Is your fridge full of leftover Thanksgiving turkey? Don’t let it go to waste! Try this easy and delicious Leftover Turkey Casserole recipe. It’s perfect for a quick weeknight meal or as a side dish for another family feast. You’ll be glad you made room in the freezer with these tasty leftovers.
Easy Creamy Leftover Turkey Casserole
I know that Thanksgiving is still a few weeks away, but it’s never too early for those holiday food cravings! One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is all the yummy leftovers that we get to enjoy throughout the month.
Even though they’re tasty as-is, sometimes you need a little extra something to make them really special. That’s why I created this super easy Leftover Turkey Casserole recipe – it has everything you love from traditional Thanksgiving meals all in one dish!
Leftover turkey casserole is delicious and easy to make. It is a perfect cold-weather meal that everyone will enjoy. Plus it’s a great way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers without having the same exact meal for a month straight. You’ll fall in love with this recipe – I know I have!
Why We Love This Leftover Turkey Casserole Recipe
- Delicious leftover turkey breast recipe.
- Quick and easy to make -ready in just 40 minutes.
- Uses up leftover meat with lots of vegetables to make a complete meal in one dish.
- Can be enjoyed as a main or side dish – perfect for all your holiday guests!
Ingredients
- Cavatappi Pasta
- Leftover turkey
- Condensed cream of chicken soup
- Frozen Peas
- Half & Half
- Mozzarella & provolone cheese
- Garlic & onion powder
- Black pepper
- Italian style panko breadcrumbs
- Salted butter
Substitutions and Additions
- PASTA: Feel free to use any type of shaped pasta, like penne, rigatoni, penne, farfalle, etc.
- LEFTOVER TURKEY: If you want to make this casserole at another time of the year, when you don’t have any leftover turkey, you can use rotisserie chicken, pulled pork, or shredded beef.
- CONDENSED CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP: Switch this out with cream of mushroom, cream of celery, or cream of potato.
- FROZEN PEAS: Any frozen vegetable can be used, like frozen carrots, corn, green beans, or a mixture of these.
- HALF & HALF: Substitute this with milk or heavy cream.
- CHEESE: Mozzarella cheese: You can replace this with (only) provolone, cheddar, pepperjack, monterey jack, or another melty cheese. Provolone cheese: I used a cheese mix that has both mozzarella and provolone cheese, but if you don’t have that, you can just use solely mozzarella or the other melty cheeses.
- ONION POWDER: Mince and cook a yellow onion until translucent for a similar taste.
- ITALIAN STYLE PANKO BREADCRUMBS: Use regular panko breadcrumbs instead, though there won’t be quite as much flavor in the topping if you do so.
- SALTED BUTTER: Unsalted butter or coconut oil are other options for this.
Recommended Tools
- 9×13 inch casserole dish
- Mixing bowls and tools
- Medium saucepan or pot
- Measuring tools
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How to Make Leftover Turkey Casserole
This recipe comes together quickly, in just 10 minutes of prep. Even with the bake time, it will be ready in just 35-40 minutes. Much faster than waiting for the big meal on Thanksgiving Day!
- Cook pasta al dente and drain.
- Combine cooked pasta, turkey, cream of chicken soup, peas, half & half, cheese, garlic and onion powders, and pepper together in a bowl.
- Stir gently.
- Transfer to a 9×13 baking dish.
- Combine Italian breadcrumbs with melted butter, mix together.
- Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture on top of the mixture in the casserole dish.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
- Plate and serve warm.
Storage Tips
- To Store: Place leftovers in the refrigerator in a covered container. They will be good for about 3 days depending on how old the turkey already was. Cooked turkey in general is only good for about 3-4 days afterwards, so keep that in mind when using leftover turkey.
- To Freeze: You can freeze your leftover casserole for 2-3 months. However, I would recommend freezing the turkey solo and then thawing the leftover turkey to make the casserole on a later day.
- To Reheat: Reheat in the microwave. I like to add a tablespoon of water or half & half to keep the noodles from drying out.
Frequently Asked Questions
I love casseroles because you can just dump more and more stuff in and it nearly always tastes amazing. Some typical Thanksgiving leftovers that would go great in this casserole are:
– Stuffing: Add it as a topping if it’s the small stuffing, or include it in the main body of the casserole if it’s larger stuffing.
– Green beans: Include them instead of or in addition to the frozen peas.
– Yams: Add it to the main body of the casserole.
– Gravy: Spread it on top, or include it with the cream of chicken.
I like to serve this casserole with a green salad to add a bit of crunch. It’s also delicious with cranberry sauce or dinner rolls to give it the Thanksgiving dinner feel.
Other Easy Casserole Recipes
- Mexican Casserole
- Sloppy Joe Casserole
- Stuffed Pepper Casserole
- Crack Chicken Casserole
- Ritz Chicken Casserole
- Pineapple Casserole
Leftover Turkey Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 cups cavatappi pasta uncooked
- 2 cups leftover turkey chopped or shredded
- 21 ounce (2 10.5-ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
- 12 ounce bag frozen peas
- ¾ cup half and half
- ¾ cup mozzarella & provolone cheese shredded
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¾ cup Italian style panko breadcrumbs
- 3 tbsp salted butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cook pasta al dente and drain according to instructions.
- Combine the cooked pasta, turkey, condensed cream of chicken soup, frozen peas, half and half, mozzarella & provolone cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper together in a large bowl and gently stir together.
- Transfer to a 9×13 casserole dish.
- To prepare the topping, combine the Italian style Panko breadcrumbs with the melted salted butter. Mix together and then sprinkle on top of the casserole.
- Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the casserole bubbles and is browned on top.
- Plate and serve warm.
Jenn’s Notes
- To Store: Place leftovers in the refrigerator in a covered container. They will be good for about 3 days depending on how old the turkey already was. Cooked turkey in general is only good for about 3-4 days afterwards, so keep that in mind when using leftover turkey.
- To Freeze: You can freeze your leftover casserole for 2-3 months. However, I would recommend freezing the turkey solo and then thawing the leftover turkey to make the casserole on a later day.
- To Reheat: Reheat in the microwave. I like to add a tablespoon of water or half & half to keep the noodles from drying out.
I have to rave about this recipe. Easy and super delicious. My whole family loved it. Usually turkey leftover meals arenโt anything to get excited about, but Iโll actually keep this recipe as one of my go-tos for comfort food! I followed the recipe exactly, no substitutions.
I made this recipe yesterday with left over Thanksgiving turkey. It was a breeze to make and was delicious! Very rich and yummy!
It made enough that we will be having the leftovers this evening with a salad. I recommend this recipe highly.
so there are preshredded packages of cheese labeled โmozzarella and provoloneโ cheese. If they donโt have that available, you can do a mixture of both to make up the 3/4th cup or choose one and use that.
This recipe looks delicious and perfect for using up leftover turkey! In the recipe it says 3/4 cup mozzarella and provolone, is it 3/4 cup of each type of cheese or total?