Turkey Pasta Bake

Published: October 16, 2019 Updated: October 20, 2019 / By: Dawn | Girl Heart Food 37 Comments

Looking for an easy leftover turkey idea? Turkey pasta bake is the answer! This turkey pasta recipe has plenty of turkey, artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes. It’s generously topped with cheesy mozzarella and baked up until golden brown and bubbly. Sure to be a favourite in your home as it is ours.

Cheesy turkey pasta bake in a pan garnished with parsley.

Hi friends!

As some of you may know, we recently celebrated Thanksgiving here in Canada.

Aside from the big meal, I always get excited about turkey leftovers, especially when I make this turkey pasta bake.

Remember that scene from A Christmas Story when a bunch of dogs got into the house and ravaged their turkey? Ralphie starts to rhyme off all the delicious eats one could have after the main meal. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to have those leftovers, but hopefully you will!

I mean, what’s not to love about leftovers? And this turkey pasta? There’s turkey, carbs and melty cheese. Sounds good, right?

With all the holidays this time of year, there’s lots of leftover turkey going around and there’s no complaints from me!

What I love about pasta bake recipes is that they come together so quickly. And, if you don’t have exactly the same ingredients, you could use what you have on hand.

There’s a lot of flexibility here, which I love.

Ingredients Needed for This Pasta Bake Recipe

Leftover cooked turkey (of course): I used a combo for white and dark meat (no skin). Use what you have or what you enjoy best.
Pasta: Gemelli pasta was used, but you could use your favourite small pasta variety.
Pasta sauce: Rosee pasta sauce works lovely here, but you could you another variety, like a simple tomato pasta sauce.
Broth: Unsalted chicken broth was used, but if you have leftover turkey broth, all the better!
Half-and-half: This adds to the richness of the dish. You could replace with more pasta sauce, broth or even heavy cream if you prefer.
Artichokes: Marinated artichokes were used. They were removed from their liquid and roughly chopped.
Sun-dried tomatoes: Sun-dried tomatoes in oil were used. Simply remove from oil and chop.
Seasonings, like salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes (you could omit the crushed red pepper flakes, or use less, if you aren’t a big fan of spice).
Mozzarella cheese: This melts lovely, but you could use another variety of your favourite melting cheese.
And, of course, olive oil and aromatics, like onion and garlic.

Ingredients for leftover turkey pasta recipe.

How To Make It

This turkey pasta bake is super easy to whip up! Aside from cooking the onion and garlic, you simply add everything in the pot, generously top with cheese and bake. Couldn’t be simpler (or tastier)! Full details are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:

Heat some olive oil in a pan and cook onion until softened.
Add garlic and cook for just a minute.
Stir in cooked leftover turkey, uncooked pasta, artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes
Pour in pasta sauce, broth, half-and-half and seasonings. Give everything a little mix to combine. You can leave on the heat for just a few minutes to allow the liquid to warm through before baking.
Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
Bake, then allow it to cool for a little bit before digging in.

Collage of steps to make pasta bake with turkey,

Best Cheese To Use

I used a shredded mozzarella here (also known as “pizza mozzarella”), but you could use another cheese.

Just use a good melting cheese. Fontina, provolone, Swiss, young cheddar and Asiago also work great (or try a combo of your faves).

Close-up of cheesy turkey pasta bake in a pan garnished with parsley.

Pasta To Use

Gemelli pasta was used here, but you could easily substitute with your favourite similarly sized pasta.

Campanelle, cavatappi, rotini or penne would work too.

How Much Liquid Is Needed?

To cook pasta (along with everything in this pasta bake recipe), you’ll need about 5.5 cups of liquid, which comprises pasta sauce, broth and half-and-half.

It looks like a lot of liquid at first but will be absorbed or reduced as the pasta cooks. This is not an overly saucy pasta, but it’s super tasty!

Tip: Want to use a little more pasta sauce? Just reduce the quantity of broth by the same amount.

Partially eaten pan of cheesy turkey pasta bake with a spoon resting in the pan.

Pasta Bake Add Ins

Not into sun-dried tomatoes or artichokes or don’t have on hand? No worries! Try any of these:

Sliced mushrooms (if using fresh, give them a little cook before adding to the bake)
Roasted red peppers, cut into bite-sized pieces
Diced bell pepper
Sliced black olives
Crisped bacon, pancetta or prosciutto
Baby spinach or kale
Try throwing some fresh or dried herbs into the pasta itself (like basil, thyme or rosemary)

Size of Pan To Use

Use an oven-safe 12-inch pan that’s about 2.5 to 3 inches deep.

I like to use my enameled cast-iron pan.

How Long the Leftover Pasta Bake Lasts

Find yourself with leftovers? The length of time this pasta bake lasts really depends on how fresh your leftover turkey was in the first place.

If your turkey is freshly made, leftover pasta bake will keep for about 2 to 4 days (properly stored in an airtight container the fridge).

If your leftover turkey was 3 days old when you make this pasta bake, enjoy right away.

Serving spoon taking up a portion of cheesy turkey pasta from a pan.

How To Reheat Pasta Bake

Like most pasta bakes, this turkey pasta is best enjoyed when freshly made, but you can reheat. I love to reheat this pasta bake on the stovetop.

Simply place your portions into a pan with a little splash of water (about a ¼ cup, depending on how much you are reheating), cover and heat over medium heat until heated through.

Alternatively, you can bake in the oven (with oven temperature set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit). Place portions into an oven-safe dish, add a little water (again, about ¼ cup), loosely cover with aluminum foil and cook until heated through, about 20 minutes or so. Time may vary, depending on how big of a portion you are reheating.

Portion of baked turkey pasta on a blue plate.

What To Serve With Turkey Pasta

Feel like serving this turkey pasta bake with sides? Try any of these:

Green salad
Caesar salad
Garlic bread
Green beans
Roasted broccoli or broccolini

More Leftover Turkey Recipes

If you make this leftover turkey pasta bake, be sure to leave a comment below!

Turkey Pasta Bake

Dawn | Girl Heart Food

Looking for an easy leftover turkey idea? Turkey pasta bake is the answer! This turkey pasta recipe has plenty of turkey, artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes. It's generously topped with cheesy mozzarella and baked up until golden brown and bubbly. Sure to be a favourite in your home as it is ours.

5 from 17 votes

Print Recipe Save Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Cooling Time 10

Total Time 1 20

Course Main Course

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil, or avocado oil
1 yellow onion, peeled and minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups cooked turkey, roughly chopped (about ¾ pound)
12 ounces dried gemelli pasta, or similarly sized pasta like fusilli or penne (about 3 cups)
½ cup marinated artichoke hearts, removed from liquid and chopped
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil), removed from their oil and chopped
2 cups pasta sauce, "rosee" or your favourite variety
3 cups unsalted chicken broth, divided
½ cup half-and-half, or pasta sauce or unsalted chicken broth
½ to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon salt, optional
10 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese, about 2.5 cups
Chopped fresh parsley, garnish to taste (optional)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a 12-inch heavy oven-safe sauté/deep pan over medium heat on the stovetop, then add onion and cook, stirring often, for 3 to 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in cooked turkey, uncooked pasta, artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes.
Next, pour in pasta sauce (take ½ cup of the chicken broth and rinse out the jar of pasta sauce to get every last bit and pour that in too), remaining 2.5 cups of chicken broth, half-and-half, crushed red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt (if using). Stir to combine everything, ensuring pasta is submerged in the liquid. Keep the pot over the heat for 3 to 4 minutes just to let the liquid start to warm.
Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
Transfer the pan to the preheated oven and bake (uncovered) for about 45 to 50 minutes (check on at the 45-minute mark) until bubbly, the pasta is cooked through and the cheese on top is melty and a little golden brown.
Note: Ovens vary. If your cheese browns too quickly, you can loosely cover with aluminum foil (ensuring the aluminum foil isn't touching the cheese).
Once done, carefully remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 to 15 minutes (don't skip this step) before garnishing with parsley (if using) and serving. Enjoy!

Notes

If you don’t have gemelli pasta, use a similar sized-variety, like campanelle, cavatappi, rotini or penne.
You can use another melting cheese, if you prefer, instead of mozzarella, like fontina, provolone, Swiss, young cheddar and asiago (or a combo of your faves).
More recipe tips in body of post above.

A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.

Keyword baked pasta, leftover turkey idea, leftover turkey recipe, pasta bake recipe

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If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!

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Ingredients Needed for This Pasta Bake Recipe

How To Make It

Best Cheese To Use

Pasta To Use

How Much Liquid Is Needed?

Pasta Bake Add Ins

Size of Pan To Use

How Long the Leftover Pasta Bake Lasts

How To Reheat Pasta Bake

What To Serve With Turkey Pasta

More Leftover Turkey Recipes

Turkey Pasta Bake

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Tried this recipe?

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