Cheesy Turkey Pasta Bake

 

 

Have you had leftover turkey from Thanksgiving that you didn’t know what to do with? I did! I had a ton of turkey that I was so sick of eating and I was so sick of looking at. I considered throwing it out but Kenny insisted that it was the best turkey that I’ve ever made…like ever. I didn’t have the heart to chuck the bird that changed Kenny’s mind about turkey. So…last week, I browsed Pinterest for some pinspiration but I found no leftover turkey recipes that seemed appetizing to me. I went back to the drawing board and explored the refrigerator hoping for some divine inspiration. At the time, I didn’t have much to work with since we hadn’t really been grocery shopping and we were pretty much living off of leftovers. After thinking for a few minutes, I came up with something that my family thoroughly enjoyed and was a pretty good transformation of that leftover turkey. Here’s the recipe. I hope you enjoy it!

Cheesy Turkey Pasta Bake
 
Author: Amy Ramnarine
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Ingredients
  • 3 cups cooked turkey (or chicken) shredded
  • 16 oz cooked rotini pasta (elbows or any other small pasta would work well)
  • 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
  • 2 tsp dried parsley
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • [br][b]Bechamel Sauce[/b]
  • 5 tbsp butter
  • 4 tbsp all purpose flour
  • 4 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. [b]To make the bechamel sauce:[/b]
  3. In a medium saucepan, heat the butter until it’s just melted.
  4. Whisk the flour in a tablespoon at a time to avoid lumps.
  5. Cook the flour and butter mixture over a medium heat until it turns a light golden color (about 5-6 minutes).
  6. In a separate pot, heat the milk just until it is about to boil.
  7. Add the hot milk to the butter/flour mixture, 1 cup at a time, whisking until it is smooth.
  8. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring continuously so that the sauce does not burn.
  9. Remove from heat.
  10. Add parmesan, salt, and pepper to taste.[br]
  11. [b]To assemble casserole:[/b]
  12. In a small bowl, mix together the panko,1/2 cup of the grated parmesan, and parsley. Set aside.
  13. In a deep baking dish (I used one of my Pyrex dishes), spread half of the bechamel sauce on the bottom.
  14. Layer the shredded turkey on top of the bechamel sauce.
  15. Add half of the mozzarella on top of the turkey.
  16. Layer the pasta on top of the mozzarella cheese.
  17. Add the rest of the bechamel on top of the pasta.
  18. Add the rest of the mozzarella cheese.
  19. Top with the panko mixture.
  20. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the panko topping has browned.
 

 

I hope you enjoy the recipe and I hope it entices you to save your leftover turkey or chicken in the future!
 

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