37 Great Recipes For Leftover Turkey

Be it Thanksgiving or Christmas, it always seems as though we have too much turkey left over after the holidays.

Besides the boring old turkey sandwiches, it can be difficult to come up with some new and innovative ways to use this meat.

If you’re looking to spice up your week with some delicious leftover turkey recipes, look no further!

We’ve got you covered. Keep reading below as we take a look at some interesting ways you can incorporate turkey into some delicious recipes.

1. Creamy Turkey Pasta Casserole

Who doesn’t love a heartwarming casserole dish, especially in the winter seasons when it’s cold outside.

To help keep you warm in the evenings, why not whip up this delicious turkey casserole recipe. It’s super creamy and has lots of spinach and mushrooms to help you get your vitamins.

2. Oven Baked Turkey Sandwiches

Okay, I know that we said that turkey sandwiches were boring, but we can guarantee you that these ones certainly aren’t!

These sandwiches feature plenty of deliciously sweet and tangy cranberry sauce and cream cheese. They are then baked in the oven until they’re golden brown. A great way to spice up your regular leftover sandwiches.

3. Turkey Bacon Ranch Pizza

Many of you out there might feel surprised by this recipe suggestion, after all, bacon and pizza aren’t two things that we’d normally put together. But we promise you that it works.

Simple, delicious, and a great crowd pleaser. This recipe rocks!

4. Chinese Turkey Salad Wraps

We often see chicken featured in asian dishes, but not turkey. This is its chance to shine as it is blended in with a delicious sesame seed oil that packs a punch.

It also contains loads of tasty toasted almonds and noodles, before being packed in a soft wrap.

5. Cobb Salad

Perhaps you have found yourself over-indulging during the holidays and still feel stuffed from yesterday’s meal.

If this is the case, then maybe a deliciously fresh salad is just what you need. This salad is really tasty, with plenty of avocado, egg, onions, tomatoes, and bacon pieces.

6. Turkey Taco Soup

Who doesn’t love a delicious Mexican taco, for many of us, it’s a weeknight staple. But, why not sample something a little different and try this dish in soup form.

Incredibly spicy and tangy, with lots of tomatoes, corn, black beans and avocado. This one is a real winner!

7. Air Fryer Turkey Croquettes

Why not make some snacks out of your leftover turkey bits? These can even fit neatly into your children’s lunch boxes as a schooltime meal.

All you need to make them is your turkey, potatoes, cheese and eggs. Serve with sour cream and a side salad if you’re making it for dinner.

8. Stuffing And Turkey Casserole

Maybe you have some other bits and pieces left over from your celebrations. This dish takes all of those into account.

With this casserole, you can simply incorporate whatever you like, including stuffing and cranberries. It’s so wholesome!

9. Turkey And Wild Rice Soup

If you’re not familiar with rice soup, please let us introduce you to this gorgeous lunchtime meal.

If you’ve ventured outside and are feeling chilly, this hearty dish will warm you up in no time!

It has lots of potatoes and carrots in it, as well as some chicken broth and plenty of herbs. Melt some cheese on top if you want even more substance.

10. Cranberry Pecan Turkey Salad

Another delicious salad for when you feel like eating something fresh after the onslaught of carb heavy meals.

This one has a striking combination of poppyseeds, green onions, pecans, cranberry, and turkey. It makes both a great lunch and dinner. If you want, you can even put it in a sandwich.

11. Pesto Turkey Salad Croissants

This one may seem rather peculiar at first, but the tasty combination of pesto along with some green salad pieces and turkey make it a deliciously fresh dish.

You can even eat this one as a breakfast snack. Go ahead and use your croissants in an interesting new way.

12. Coconut Curry Turkey

There are so many delicious curry recipes out there that you can utilize your leftover turkey for, but trust us, this is one of the best. It’s super spicy and is incredibly rich with bold flavors.

It has a gorgeously nutty taste too, being packed with lots of cashews.

13. Turkey Thyme Risotto

Risotto makes such a delicious mid week meal, and this turkey risotto is no exception. It has lots and lots of fresh mushrooms and romano cheese, and is a really fun and easy way to use up your leftover turkey.

14. Turkey A La King

This is a fantastic lunchtime use for your leftover turkey. You simply heat up the meat, along with flour, cream, sugar, mushrooms, chicken broth, celery and peppers in a pan, then pour it over some freshly browned toast. Divine.

15. Turkey Bacon Ranch Pinwheels

If you didn’t get the memo, turkey not only works well in regular sandwich bread, but wraps too. These pinwheel wraps are incredibly aesthetically pleasing, and tasty too!

If you cut them super small, they make great appetizers too for when you have guests coming over.

16. Turkey Cranberry And Goat Cheese Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

In our humble opinion, there is nothing which elevates a dish more than some deliciously tangy goats cheese.

This recipe combines the flavor beautifully with sweet potato and cranberries. This makes a great side dish or starter.

17. Turkey Lattice Pie

This one looks absolutely gorgeous. Your family will be so impressed if you attempt this creation.

A delectable pie that is filled with turkey, cheese and broccoli pieces, and then covered with fresh pastry applied in a lattice shape.

18. Curry Turkey Stir Fry

You’ve heard of turkey curry, you’ve heard of turkey stir fry, but have you heard of curry turkey stir fry?

Well, now you have. This recipe combines two popular leftover recipes to make one delicious meal. You can even add in some other meats into the mix like shrimp and chicken if you like.

19. Turkey Gnocchi Soup

Another soup on our list that pasta lovers are sure to be pleased to see.

This soup combines several different vegetables with your turkey, along with some delicious gnocchi pasta pieces, making it a super filling lunch for when you’re feeling particularly peckish.

20. Dilly Turkey Melt

If you are a lover of all things toasted, then this is the perfect sandwich for you my friend.

It has quite an unusual mix of ingredients, involving pickles, and a sweet barbeque sauce. Eat it on a plate with a few potato chips on the side.

21. Leftover Turkey Cranberry Rice

Are you seeing a pattern here? Turkey and cranberries just go so well together that they’re constantly paired together, and we’re not complaining one bit!

This recipe has lots of different sweet and savory tastes that make it a really tasty and also healthy dinner meal.

22. Turkey Suizas Nachos

Maybe you have a really hungry family, or just lots of family in general and most of your turkey got eaten.

If this is the case and you find yourself with only a portion of pieces left, why not just add them to a classic nacho recipe. You can eat these in front of the TV as a snack with your favorite holiday movie.

23. Turkey Biscuit Skillet

Make this delicious creamy skillet recipe for your family and watch them all enjoy this delicious dish.

A pro tip is to use smaller sized biscuits on top to make it look super pleasing to the eye, and also to brown more nicely.

24. Broccoli Parmesan Turkey Soup

We all love broccoli and cheese soup. It’s a fantastic way to get all of your nutrients whilst still enjoying a delicious lunchtime meal.

This one is really easy because many of you out there will all be familiar with this recipe, just add in your turkey for some extra deliciousness.

25. Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps

These little lettuce wraps pack a punch and are really great if you’re in the mood for something fresh.

For all of you avid keto dieters out there, these are a great way to use your holiday goodies without splurging out on all the unnecessary carbs.

26. The Best Turkey Pasta Bake

There’s a lot of pasta bake recipes out there, but trust us, this is one of the best! With lots of delicious creaminess and mushroom pieces, it is a really indulgent casserole style dish.

Easy to make and a great way to use your leftovers, what could be better?

27. Lemony Turkey Rice Soup

This is probably the freshest tasting of all of the soups included here on the list. It is made with lots of cilantro and lemon juice, giving it a tasty and zany flavor that you won’t forget! Serve with some hot, crusted bread.

28. Turkey Bundles

These pastry based turkey bundles are absolutely adorable, not to mention, delicious. They have an incredibly creamy filling to balance out the pastry, which is shaped beautifully to form a crescent.

These will make great lunch time snacks for you and the kids.

29. Super Easy Turkey Panzanella

Panzanella is one of the best salads out there, after all, it’s served with bread pieces.

If you’re tired of eating hot dishes after the holidays but want something filling for when you’re feeling hungry. This traditional carb based salad is the way to go.

30. Crunchy Almond Turkey Casserole

Another casserole! This one might be one of the more unusual ones that you’ll find here, as it’s actually topped with some deliciously sweet almonds.

It also is packed with plenty of water chestnuts, so if you’re simply nutty about nuts, then this is the one for you.

31. Turkey Panini With Strawberry Pesto

Now that we’re on the subject of more unusual turkey based recipes, let’s move on to this sandwich that incorporates strawberries, of all things.

The tasty fruit is combined with parmesan, basil, lemon juice, and garlic, giving it a distinctive sweet yet savory taste.

32. Leftover Turkey Sloppy Joes

These will be a childhood favorite of many of you out there, and this recipe helps you to recreate one of your favorites.

All you have to do is place your cooked turkey in a food processor rather than using turkey mince. It works just as well.

33. Cran Apple Turkey Skillet

All you need is your leftover turkey and a few other small bits and pieces to make this recipe a reality.

Simply combine all the ingredients in a skillet, including apples, vinegar, broth, and nutmeg, and you have a gorgeous turkey based meal ready in time for dinner.

34. Leftover Turkey Mashed Potato Waffle Melts

This recipe helps you to take both of your leftover turkey and mashed potatoes, and turn them into something delicious for breakfast the following day.

Although turkey for breakfast might seem peculiar at first, you’ll be convinced after you try these tiny morsels of deliciousness.

35. Banana Turkey

We told you that we were going to mention a few curry based turkey dishes on the list, but I bet that you’ve never heard of this one before.

It incorporates the use of a mashed banana in order to create a scrumptiously sweet curry base that works delightfully with turkey.

36. Turkey Cheese Dip

If you have a smaller portion of turkey that needs to be used, why not incorporate it into an appetizer recipe.

All of us love to consume a bit (or a lot) more cheese on the holidays, and this recipe tells you how to make the perfect bread bowl cheese dip that has your turkey inside.

Serve this with some cranberry sauce to give it some sweetness.

37. Four Cheese Creamy Pasta Bake

Let’s end on a high note and tell you about this gorgeously creamy and cheesy turkey pasta bake recipe.

It contains heaps of penne pasta inside which is filled with lots of different types of cheeses. If you like, add in some other bits of meat too like shrimp. Serve with a super fresh salad and enjoy.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Long Is Leftover Turkey Good For?

Those of you reading this might have had your turkey sitting around for a couple of days because you’re not exactly sure what you should make with it.

Fear not though, because cooked turkey lasts longer than you might think, four days in fact. If you make sure to refrigerate your leftover turkey immediately after cooking, then it will keep quite nicely.

If you decide to freeze it, it can last for up to six months. This will give you the opportunity to try out a few of the recipes above, too!

Can You Reheat Leftover Turkey?

It is recommended that if you are planning to reheat your turkey, that you do it at 330 degrees fahrenheit.

This is a temperature which is low enough so that you won’t remove too much moisture from the meat itself and be left with horrible, dry, inedible morsels.

Can I Reheat Turkey After Three Days?

The simple answer to this question is – Yes. You can reheat your leftover turkey at any point following on from the first day of cooking to the fourth day where it is still safe to consume.

Make sure that if you are reheating it that you only do so once, however.

Can You Eat Leftover Turkey Cold?

Of course. Leftover turkey tastes just as delicious cold as it does hot. Try some of our tasty sandwich recipes (see also ‘33 Delicious Sandwich Recipes To Devour‘) above to enjoy some cold turkey pieces.

How Can You Tell If A Cooked Turkey Has Gone Bad?

You will be able to tell if your cooked turkey has gone bad by both the smell and the appearance of the meat.

Turkey that has passed its sell by date will have a pretty unpleasant smell, as something incredibly sour.

As well as this, you’ll be pretty repulsed by its appearance, as a turkey that has gone bad will begin to look and feel slimy.

I know we don’t need to tell you, but if there’s any chance that you think your turkey has gone bad, throw it away immediately.

Why Does My Turkey Smell Like Rotten Eggs?

Again, if there is any strange appearance or texture to your turkey meat, it has probably gone bad.

Sometimes the smell of a turkey that has gone bad can be described as sulfur-like, or rotten eggs. This means that bacteria has begun to grow on it.

Is Turkey A Healthy Meat?

Yes – turkey is actually a super healthy and delicious meat option. That’s why you’ll be thanking your waistline after trying some of the recipes listed above that have turkey as a replacement for red meats like beef.

Turkey is absolutely packed with nutrients, such as zinc, selenium, phosphorus, B vitamins, and plenty of protein.

Some of the health benefits boasted by consuming turkey include muscle growth and maintenance. It is also far better for your heart than other kinds of meat.

Is Turkey Meat Better Than Chicken?

In many respects, yes. Turkey meat has less calories and fats than chicken does.

Final Thoughts

With such a different variety of recipe options out there for using up leftover turkey, you will be absolutely spoilt for choice after reading our list.

Whether you want to make something for dinner, lunch, or even breakfast! You’re sure to find something that suits your needs.