20 Ideas for Leftover Turkey

Turn leftover turkey (or chicken) into soup by adding pantry staples, such as salsa, chicken broth and tortilla chips.

Start to finish: 20 minutes

Turkey Tortilla Soup

Customize this recipe to suit your tastes and whatever meat and veggies you’ve got in your fridge.  

Catchall Casserole

Tuck mango salsa, Gouda cheese, and chopped turkey or chicken into flour tortillas for this fresh twist on quesadillas.

Turkey-Mango Quesadillas

Short on time for a post-holiday meal? Try our quick and easy soup inspired by the flavors of Minnesota, which leads the nation in turkey production. Smoked turkey mixes with the state grain, wild rice. Meaty shiitake mushrooms add more substance to the bowl.

Another soup option: Aunt Maude's Southwestern Turkey Chili. The blend of chile peppers and spices give it a smoky flavor and a nice kick of hotness to stave off the cold. It's a regular on the winter menu at Aunt Maude's restaurant in Ames, Iowa.

Wild Rice & Turkey Soup

Aunt Maude's Southwestern Turkey Chili

Turkey dominates the menu at the Strongbow Inn in Valparaiso, Indiana. Use your turkey leftovers in their meaty turkey pie recipe. Lighter eaters might prefer to split a pie.

Strongbow Turkey Pie

You’ll only need six ingredients — and 20 minutes — to whip up this pasta dish. Use chopped leftover cooked turkey, chicken, pork, beef, or vegetables, and whatever kind of pasta you have on hand.

Pesto Pasta Toss

Grilled sweet peppers and onion add crunch to the sweet-smoky Applejack Turkey Sandwich from Gobbler's Restaurant in Gaylord, Michigan.

Another Midwest restaurant favorite: Twisted Seester. A customer inspired this turkey sandwich at The Artichoke Sandwich Bar in Wichita, Kansas. It's a twist on a pastrami sandwich they serve and was named for one of two sisters who was employed there.

Applejack Turkey Sandwich

Twisted Seester

Spinach and wild rice give a nutritional boost to traditional turkey and rice soup that simmers in your slow cooker. Use low-sodium condensed chicken soup and broth to make it even healthier.

Spinach, Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

Roast turkey, cucumber, jicama (Mexican potatoes), onion, and cranberry jelly top fresh baby spinach. Toss it with tangy cranberry vinaigrette for extra festive flavor.

Cranberry-Turkey Spinach Salad

This hotdish combines a handful of pantry ingredients. It’s a great way to use up leftover chicken or turkey. Or, if you prefer, just shred a supermarket-deli rotisserie chicken.

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

This crowd-pleasing main dish makes the most of both leftover turkey and cranberry sauce -- plus it has favorite enchilada fixings such as black beans, salsa, Monterey Jack cheese, and onion.

Turkey Cranberry Enchiladas

Create your version of this classic with leftover turkey or other meats, selecting your favorite ingredients and crust options to use in our basic recipe.

Mix-and-Match Potpie

This variation of a classic quiche recipe combines smoked turkey breast with Swiss cheese, eggs and cream. Serve with fresh fruit and homemade sweet rolls for a hearty start to the day. The recipe comes from the Engesser House Bed and Breakfast in St. Peter, Minnesota.

Smoked Turkey Quiche

We used classic Cobb salad ingredients—including bacon, chopped hard-cooked eggs and cubed cooked chicken or turkey—to make this hearty sandwich.

Cobb Salad Hoagies

Cranberry-orange relish, sliced turkey and fresh watercress or spinach leaves make a colorful appetizer-size sandwich. The recipe includes instructions for making focaccia, but purchased bread works fine, too.

Turkey-Cranberry Fingers

Pumpkin, dried cranberries, jalapeno peppers, and turkey add an unusual flavor twist to slow-simmering chili.

New World Chili

Stone House Bread Cafe in Leland, Michigan, gave us the recipe for this version of the New Orleans classic, layered with olive relish.

Michigan Muffuletta

Pork sausage and wild rice blend with onion, mushrooms and water chestnuts in an easy-to-make casserole. Add 2 cups cubed, cooked chicken or turkey to make it a main dish.

Sausage-Wild Rice Casserole

Len Skvor trades the traditional corned beef for thin-sliced turkey in this twist on a classic Reuben at his Cork 'n Fork Deli 'n Grill in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. To reduce the sodium, rinse sauerkraut with cold water before using.

Rachel Sandwiches

Pile turkey on herbed focaccia along with Roma tomatoes, romaine lettuce and shredded cheddar for a comfort food inspired by a sandwich at Mary's Kitchen Port in Traverse City, Michigan.

Gobbler Sandwich