Leftover Turkey Ideas: A Happy Collection of cooking, easy recipes for Festive Leftovers

Overview: three brilliant ways to reinvent leftover turkey

Leftover roast turkey is a gift that keeps on giving when the right approach meets simple technique. This roundup offers crowd-pleasing, joyous dishes that turn cold slices into warm, comforting meals. These cooking, easy recipes focus on big flavour, sensible pantry use, and minimal faff so the week after a feast feels like a celebration rather than a chore.

Menu at a glance

• Turkey stew with sweet leek and smoky bacon biscuit dumplings — comfort personified
• One-pan turkey pasta — a speedy, creamy bake to use white and dark meat
• Focaccia muffalata — a massive, sharable sandwich with a quick pickle and gravy mayonnaise
• Bonus: Spicy turkey chili — a cheeky South American–style stew for attitude

Recipe 1 — Turkey Stew with Sweet Leek and Smoky Bacon Biscuit Dumplings

This is the ultimate comfort-anchor among these cooking, easy recipes. Rich, gravy-forward stew studded with turkey and stuffing, topped with fluffy, golden biscuit dumplings that soak up all the juices.

Ingredients

• For the stew: leftover turkey (white and dark meat), stuffing, 3 onions (roughly chopped), 2 celery sticks (halved lengthwise and sliced), 3 bay leaves, a few sprigs thyme and rosemary, 1.5 litres vegetable or chicken stock, 2 heaped tsp English mustard, 2 heaped tbsp plain flour, olive oil, salt and black pepper.
• For the leek and bacon topping (in dumplings): 2 small leeks, 2 rashers smoky bacon, black pepper.
• For the biscuit dumplings: 125 g plain flour, 25 g cornmeal, 30 g cold diced butter, pinch of black pepper, 125 ml buttermilk, 1 beaten egg for glazing.

Method

1. Gently sweat the leeks and smoky bacon in olive oil over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes until sweet and soft. Season with black pepper and set aside to cool slightly.
2. In a separate pot, heat oil and add bay leaves, thyme and rosemary. Add onions and celery and cook on medium until sweet and translucent (about 15 minutes). Remove the herb stalks.
3. Stir in English mustard and flour, cook briefly, then whisk in the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add turkey and stuffing. Simmer gently while you make the dumplings.
4. To make dumplings, rub the butter into the flour and cornmeal until crumbly. Add pepper and stir in the buttermilk to form a soft, non-sticky dough. Pat out to about 2 cm thick and cut rounds with a cookie cutter.
5. Place dumplings on top of the simmering stew so they sit in the gravy, brush with egg wash and bake the whole pot (or transfer to an ovenproof dish) at 200 degrees Celsius for about 30 minutes until the dumplings are golden and cooked through.
6. Serve with greens or broccoli and a spoonful of gravy. That final gravy spoon over the dumplings is what makes this one of the best cooking, easy recipes for using leftovers.

Comfort food at its best.

Recipe 2 — One-Pan Turkey Pasta

This one-pan pasta is a fast, satisfying answer to leftover confusion. It’s creamy, cheesy and uses lasagna sheets cut into ribbons if you have them on hand, but any short pasta will work. A perfect midweek option among these cooking, easy recipes.

Ingredients

• Leek: 1–2 leeks, halved, washed and sliced
• Herbs: half a bunch thyme leaves
• Pasta: fresh lasagna sheets cut into 3 cm strips or 300–350 g short pasta
• For the sauce: 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp plain flour, milk (start with about 300 ml), 300 ml boiling water, spinach handfuls, 100–150 g grated cheese (mix of cheddar and Red Leicester works great), toasted breadcrumbs for finish
• Shredded leftover turkey, stuffing or even pigs in blankets (all welcome)

Method

1. Toast breadcrumbs in a dry pan with a few thyme leaves until golden and set aside for crunch.
2. Sweat the leeks in 1 tbsp olive oil with thyme and a splash of water until soft (about 10 minutes).
3. Add turkey, stir in 1 tbsp oil, sprinkle in the flour and cook for a minute. Gradually add milk and then 300 ml boiling water, stirring until the sauce comes together.
4. Stir in the spinach, return to a boil, reduce heat and add pasta. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 4 minutes or until pasta is cooked and the sauce is glossy.
5. Grate in the cheese, season to taste and top with the toasted herb breadcrumbs. Quick, creamy and deeply satisfying — a top pick among the cooking, easy recipes.

Recipe 3 — Leftover Focaccia Muffalata (Big Sharing Sandwich)

Turn your turkey into a party sandwich. Homemade focaccia provides structure and flavour; a speedy pickle and gravy-mayo bring brightness. This is one of the most fun entries in the cooking, easy recipes collection because it’s both impressive and forgiving.

Focaccia Ingredients

• 1 kg strong bread flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 700 ml tepid water
• 1 sachet instant yeast and 1 tsp honey
• Olive oil for dimpling and finishing

Focaccia Method

1. Mix yeast and honey into the tepid water, then use a fork to bring flour in from the edges. When it becomes dough, knead for about 10 minutes until elastic.
2. Oil a bowl, proof for 1 hour until doubled. Knock back, press into a 40 x 30 cm oiled tray, dimple with fingertips and drizzle lots of extra virgin olive oil into the holes. Prove again for another hour.
3. Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 25–30 minutes until golden. Feed with more olive oil the moment it comes from the oven and rest 15 minutes before slicing into a sandwich.

Quick Pickle

• White wine vinegar 5–6 tbsp, pinch of salt, olive oil (about 1 part oil to 6 parts vinegar), a dollop of whole-grain mustard
• Carrots, radishes, cucumber, tiny cauliflower florets, jarred char-grilled peppers and olives
• Toss and leave for 10–15 minutes; keeps in the fridge and brightens every bite.

Gravy Mayonnaise

Mix mayo with a little leftover gravy to taste. About 3 tbsp mayo to 1–2 tbsp gravy is a good starting point. Use this as the sandwich spread for richness and festive nostalgia.

Assemble

1. Split the focaccia, spread gravy mayo, layer thin-sliced turkey, smoked ham, rocket or watercress, cheddar and Red Leicester, add crunchy pickle and finish with stuffing. Slice deep and share — this is a sandwich made for a crowd.

Bonus: Spicy South American–Style Turkey Chili

When a little heat is desired, a chilli built from leftover turkey, mixed beans and smoky paprika brings attitude. Use chopped onions, carrots, peppers, cumin, smoked paprika, chopped chillies, tinned tomatoes and a mix of butter beans and chickpeas. Slow-roast gently in the oven at 170–180 degrees Celsius for 1.5–2 hours, checking to add a splash of water if required. Finish with lime, cilantro and crema or guacamole.

Expert tips and storage

• Rehydrate wisely: Slow simmering or adding sauce restores moisture to fridge-dry turkey.
• Make ahead: The pickle and gravy mayo keep for several days in the fridge and are brilliant for batch cooking.
• Use every scrap: Crispy skin makes brilliant crackling for sandwiches or snack nibbling.
• Freeze-friendly: Stews and cooked pasta bake freeze well. Cool fully, divide into portions and freeze up to 3 months.
• Adjust spice: All these cooking, easy recipes adapt easily — dial heat up or down depending on who’s at the table.

Make it your own

These cooking, easy recipes are designed to inspire improvisation. Use whatever turkey bits and trimmings are in the fridge and lean into big flavours: mustard in the stew, smoked paprika in the chilli, and acid from quick pickles to lift rich dishes. A little creativity turns leftover turkey into new favourites that feel festive and fresh.

This article was created from the video Leftover Turkey Ideas & Recipes by Jamie Oliver with the help of AI.

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