As much as we look forward to the big holiday meal, we actually get even more excited about what comes after: the leftovers! But if you’re wondering what to do with leftovers (besides just eating Thanksgiving dinner plates on repeat) we’ve got you covered. Here are some of our absolute favorite turkey leftover recipes so you can plan ahead:
This is creamy, hearty comfort food at its very finest.
For the dumplings:
First, make the dumplings: In a large bowl, whisk together the 1 ½ cups of flour, the baking powder and the black pepper. Then add in the buttermilk, egg and melted butter and mix until just combined.
Then, make the soup: Melt four of the eight tablespoons of butter in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the onion, celery and carrots and cook until softened, seasoning with salt and pepper as desired. Once softened, remove and set aside.
Lower the heat to medium and melt the other four tablespoons of butter in the dutch oven. Sprinkle in the ¼ cup of flour and whisk constantly until it turns golden brown but doesn’t burn, around 10 minutes. Whisk in the stock until the mixture is smooth. Bring to a boil.
Add the cooked turkey, the softened vegetables and the peas to the dutch oven and cook until thickened.
Drop dollops of the dumpling dough into the dutch oven. Cover and reduce heat to low for about 20 minutes to allow the dumplings to cook through. You can test the dumplings by cutting one in half – there shouldn’t be any raw dough.
Scoop into bowls and serve.
Skip your run of the mill turkey soup and instead serve up bowls of this flavor packed pho!
Toast the coriander and fennel seeds and the cardamom and star anise pods in a skillet over medium-low heat just until fragrant. Remove the spices and secure them in a small square of cheesecloth tied with twine. In the same skillet sear the onion and the ginger until lightly charred.
Add the water, the turkey carcass, the spice sachet and the seared onion and ginger to a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Then reduce to a simmer for two hours.
Towards the end of the two hours, cook the rice noodles as directed until cooked through with a bite. Drain well.
Remove the carcass, spice sachet, onion and ginger from the soup. Season it with fish sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Divide the cooked turkey and the rice noodles into bowls and add the beansprouts and sliced basil leaves as desired. Ladle in the soup and top with crushed peanuts before serving.
This turkey pot pie is as easy as, well, pie and delicious to boot. This recipe makes enough filling for two pies to feed a large crowd or to gift one to friends and family.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Put the frozen peas and carrots and the celery in a small saucepan, add water to cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until the celery is tender, then drain.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a separate, large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent and softened. Add in the flour, salt, pepper, celery seed, onion powder, garlic powder and Italian seasoning and whisk until a paste forms. Then slowly add in the chicken stock and milk and whisk constantly until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat. To that saucepan add the drained vegetables along with the turkey and stir until well combined.
Put one of the pie pastry rounds into the bottom of each of your two 9-inch pie dishes. Spoon ½ of the filling into each pie dish then seal well with the remaining pie pastry rounds, crimping the edges. Cut slits in each of the pies for venting and put the pies on baking sheets.
Bake the pies for about 15 minutes and at that point check for browning, covering the edges with foil if they’re darkening too quickly. Bake for 15-20 minutes more until golden brown and bubbly. Remove from the oven, cool for 10 minutes and then serve.