What to do with leftover turkey | Features

Is there anything better than Christmas leftovers?! Teamed with some epic flavours and given a bit of love, you can transform what’s left over into meals so tasty, they might just rival The Big Day itself

Make the most of your traditional Christmas Day centrepiece with these incredible leftover turkey recipes. From a wintry turkey stew with biscuit dumplings to a festive croque monsieur with an oozy cheese topping; these are the ultimate dishes to help you hold onto the festive season for as long as possible!

Please note: Once cooked, turkey can only be reheated once – portion up any hot pies, stews and curries that use leftover turkey, so you only reheat what you need. Reheat until piping hot throughout before serving.

Want more? Check out more ways you can use up your Christmas leftovers

Sticking with the sandwich vibe, we’ve got this brilliant recipe for turkey sloppy Joes. Think juicy, gravy-dressed pulled turkey meat, crunchy veg, gherkins and homemade BBQ sauce, all piled high in a soft squidgy bun. With a vat of extra gravy on the side, find a quiet corner, tie a Christmas napkin round your neck, and get dunking.

Made up of what’s left in the fridge from Christmas Day, Jamie’s Christmas hodgepodge pie is the ultimate dish to make your leftovers go far. Encase your turkey, stuffing and sprouts in a crumbly shortcrust pastry and serve with simple greens. Got some leftover chestnuts to hand? Crush them into the pastry – a game-changing tip!

A triple whammy, you can use up leftover turkey meat, skin and gravy in this delightfully delicate risotto. Stir the meat through the oozy rice as it cooks, make thyme-spiked crispy turkey skin – think Christmas crackling – and finish with a pool of piping hot gravy in the middle.

Already dreaming of that leftover turkey sandwich? Say hello to your new staple Boxing Day recipe. Using up some of that leftover cheeseboard with a generous layer of sweet cranberry sauce and, of course, that gorgeous turkey meat; this festive croque-monsieur is a Christmas miracle! 

Celebrating leftover turkey meat and stuffing, this wonderfully stodgy, easy-to-make stew is sure to provide a comforting bowlful. Jamie’s added bacon biscuit-inspired dumplings for a twist, adding an extra dimension of flavour and texture. Give it a go!

Fresh, vibrant and fruity, this leftover turkey salad is just the ticket if you’re after fresh relief from the indulgence of Christmas Day. With bang-in-season clementines, pops of pomegranate and sweet dried cranberries, this beautiful plateful is a riot of colour. Plenty of festive ingredients pack a nutritional punch – read nutritionist Laura Matthews’ guide to find out more.

This is a brilliantly fresh and vibrant post-Christmas Day recipe to use up the rest of your turkey. Load up a flatbread with your succulent, curry-spiced turkey, chunks of charred aubergine, crunchy salad and fresh herbs and you have yourself a cracking Coronation-style twist on your Christmas centrepiece. 

Let us introduce you to the Gobble-oink pie, a fun little recipe dreamt up by food stylist Sarah Tildesley that’s perfect if you’ve got little helpers on hand. Teaming leftover turkey with ham – hence the gobble-oink – these individual pies are super-easy to put together and, with their smashed swede and sweet potato tops, are fun to do, too.

We all love toad in the hole – with crisp, fluffy, golden Yorkshire pudding and good sausages, it’s hard to beat. But what if we told you it’s possible to enjoy your entire Christmas meal in a Yorkie? Bigging up all those big day leftovers, Jamie’s gone to town with this megamix. Team your leftover turkey meat with sweet leeks to create a deliciously dirty gravy, and you’ve got – in our opinion – one of the best leftover meals ever!

Our first contender for a revamped turkey sarnie are these Vietnamese-style baguettes packed with spiced crispy turkey meat, quick pickled veg and a punchy garlicky lime mayo. It’s the brown turkey meat that will really deliver big on the flavour front here, but of course feel free to use what you’ve got, chucking in any leftover skin to crisp up, too.

Soups are a great way to use up any leftovers, and this rich and spicy Christmas Mulligatawny does it to perfection. The turkey is reheated with chunks of sweet, soft butternut squash in an incredible, rich tomato broth with a good spoon of curry paste mixed in. It’s a seriously satisfying way to spice up your Christmas leftovers. 

The quickest, easiest way to use leftover turkey that’s so good the whole family will want a slice of the action. Our 5-ingredient Boxing Day quesadillas team your leftover meat with camembert, cranberry sauce and thyme, sandwiched between two soft tortillas and fried until crisp, golden and oozing festive flavours.

Hungry for more? Check out our bumper selection of turkey recipes, including Jamie’s top ways to roast the bird for the big day, as well as turkey soups, salads, quesadillas and other delicious bites. Still got a fridgeful? We’ve got plenty of ideas for your other Christmas leftovers, too.