Shirley
Judy says
Any idea what the calorie content might be? Also interested in carbs, fat and protein, but minimally need to know an approximate calorie count. Thanks!
Shirley Braden says
Hi Judy–There are several sites online that offer this capability. Here’s one site you can use to determine that info.
Shirley
Susan Odiseos says
Can you please indicate how many servings this recipe will make? Thanks
Shirley Braden says
Hi Susan–It looks like you’re new here–welcome to gfe! 🙂 Thanks for asking this question! It pointed out that quite a few areas of the recipe were blank as it didn’t “convert” well when I changed recipe functions a while ago. Everything is all fixed now! Anyway, the answer is six servings and I hope you enjoy this recipe!
Shirley