Leftover Turkey Pasta Bake with Ham & Mushrooms

Make the most of Christmas leftovers with this easy to make, economical, filling and delicious easy turkey and ham pasta bake. It’s a great dish for preparing ahead of time for a hearty meal in minutes after a Christmas walk.

Leftover Turkey Pasta Bake

Properly cooked turkey is delicious; especially as the message about not roasting it for hours and hours is getting out. A shorter roasting time – that still leaves the bird properly cooked – gives a juicy and tasty result. I am greatly in favour of spending a little more on a slowly-reared turkey, and then making sure that we use every possible morsel.

Here’s a great way of making 500g of turkey and 100g of ham feed four hungry people. It’s economical, too, which I find really very helpful after Christmas excess.

How to make Turkey and Ham Pasta Bake

Step 1 – assemble the ingredients.

Step 2 – make a white sauce. First, melt the butter, add the flour and cook for a few minutes.

Step 3 – Mix the milk and stock together, and slowly add to the saucepan, stirring the whole time.

Step 4 – the white sauce is ready when it evenly coats the back of a wooden spoon.

Step 5 – cook the pasta shapes according to the packet instructions. Reserve a little of the pasta water.

Step 6 – fry the onion in oil until translucent, and then add the mushrooms and cook until soft.

Step 7 – Transfer the mushroom and onions to a plate; in the fryin pan, cook the ham and turkey until slightly browned – about 10 minutes.

Step 8 – add pasta, onions and mushrooms and ham and turkey to the saucepan holding the white sauce, and mix together. If the mixture is too stiff, add a little of the pasta water that you kept back.

Step 9 – transfer to an oven-proof dish, top with breadcrumbs and then cheese,

Step 10 – bake at 180C / 350F / Gas Mark 4 for about 12 minutes until piping hot and the cheese is melted. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Our Top Tips for Turkey and Ham Pasta Bake

If you need to loosen the sauce a little to give a really creamy result, add a little of the pasta water. The starch in the water makes a really smooth sauce.

You can make this ahead of time, then keep in the fridge for a day or two before baking in the oven. Make sure that the dish is piping hot all the way through before serving – it will take a few more minutes in the oven. A probe thermometer is very useful here for checking temperature.

For variety, leave out the mushrooms and add peas and corn instead – perfect for children! Or for a more grown up version, use chorizo rather than ham, and blue cheese instead of cheddar.

If you try this Leftover Turkey Pasta Bake with Ham & Mushrooms please tag #FussFreeFlavours on Instagram or Twitter. It is amazing for me when for me when you make one of my recipes and I really do love to see them. You can also share it on my Facebook page. Please pin this recipe to Pinterest too! Thanks for reading Fuss Free Flavours!

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Recipe: Turkey Pasta Bake with Ham & Mushrooms

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

40 mins

 

This easy recipe for a family friendly ham, mushroom & turkey pasta bake is perfect for using up Christmas or Thanksgiving leftover turkey

Course: Main meal, Pasta

Cuisine: British

Keyword: Turkey pasta bake

Servings: 4

Calories: 621 kcal

Author: Helen Best-Shaw

Ingredients

• 25 g butter
• 25 g flour
• 100 ml chicken stock
• 300 ml milk
• 15 ml olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion (chopped)
• 100 g mushrooms (sliced)
• 500 g turkey (cut into small cubes)
• 100 g cooked ham or bacon (cut into small cubes)
• 200 g pasta shapes
• 1 slice bread (crumbled into breadcrumbs)
• 50 g cheddar (grated)
• Salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions

White sauce

1. In a medium saucepan melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook over a gentle heat for a few minutes.
   

2. Slowly add stock and milk a little at a time, stirring as you do so to stop lumps forming. Allow to gently simmer and thicken for 10 minutes taking care to scrape the bottom of the pan.

Pasta

1. Boil the pasta in a large pan until cooked. Drain, reserving some of the water, and return to the pan.

Other ingredients

1. Place the oil in a non stick frying pan and fry the onion on a medium heat for a few minutes until translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft. Transfer the onions and mushrooms to a plate.

2. Add the turkey and ham to the pan and fry for 10 minutes until cooked.

Assembly

1. Add the sauce, onions, mushrooms, turkey and ham to the pasta and mix well.   Add in some of the pasta water if needed to loosen.
   

2. Transfer to an oven proof gratin or lasagna dish, sprinkle with the breadcrumbs, and top with the chees.

Bake

1. Bake at GM4 / 180C / 350F for about 12 minutes until piping hot and the cheese has melted.

2. Serve immediately with your choice of vegetables.

Recipe Notes

• Omit the mushrooms and add peas and corn to the bake.
• For a more grown up version add chorizo in place of the ham and top with blue cheese.

Nutritional information

This recipe is 18 Weight Watchers Smart Points per portion

Nutrition Facts

Recipe: Turkey Pasta Bake with Ham & Mushrooms

Amount Per Serving

Calories 621 Calories from Fat 207

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 23g 35%

Saturated Fat 10g 50%

Cholesterol 134mg 45%

Sodium 675mg 28%

Potassium 726mg 21%

Total Carbohydrates 52g 17%

Dietary Fiber 2g 8%

Sugars 7g

Protein 48g 96%

Vitamin A 8.8%

Vitamin C 1.9%

Calcium 21.2%

Iron 15.2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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For more recipes using turkey leftovers you may like my

• Leftover Roast Turkey Biryani
• Filo Turkey & Ham Pies
• Leftover Turkey Muffins

This recipe was originally commissioned in 2012 by commissioned by Lean on Turkey. Republished with new photos in 2018.