8 amazing leftover turkey recipes

Turkey Day is almost here my friends!  I hope you are planning a fantastic line up of Thanksgiving foods that will be taking their spots on your dinner table.

I’m all about enjoying balance on Thanksgiving.  To start the day, I’ll do an at-home boot camp workout (similar to the ones I’m writing up for my 6 week online boot camp starting January 4th – email me if you want details!) in the morning, and then at dinner I’ll focus on the turkey, homemade mushroom gravy, roasted sweet potatoes, and broccoli (I never was a big fan of stuffing).  At dessert time though, I’ve got a big ‘ole piece of apple pie with my name on it.

One of the things I think about every year is what to do with all of that leftover turkey!  I’m only cooking for myself, my husband, and our 8 month old baby – so I can guarantee there will be tons of leftovers.  I know that I can freeze some of it, but I personally tend to forget about it in the freezer.

This year, I decided to scour the internet to find some awesome ways to use that leftover turkey in different recipes for the days following Thanksgiving.  Hopefully this will get you thinking outside the sandwich box!

8 awesome leftover turkey recipes

1.  Slow Cooker Turkey Potato Chowder from Baked by Rachel

A warm bowl of chowder sounds so delicious on a cold night.  This recipe uses a mixture of broth and heavy cream to achieve that yummy creamy chowder base.  If you wanted to try lightening it up at all, you could experiment with using milk, pureed cauliflower, or pureed white beans to achieve the thickness with fewer calories.

2.  Turkey Butternut Squash Casserole by Wine and Glue

I love this recipe because it sounds so easy (and it’s cheesy).  I haven’t made this yet but when I do, I’ll probably use whole wheat pasta to boost the fiber and mineral content. You could also do this recipe with spaghetti squash if you wanted a lower carb option.

3.  Turkey Club Quiche from Cupcakes and Kale Chips

All the flavors of a turkey club sandwich in a quiche?  Yes please!  This is a great way to use up some of that turkey at breakfast.

4.  Turkey Yellow Curry from Stupid Easy Paleo

When I posted my curry coconut butternut squash soup the other day, I mentioned that I love curry but don’t cook with it that often.  This recipe gives me another option for curry-tastic deliciousness!  I’m not paleo, so I’ll serve this over some brown rice.

5.  Turkey Gumbo from Steamy Kitchen

This is on my list to make the day after Thanksgiving this year.  I love that it’s a lightened up version of gumbo that uses leftover turkey.  {Side note – I love okra in gumbo but have had on and off experiences with it turning my dishes slimy.  Does anyone know of a secret to address this?}

6.  Southwest Turkey Soup from The Happy Health Freak

This soup recipe is a little creamy, a little spicy, a little smoky – and a lotta yummy.  It’s also gluten free and dairy free, so it’s great if you have those dietary limitations.

7.  Turkey Pumpkin Cranberry Chipotle Enchiladas from Suzlyfe

As soon as I can eat cheese again, these are going to be made asap.  All the flavors of thanksgiving – turkey, pumpkin, and cranberry – are present in this recipe which gets jazzed up with different kinds of salsa and some cranberry chipotle cheddar.

8.  Turkey Sweet Potato Soup from MCM Mama Runs

Only 8 total ingredients AND it’s made in the slow cooker.  After all that cooking on Thanksgiving, this kind of recipe sounds perfect to me!

Share with me:  What’s your favorite way to eat leftover turkey?  Do you have any favorite leftover turkey recipes?

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Chrissy Carroll

Chrissy Carroll is a Registered Dietitian and USAT Level I Triathlon Coach. She specializes in sharing nutrition and fitness tips, as well as recipes, for runners, triathletes, and active women.Chrissy holds a Bachelor's Degree in Nutrition, a Masters Degree in Public Health, and is also an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer.

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