How to Use Leftover Turkey | Good Life Eats®

You made it through Thanksgiving, but now you have a ton of leftover Turkey to deal with. Wondering what to do with leftover turkey? This post has you covered!

Using Leftover Turkey

Maybe you’ll need instructions for making homemade turkey stock. Or how to freeze leftover turkey. Or maybe you’ll be wondering what to make with leftover turkey. Read on for all of that info!

Store Leftover Roast Turkey for Later

When scouting the deal for Thanksgiving groceries, consider purchasing a turkey larger than you actually need when the deal is right.

You can get many meals out of leftover turkey meat to stretch out and already good bargain.

How to Refrigerate Leftover Meat

Leftover turkey should be refrigerated within 2 hours of serving and stored in an airtight container. When stored properly it will last for 3-4 days refrigerated.

How to Freeze Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey

If you are unable to consume the leftovers within 3-4 days – or maybe you just need a break from eating turkey – you will need to freeze it for a later use so it does not go to waste.

Tips for Freezing Leftover Turkey:

Tips for Freezing Leftover Turkey

Package it within a timely matter – From the time you remove it from the oven, you have around two hours to serve and refrigerate or freeze the leftover turkey before multiplying bacteria becomes a concern.
I like quart sized freezer quality Ziploc bags for packaging my leftover turkey. Remove all of the air from your bags – that’s what causes freezer burn and no one wants that. Check out Jessica’s quick tip for sealing food without air in freezer bags.
Label and date the packages. Include the amount of meat contained in the bag for easy recipe reference.
Use frozen turkey within 2 – 4 months for best quality.

For more details, head over to this post about How to Freeze Leftover Turkey for everything you need to know!

photo of leftover turkey being used to make turkey stock

Make Homemade Turkey Stock

Don’t throw out that turkey carcass!

Making homemade turkey stock is relatively simple after your Thanksgiving Feast, even if it does feel like one more thing to worry about.

But I’m telling you, homemade broth is so worth the work (really it is not that much work at all! It mostly sits on the stove and simmers all day).

Homemade turkey broth tastes absolutely delicious and rich. You have complete control of what’s in it — that means no MSG and lots of flavor — when you make it yourself.

I definitely recommend making your own stock and post-Thanksgiving is the perfect time to do so. Make a big batch and you’ll be able to use turkey stock in place of chicken broth in recipes for quite a while!

Hint: Brined turkeys make especially amazing stock because you get all of that extra flavor from the brine infused into the stock.

Head over to my tutorial on How to Make Easy Homemade Turkey Stock where I detail the best way to make turkey stock as well as tips for storing your delicious homemade stock after you’ve made it.

The stock storage tips especially come in handy if you’ve purchased a really large turkey and will be making more stock than what you’d use for a single batch of soup.

Try these Great Leftover Turkey Recipes

I love Thanksgiving. I love delicious, brined and roasted turkey. But a day or two past Thanksgiving dinner and I’m totally over eating sides of turkey and gravy for dinner.

If that sounds at all familiar, you might want to try some of these tasty leftover turkey recipes to change things up a bit. After all, there is absolutely no reason to get rid of perfectly good meat. You might as well use it!

You don’t necessarily need a “turkey” recipe though. Turkey is an easy substitute for chicken in many recipes.

Here are a few of my favorite picks for using up leftover turkey after Thanksgiving.

Leftover Turkey Sandwich Ideas

Turkey sandwiches using leftover turkey are some of the best leftover turkey recipe ideas! They’re so easy to make. Here are some tasty ideas:

When you’re tired of “Thanksgiving” food, try Turkey Subs with Artichoke and Sun Dried Tomato.
Roasted Chicken, Apricot, and Brie Panini sounds fancy, don’t you think?
Turkey Sandwiches with Jarlsberg and Sun Dried Tomato Pesto is awesome.
Try Thanksgiving in sandwich form with these Leftover Turkey Sandwiches on Sweet Potato Rolls.

Leftover Turkey Casserole Ideas

Turkey casseroles are one of my favorite ways to use leftovers from our holiday meal. Total comfort food!

My mom always made Chicken Tetrazzini with turkey after Thanksgiving.
Try my revamped tetrazzini – Green Chile Turkey Tetrazzini. One of my personal favorite casserole dish recipes!
Try substituting turkey in your favorite Chicken Enchiladas.
Chicken, Artichoke, and Mushroom Lasagna Rolls are just as delicious with turkey!
You definitely can’t go wrong with a delicious Turkey Pot Pie with Buttermilk Biscuit Crust

Leftover Turkey Soup Ideas

Turkey soups are one of my favorite leftover turkey recipes. Here are a few different soups to use those holiday leftovers:

Turkey Noodle Vegetable Soup is an easy classic and a great way to use that Homemade Turkey Stock. Never made a turkey carcass soup? Definitely give this a try!
Many years we have made this Sweet and Spicy Turkey Curry Soup with our leftover turkey. It was a big hit!
For a lazy day recipe, this Slow Cooker Italian Chicken and Noodles is perfect using leftover turkey.
If you feel like Mexican, this White Bean Chicken Chili Verde is delicious with turkey and super healthy. Make it with turkey instead of chicken for a delicious leftover turkey chili!

photo of leftover turkey salad on a plate

Leftover Turkey Salad Ideas

Still need more easy leftover turkey recipes? Salads are another great way to use leftover turkey when you don’t know what else to make. Check out these recipes:

This Curried Chicken Salad with Watercress is great with turkey for a post-Thanksgiving lunch.
Try leftover roast turkey in this Winter Spinach Chicken Salad Quinoa Bowl. It is such a heart meal featuring spinach, protein, roasted sweet potatoes, dried cherries, and more.
Substitute leftover roast turkey for the chicken in this fresh tasting recipe for Tarragon Chicken Salad.
Sante Fe Chicken Salad Wraps are easily made with leftover turkey and taste nothing like Thanksgiving dinner if you’re ready for some different flavors.
Chicken and Roasted Beet Quinoa Bowls are delicious using leftover turkey (especially smoked turkey!).

Get More Thanksgiving Leftover Tips!

I’m sharing all my best tips for reducing Thanksgiving waste, information on how long it is safe to eat Thanksgiving leftovers, how to properly store and freeze leftover Turkey and Ham, and how to donate Thanksgiving leftovers in this Ultimate Guide to Thanksgiving Leftovers.

photo of leftover turkey from thanksgiving

Try these Delicious Ways to Use Turkey Leftovers!

Next time you’re looking for creative ways to put those yummy leftovers from Thanksgiving, give leftover ideas a try!

Did you think these creative leftover turkey recipes had great flavor? Leave a comment below and give it a review for others to see what you thought of this ideas for using leftover roast turkey.

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What do you like to do with your Thanksgiving leftovers?