Turkey Alfredo Stuffed Shells
These Turkey Alfredo Stuffed Shells are a great way to use up leftover turkey. This cozy, comforting dish is perfect to take to a holiday weekend gathering, or serve for Sunday dinner.
We always have a lot of leftover turkey after Thanksgiving. With just six adults (and this year, a very hungry one year old!), even the smallest Thanksgiving recipes for turkey leaves us with a lot of extra meat.
Sure, I could serve just a turkey breast instead, but I love a classic roasted turkey with maple bourbon glaze or a Cajun turkey, and a big pot of my easy gravy recipe. Plus, I really like the dark meat! And truth be told, I don’t really mind leftovers.
After I’ve had my fill of turkey sandwiches, I generally like to repurpose the last bit of turkey into a different type of meal. These Turkey Alfredo Stuffed Shells would be great to serve if you have another family or friend gathering to go to over the holiday weekend. They’d also be a delicious Sunday dinner.
These Turkey Alfredo Stuffed Shells use leftover Thanksgiving turkey.
I liked to use a combination of chopped light and dark meat, but use whatever you have on hand. These stuffed shells can also be made with leftover roasted chicken (or meat from a rotisserie chicken), as well as cooked ground turkey.
The ingredients for stuffed shells:
- large pasta shells
- turkey
- egg
- onion
- celery (use the other celery in the bag to make rigatoni bolognese before it gets mushy!)
- cranberry cheddar cheese
- butter
- flour
- milk
- cream
- garlic
- lemon zest
- salt and pepper
- parsley
Tips for making these Turkey Alfredo Stuffed Shells successful:
- You’ll need about 20 jumbo pasta shells for this recipe, which is about one half of a 12 ounce box.
- Even if you’re familiar with making alfredo sauce, you may not have tried lemon zest in it before. Even if you’re a bit leery, I encourage you to give it a try! The acidic flavor of the lemon zest adds a brightness and depth of flavor to the creamy sauce.
- Stuffed shells aren’t stuffed shells without cheese, and I used Great Midwest Cranberry Cheddar Cheese for these shells. It’s a creamy, sharp white Cheddar cheese with tart dried cranberries mixed in. I LOVE this cheese for everyday cheese-and-cracker-snacking, and I loved it in these stuffed shells, too. Cranberry and turkey are such a perfect seasonal pairing!
- Don’t worry if the alfredo sauce seems a little thinner (before the shells go into the oven) than alfredo sauce you might be used to. It’ll thicken up more as it bakes!
What to serve with alfredo stuffed shells?
Nothing pairs with a rich, creamy pasta like a salad with a bright, acidic dressing. Some of my favorites are green salad with miso dressing, my Really Good Thanksgiving Salad, and a winter citrus salad citrus vinaigrette.
Have a great Thanksgiving, and be sure to connect with Great Midwest Cheese on Facebook and Pinterest.
Turkey Alfredo Stuffed Shells
These Turkey Alfredo Stuffed Shells are a great way to use up leftover turkey. This cozy, comforting dish is perfect to take to a holiday weekend gathering, or serve for Sunday dinner.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
- 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
- 3 cups chopped cooked turkey
- 1-1/2 cups shredded cranberry Cheddar cheese
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream, divided
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
- 20 jumbo pasta shells (1/2 of a 12 ounce box)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2-1/3 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In large bowl, whisk eggs until smooth. Add celery, onion, turkey, cheese, 2 tablespoons cream and 1/4 cup parsley; stir until well combined.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain.
- Meanwhile, heat butter over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add flour; cook 2 minutes or until light golden brown, stirring constantly.
- Whisk in milk and remaining 1 cup cream. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until sauce thickens, whisking constantly.
- Place thin layer of sauce in bottom of cast iron skillet or baking dish. Fill pasta shells with turkey mixture and place in skillet. Spoon remaining sauce evenly over shells.
- Transfer to oven and bake 25 minutes or until edges are bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes; serve garnished with parsley.
Recommended Products
Foxes Love Lemons, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and links to Amazon.com. There is no additional cost to you.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 762Total Fat: 44gSaturated Fat: 23gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 302mgSodium: 832mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 2gSugar: 16gProtein: 53g
More great thanksgiving leftover ideas:
- Leftover Turkey Chili – uses leftover turkey and stuffing.
- Thanksgiving Leftover Waffles – uses leftover herbs, cranberry sauce, turkey and gravy.
- Turkey & Gnocchi Arrabiata Soup – uses leftover turkey.
- Loaded Mashed Potato Bake – uses leftover mashed potatoes.
- Thanksgiving Leftover Dumplings – uses leftover stuffing, turkey and cranberry sauce.
- Cranberry Sauce Muffins – uses leftover cranberry sauce.
- Pumpkin-Brie Quesadillas – uses leftover pumpkin puree.
- Turkey Pasta Carbonara from Dinner at the Zoo
- Turkey Pot Pie from Sugar Spun Run
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Saputo Cheese USA Inc. Sponsored posts help me pay for the costs associated with this blog (groceries…lots of groceries), and help support me as I pursue a career in recipe development and food photography. All opinions are 100% my own.
This recipe sounds absolutely wonderful. I’m thinking that the wonderful cranberry/cinnamon goat cheese I buy at Costco at this time of year would also work well. If only I didn’t have to eat low carb…but I am saving the recipe. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
Hi Susan! Yes, I think that goat cheese would be perfect here. And what a coincidence, but I’m making a recipe this week using cranberry-cinnamon goat cheese! It’s freelance work, so it will only appear on my client’s website and not my blog, but I can send you the link to it once it goes up, since I know you like that cheese 🙂
Thanks, Lori! I would love that link.