Have some leftover turkey after the holidays? Bring it to life in a variety of new and exciting recipes, including hearty fall salads, casseroles, and yes, even a breakfast hash!
After Thanksgiving or Christmas you might have a container of perfectly carved leftover turkey in your fridge. If you do, consider yourself lucky, because it’s easy to transform turkey leftovers into exciting new meals! The secret is to dice or shred the turkey before combining it with new sauces, flavors, and textures. And even if you accidentally overcooked your roast turkey the first time around, it’s easy to rehydrate it in turkey soup with broth or turkey salad with creamy dressing! Here are a few ideas to get you started!
Turkey Soup: After a big holiday feast, all I crave is a light and healthy meal. And this turkey soup fits the bill! Plus, I kept the ingredient list short and sweet to avoid excessive cooking.
Turkey Salad: I love a high-protein salad. And it’s easy to combine chopped turkey with crisp celery, crunchy pecans, sweet-tart dried cranberries, green onions, fresh herbs, and the creamiest dressing.
Turkey Cobb Salad: This fall harvest salad puts a seasonal spin on the classic Cobb salad with leftover diced turkey, hard boiled eggs, bacon, butternut squash, and dried cranberries. It’s a salad that’s hearty and filling.
Lighter Turkey Casserole: What better way to make use of leftovers than a comforting turkey casserole? But don’t worry, this one won’t weigh you down. It’s wonderfully light and fluffy with wild rice, frozen peas and a quick mushroom gravy sauce.
Turkey Cranberry Hash: Yes, you can use those turkey leftovers for breakfast, with skillet breakfast potatoes, green onions, and dried cranberries. Just top the hash with a poached egg!
Have more leftovers from Thanksgiving side dishes? It’s really easy to create salads, bowls, and casseroles from honey glazed carrots, green beans and roasted Brussels sprouts. These pre-cooked vegetables make throw-together meals a cinch!
As far as mashed potatoes go, my potato pancakes are a no brainer. They’re crisp, savory, and a fun way to enjoy your mashed sides all over again.
Description
Ingredients
For The Salad
- 6 cups baby spinach, or other salad greens
- 4 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
- 1 cup cooked turkey breast, cubed
- 1 cup roasted butternut squash, cubed
- 2 hard boiled eggs, quartered
- ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
- 2 tablespoons dried unsweetened cranberries
- 2 tablespoons pecans, roughly chopped
Apple Cider Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ½ tablespoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
- kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Mix together the apple cider vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl.
- In a large salad bowl, layer the spinach with bacon, turkey breast, roasted butternut squash, boiled eggs, cranberries, pecans, and goat cheese. Drizzle the apple cider vinaigrette on top and enjoy.
Nutrition
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This recipe roundup was originally published November 2020, but updated to include new recipes and information for your benefit!
I made Lisa’s Easy Turkey Soup with my turkey leftovers. It was super simple and so delicious! What we didn’t eat, I put into the freezer in serving sizes to thaw later.
Thanks again for this wonderful recipe!
Glad you loved the turkey soup, Cynthia!
Made my version when I got home from work last night and oh! my! So good and refreshing. No butternut squash and used regular bagged lettuce (on hand) along with dried cranberries purchased for hash recipe (tonight’s dinner! LOL) Will be making again and again, I’m sure. Thank you! Thank you!
Ok, so I made the Turkey Cobb Salad which was delish, and now have that turkey cranberry hash earmarked for our upcoming leftover Christmas turkey meat.
Perfect timing! Can’t wait for you to try the hash come Christmas :)
These dishes are so much better than boring turkey sandwiches. I love that I can reuse all the leftovers for different meals served in different ways.
Leftovers are sometimes the best ingredients to use to make a full meal!
This looks so delicious and I can’t wait to try this! My husband is going to love this!
Hope you enjoy all of them!
This salad hits the spot after eating rich Thanksgiving food!
Wonderful! Always a great idea to turn leftovers into a fresh salad :)
This is a great recipe to keep handy if you like turkey. Not only for Thanksgiving but for any time you want to enjoy turkey throughout the year. Yum!
Glad you enjoyed this leftover turkey Elaine!