This Turkey Noodle Casserole is ready in under 30 minutes and it is packed full of flavor! Such a great way to use Thanksgiving leftovers, but makes a great comfort food dinner any time of year!
If you are like me, you are in the thick of holiday season and also thinking about the fact that your family can survive on cranberry sauce and no bake cookies alone.
Dinner still has to happen.
With that, I give you this delicious and amazing cheesy casserole that can be made with your Thanksgiving left overs. If you are brining a whole turkey this year or just making my turkey breast recipe, this will be the perfect recipe to use those left overs in.
This recipe is a quicker version of my Chicken Noodle Casserole and I think you will love it.
Made this tonight, the whole family enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing.
HOW TO MAKE TURKEY NOODLE CASSEROLE
This easy dinner idea comes together in 30 minutes with fully cooked left over turkey.
- Start by cooking noodles in chicken stock. Check out my tips and tricks for saving money on this step.
- Create a roux by melting butter, adding flour, and slowly adding a combination of reserved noodle water and milk.
- Add sage and thyme to really enhance the turkey taste of this noodle casserole.
- Add in the cooked noodles, turkey, frozen vegetables and cheese and put in a casserole dish.
- Bake and then enjoy!
TIPS AND TRICKS
- This recipe calls for 8 ounces egg noodles. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, that is approximately 6 cups.
- Use chicken stock base (found in the grocery store in powder form by the liquid stock) to make the liquid that the noodles cook in. It’s not as high quality as homemade chicken stock or store bought base, but it will save quite a bit of money on steps like this.
- Cooking the noodles in chicken stock adds such a nice flavor to this recipe, but you could also make turkey stock from your left over Thanksgiving turkey.
- If you skip cooking the noodles in chicken or turkey stock, you will likely need a bit more salt and pepper.
- When you make the roux (butter and flour), make sure to go really slowly adding the liquid. That is what makes this casserole so creamy, so you it’s an important step.
- Buy brick cheese and shred it. You guys know by now my feelings on this. It melts better and gives better texture. I really think it’s worth the time.
- If sage and thyme aren’t your thing or you don’t have them on hand, you could easily switch them out for basil and oregano.
HOW TO MAKE AHEAD
This is a great casserole to make the night before. Get all the way to the step of baking, and then wrap tightly and put in the refrigerator.
Add 5 minutes to your baking time.
You could also freeze this by wrapping it three times and putting in the freezer. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Add 15 minutes to your baking time if you take it right from the freezer.
Note: If you want to freeze this and put it right from the freezer to the hot preheated one, use a disposable casserole dish for freezing and baking. This way you won’t crack your ceramic one.
OTHER GREAT RECIPES
If you are looking for another recipe to use your left over turkey, try my Turkey Dumpling Soup. It’s a winner.
You will also love my Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole. Who isn’t in the market for fast dinners?
Finally, my Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta is a great weeknight dinner everyone loves.
If you make this Turkey Noodle Casserole or any of my other recipes, I’d love to hear what you think!
Turkey Noodle Casserole
Ingredients
- 8 ounces egg noodles (or 6 cups noodles) cooked in chicken stock, reserve one cup cooking liquid before draining
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup milk I used skim
- 1 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoons dried sage
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups cooked turkey
- 2 cups shredded cheddar divided
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 3 quart casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Cook the pasta in chicken stock for two minutes less than the package suggests. Reserve one cup of cooking liquid before draining noodles and settting them aside.
- Melt the butter over medium low heat in a large stock pot. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add the flour to the pan, mixing it in to make a paste. Very slowly add the reserved chicken stock. Add approximately a tablespoon of the reserved 1 cup stock stock at a time, waiting until the last bit of stock was completely combined before adding the next bit. Then add in the milk. This whole process should take about 3 to 5 minutes and result in a nice creamy sauce.
- Once all the milk is mixed in, add the thyme and sage. Then season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in one cup of the cheese. Then add the turkey, cooked noodles, and frozen vegetables. Pour the mixture into the greased casserole dish and top with the remaining cup of cheese.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese on top begins to bubble.
Pamela says
You can use GF noodles for this one ; read ingredients on chicken stock etc and with minor substitutions it works!
Nancy says
How many servings would this make?
Depending on serving size, I would say 6 to 8
Kurt Johnson says
Really nice recipe for leftover Thanksgiving turkey. I added some hot pepper flakes for an extra kick and had some leftover home made noodles. Very easy
I’m so happy you liked it!
Eri says
This was yummy! My toddler and hubs loved it. You had a little trouble with the roux, it became quickly like glue…maybe the heat was too high. Nonetheless the dish turned out yummy! Thank you!
I’m really glad you liked it! I hope you try more recipes with a roux! After a few times of doing it, you will be a pro. One I love is my New England Clam Chowder.
Connie S. says
Just made this casserole for lunch and it was wonderful!
So glad you liked it Connie!
Gina says
I’m such a cooking newbie… do you freeze before baking it?
You only freeze before baking it if you are looking to save it for later. If you aren’t, bake right away.
Fern says
I didn’t have any luck with the 425 oven. Top noodles got crunchy and parts of the casserole were only like warm. Maybe a longer time at a lower temperature for me.
I’m sorry Fern, that really stinks. I’ve had such good luck with this casserole (and others) at that cooking temperature. But I know all ovens vary.
Jody Dunn says
I want to know how much stock you add to the flour before adding the milk. It says a tablespoon at a time but doesn’t say how much all together
Sorry the instructions aren’t a little more clear. Listed above in the ingredients it says to reserve one cup of the stock you cooked the noodles in. That is how much you are adding. I will update the recipe to make it more clear.
Kristen Valdez says
So yummy and came out perfect!! I subbed two cans of mixed veggies instead of frozen because it’s all I had. I topped it with a bit of panko bread crumbs with the cheese and drizzled with melted butter. I will definitely be making again and again! Thank you for sharing!
I’m so happy to hear this, Kristen! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave me a comment!
Eric Stegman says
How long is it supposed to take to make the roux and how thick is it supposed to be. My didn’t come out like paste but more like a pudding. I took about 40 minutes total adding the chicken stock. It seems someone below before had the opposite problem. Maybe I needed more heat? It said medium low.
Yikes! I will update the recipe with clearer instructions, it should be a paste when you first add the flour, but then it will turn into a sauce as you add the stock and milk. The whole process should take about 5 minutes at the most.