Sure, Thanksgiving is one amazing meal with turkey, stuffing, cranberry dressing, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, fresh-made rolls and more. But the leftovers from the holiday are just as good. Use all of your extras to make these yummy, creative recipes for leftover turkey. Pull together almost all of your Thanksgiving goodies to make turkey casserole or open-faced hot turkey Sammys. Or, if you need to use up extra turkey pieces, try out the ranch turkey pasta, wild rice and turkey casserole, turkey tostadas, or turkey sandwiches with cream cheese and bacon. With these leftover turkey recipes you’ll wish you’d made an extra turkey or two!
Turkey Casserole
Use up all of your holiday leftovers with this turkey casserole recipe from Hellman’s. Layer two cups of stuffing into the bottom of a casserole dish then sprinkle with four cups of cut up turkey pieces. Next layer? A mix of cranberry sauce and mayonnaise. Lighten up mashed potatoes with some mayonnaise to top the cranberry mixture. Use more stuffing as the final layer and bake for 40 minutes. Think of this recipe as a kind of Thanksgiving lasagna!
Ranch Turkey Pasta
For a quick and easy meal, pair cooked pasta with melted butter, peas, carrots and ranch dressing mix. Stir in cubed turkey pieces and serve to hungry kids. This ranch turkey pasta from Taste of Home takes 20 minutes or less to prepare.
Wild Rice and Turkey Casserole
Combine a package of wild grain rice with turkey pieces, milk, diced onion, and one can of condensed cream of mushroom soup. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish and bake for 45 minutes, covered, until rice is tender. You may even want to serve this wild rice and turkey casserole from Betty Crocker with leftover cranberry sauce.
Crispy Turkey Tostadas
No need to fry corn tortillas to make these crispy turkey tostadas from Eating Well. Coat the corn tortillas with baking spray and then cook until just browned. Top with shredded turkey and homemade salsa. Add thin sliced lettuce, shredded cheese and fresh cilantro, too.
Open-Faced Hot Turkey Sammys
Here’s another way to use up most of your leftovers – an open-faced hot turkey Sammy from The Food Network. Toast a large piece of multi-grain bread. Scoop on a hefty helping of stuffing and top with turkey slices. Drizzle with gravy and serve with mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce to the side.
Turkey Sandwich with Cream Cheese and Bacon
Instead of a BLT, try this turkey sandwich with cream cheese and bacon from Real Simple. Toast two pieces of bread and then slather with softened cream cheese. Place two pieces of crisped bacon on the cream cheese and then add in turkey slices. Cut in half for a tasty lunch or a quick dinner.
