Classic Turkey Noodle Casserole
This turkey casserole with egg noodles recipe is simple, easy and delicious. I don’t know many other meals that epitomize comfort more than this one. It is creamy, earthy, flavorful and holds a range of textures that are completely satisfying. For the turkey in this recipe, I used leftover turkey from Thanksgiving that had been frozen. The creamy sauce is what would be considered béchamel – I think of it as a a cream based gravy. The other ingredients include, baby portobello mushroom, celery, onions, garlic and fresh herbs. Then the casserole is topped with bread crumbs and crisped to golden perfection.
Leftover turkey casserole may be one of the biggest perks to cooking a big bird for Thanksgiving. We always buy a larger size than we will need so we have an abundance of meat leftover for a casserole and also Thanksgiving sandwiches. This casserole recipe can be pre-made and frozen for up to a couple months to be enjoyed at your convenience.
I’ve listed other potential cooking methods in the notes such as, slow cooker or crockpot turkey noodle casserole. I found the easiest way was on the stovetop and in the oven. To finish, no matter which method you use, make sure to put the casserole under the broiler on high so the bread crumbs can get nice and crispy.
Continue on to learn how to make this turkey casserole with egg noodles and check out the very end for different variations and more easy turkey casserole recipes.
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs cooked turkey
- 1-2 boxes egg noodles
- Baby portobello mushrooms
- 3 stalks of celery
- 1 medium-large onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup broth – vegetable bouillon(from Better Than Bouillon), mixed with water.
- Flour (cassava flour for gf)
- 20 ounces of cream
- Fresh thyme
- Fresh parsley
- Nutmeg
- Cracked black pepper
Instructions:
- Chop the cooked leftover turkey into bite sized pieces. Add to a large bowl. If you are using ground turkey, cook in a skillet and break up in to bite sized pieces.
- Chop the onions and mince the garlic. Add 1Tbsp of butter to a hot pan then add the onions, garlic, mushrooms and celery. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the mushrooms shrink in size and the onions are translucent. Add to the bowl of turkey.
- Make the cream sauce by adding 2 Tbsp of butter to the empty skillet and adding 1 Tbsp of flour(cassava flour for gf) to make the roux. Cook the roux to cook out the raw flour taste, this should just take a few minutes, the roux will start to change color to a deeper color.
- Add the cream, wine and broth to the roux and mix. Allow to gently simmer until the sauce has reduced and the roux has sufficiently thickened the sauce to a creamy gravy consistency.
- Add the fresh parsley, thyme, nutmeg and cracked black pepper.
- Cook the egg noodles per instructions, then strain and add to the bowl of turkey and veggies.
- Pour the sauce over the noodles, turkey and veggies and mix thoroughly.
- Transfer everything to a large casserole pan and top with bread crumbs. Stick under the broiler until the top is golden brown and forms a crust. For gluten-free bread crumbs add some melted butter to them and place them over the top wet as they don’t work the same as regular bread crumbs.
- Sprinkle more fresh parsley and cracked black pepper on top.
- I add some optional crushed red pepper flakes on top and a garnish of fresh thyme sprigs.
Notes:
-I made this recipe dairy-free for our family. The brands I use are Miyokos for plant-based butter and Nut Pod’s creamer to replace all dairy cream and milk.
-Diced turkey casserole vs shredded turkey casserole – Your method for breaking down the turkey meat can vary between using a knife to cut it up into clean diced pieces or you can shred and tear apart by hand.
-For a turkey casserole slow cooker method you will put al the ingredients in the slow cooker and allow it to cook all day. It will resemble more of a stew or thick soup. Cook the pasta at the end and stir in.
-Healthy ground turkey casserole utilizes lean ground turkey meat. If you don’t have leftover turkey to use up, you can always purchase ground turkey, this is a less traditional version but still tastes amazing.
-You may use any pasta you want – I have used brown rice bow-tie pasta and egg noodles and both were great. Egg noodles have a particularly delicious and chewy texture which I find slightly preferable. For gluten-free go with brown rice pasta.
-Some people like to make a variation on this recipe called turkey pot pie casserole. You can use this recipe but the differences will be omitting the pasta and stuffing all the ingredients into a pie with a nice crusty top.
-This is a turkey noodle casserole no soup added recipe. If you prefer to use cream of mushroom soup you can replace the creamy sauce with whatever brand of soup you prefer.
-Can you freeze turkey noodle casserole? Yes, this recipe can be pre-made and then frozen for up to 2-3 months if packaged and sealed properly. .
Variations:
- Turkey noodle casserole with broccoli and potatoes
- Turkey casserole with stuffing instead of pasta
- Turkey casserole with rice instead of pasta
Turkey Casserole with Egg Noodles
Ingredients
- 2 lbs cooked turkey
- 1-2 boxes egg noodles
- Baby portobello mushrooms
- 3 stalks of celery
- 1 medium-large onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup broth – vegetable bouillon(from Better Than Bouillon), mixed with water.
- Flour (cassava flour for gf)
- 20 ounces of cream
Instructions
- Chop the cooked leftover turkey into bite sized pieces. Add to a large bowl. If you are using ground turkey, cook in a skillet and break up in to bite sized pieces.
- Chop the onions and mince the garlic. Add 1Tbsp of butter to a hot pan then add the onions, garlic, mushrooms and celery. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the mushrooms shrink in size and the onions are translucent. Add to the bowl of turkey.
- Make the cream sauce by adding 2 Tbsp of butter to the empty skillet and adding 1 Tbsp of flour(cassava flour for gf) to make the roux. Cook the roux to cook out the raw flour taste, this should just take a few minutes, the roux will start to change color to a deeper color.
- Add the cream, wine and broth to the roux and mix. Allow to gently simmer until the sauce has reduced and the roux has sufficiently thickened the sauce to a creamy gravy consistency.
- Add the fresh parsley, thyme, nutmeg and cracked black pepper.
- Cook the egg noodles per instructions, then strain and add to the bowl of turkey and veggies.
- Pour the sauce over the noodles, turkey and veggies and mix thoroughly.
- Transfer everything to a large casserole pan and top with bread crumbs. Stick under the broiler until the top is golden brown and forms a crust. For gluten-free bread crumbs add some melted butter to them and place them over the top wet as they don’t work the same as regular bread crumbs.
- Sprinkle more fresh parsley and cracked black pepper on top. I add some optional crushed red pepper flakes on top and a garnish of fresh thyme sprigs.
Notes
If you have been looking for a turkey casserole recipe to make from scratch, you have found it here in this recipe. This recipe was made with leftover frozen turkey and made so much that we were able to eat it for several days. I am always looking to make food in bulk and have convenient meals from it for many days after. This recipe is great frozen for a couple months to be enjoyed at a later date.
Thanks for checking out one of my favorite meals – turkey casserole with egg noodles. If you liked this one, you may love some of my other favorite recipes such as crockpot corned beef with beer or birria ramen noodle bowl.
Please rate or comment below and if you made any additions or alterations and want to let me in on your ideas – I would love to hear about it! If you would like to share or pin on Pinterest, I am always thankful. Check out my food journey on Pinterest at Molé in the Wall.
Now you know how to make an extremely simple and easy homemade turkey casserole with egg noodles recipe. I hope you do try this recipe and thoroughly enjoy it as much as we have. I’m pretty sure this will become a family favorite and become a generational tradition!
