Leftover Turkey Casserole made with leftover turkey, cheesy gravy, and cornbread is the PERFECT way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers. It’s fast, easy, and ready in under 45 minutes!
We’re REALLY excited for the Thanksgiving holiday that is quickly approaching, and if you take a look in our kitchen you’ll find a lot of things going on like Easy Roasted Turkey Thighs, Crispy Slow Cooker Turkey Breast, and this Slow Cooker Thanksgiving For 2!
LEFTOVER TURKEY CASSEROLE
We always have a TON of leftovers after Thanksgiving, and Leftover Turkey Casserole is exactly how to use them up in the best way possible. It’s creamy and indulgent, totally filling, and reminds you that the holidays aren’t quite over until all of the food is gone.
We’re also excited that McCormick Spices has generously sponsored this post, as we use their products all the time ad we’re happy to be working together with them again (we also worked together on my Gingerbread Cheesecake, another seasonal favorite.)
Most great casseroles start with something called a roux – a mixture of flour and butter. Here, serving the function of the roux, we’ve added McCormick Simply Better Turkey Gravy and mozzarella cheese to create a really creamy and flavorful base for our casserole. This gravy holds everything together and makes it something that your family will request every single year.
Besides the turkey, gravy is the star of the show here, adding a TON of flavor and texture to the dish. McCormick Simply Better Turkey Gravy has no MSG, artificial flavors, or colors added, so I feel good serving it to my family. It’s also gluten free, so those of you who have stayed away from gravy because of the flour base can enjoy this gravy with no worries. You can even use it for the actual holiday, if you want a great gravy that you don’t have the think too much about!
If you’re looking for a dry alternative too you can also use the powdered mix McCormick has which has no MSG, no artificial flavors or colors added. It’s as easy as adding water and bringing to a boil. When Thanksgiving is over I feel like we have piles of all the leftovers except gravy. Now you can remedy that and keep Thanksgiving going full steam ahead clear through the weekend!
HOW TO MEAL PREP LEFTOVER TURKEY CASSEROLE
- Casseroles are really easy to meal prep. Just assemble your ingredients up until the baking part.
- Cover the casserole tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 1 day, until you’re ready to bake.
- You can also assemble and freeze this casserole. Take it out of the freezer the day before to defrost and refrigerate, then bake as directed when you’re ready.
CAN YOU MAKE LEFTOVER TURKEY CASSEROLE WITH NOODLES?
If you don’t have cornbread, it’s really easy to make leftover turkey casserole with noodles. Cook your pasta to al dente. Make the recipe as is, and instead of adding the cornbread, add the noodles and stir to combine before you bake the casserole.
You can also certainly use dried bread as you would for a classic Easy Apple Sausage Stuffing.
You can also do this casserole with cooked rice. I used cornbread in this recipe because it’s what I have leftover from Thanksgiving. But it’s not mandatory, as long as you have a starch in there. Use cooked rice, because uncooked will soak up most of the moisture when you bake it.
WHAT ELSE CAN I DO WITH THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS?
- Sausage & Egg Skillet With Thanksgiving Leftovers
- Cranberry Harvest Turkey Salad
- Creamy Turkey and Swiss Pasta
- Turkey Moist Maker Sandwich
- Chicken Tetrazinni (just use turkey instead of chicken!)
HOW LONG IS LEFTOVER TURKEY GOOD FOR?
Leftover turkey will keep for 3-4 days in the refrigerator, or 2-3 months in the freezer. If we have a lot of leftovers, I like to freeze the turkey and use it for recipes later in the month.
WHAT CAN I SERVE WITH LEFTOVER TURKEY CASSEROLE?
Serve leftover turkey casserole with Easy Cranberry Sauce for the full Thanksgiving leftovers experience. Add a Classic Wedge Salad, which is great way to start a meal with a heavier dish like leftover turkey casserole. Plus it’s an added veggie!
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TIPS FOR MAKING LEFTOVER TURKEY CASSEROLE
- The point of a Thanksgiving leftover casserole is obviously to use up the leftovers from Thanksgiving, so don’t feel limited to this exact recipe. If you have Brussel sprouts, cut them up and use them instead of green beans. If you don’t have cornbread, use stuffing. You get the idea.
- If you want to make this casserole another time of the year, you can easily swap out the leftover turkey for chicken in this recipe. I’ve even made this with leftovers from my slow cooker rotisserie chicken before!
- Uncovering the dish for the last 10 minutes of bake time is important to achieve a nice golden brown on top. You can also turn on the broiler for 2-3 minutes, but watch it closely and don’t go too long.
- Preheat your oven before adding the casserole, or you may have to add some cook time.
Leftover Turkey Casserole
Leftover Turkey Casserole made with leftover turkey, cheesy gravy, and cornbread is the PERFECT way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers. It's fast, easy, and ready in under 45 minutes!
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter unsalted
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed black pepper
- 1 cup McCormick Simply Better Turkey Gravy
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup mozzarella shredded
- 3 cups cornbread cut into 1" chunks
- 3 cups chopped turkey meat cooked
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped frozen green beans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and add the butter to a medium sized saucepan melting it on medium heat.
Add the flour to the pan and whisk well together for 1 minute before adding in the gravy, milk and mozzarella, whisking until smooth.
Add the cornbread, turkey, peas, carrots and green beans to a 9x13 pan and cover with the gravy before cooking for 20-25 minutes covered, followed by 10 minutes uncovered.
Recipe Notes
Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.
I’ve got it in the oven and I just realized you have ½ teaspoon salt in the ingredients but you left it out of the instructions. Oops. Guess we’ll salt it after it comes out.
Sorry about that but yes, you can always season after as well.
Great Idea! It looked and tasted wonderful. Our sauce topping came out a bit different looking because we used a smaller dish and had a thicker layer on top of the casserole – it looked like chicken pot pie. This is a perfect recipe to use up the leftovers – especially green beans and stuffing (which I hate) & convert them to something delicious.
Glad to know it was a hit, Gigi.
Prepared it almost exactly and it was perfect. Used honey corn bread and closer to 4 cups. 2nds for all. Thank you for this recipe.
You’re welcome, Travis.
Love new recipes and great ideas thank you
You’re welcome.
It would be good to have the nutritional information at end of recipes
It’s at the bottom of the recipe card (underneath recipe notes). Hope this helps.
I made exactly following the measurements. I had suspected the carrots needed to parboiled, but followed the recipe.
Flavor is great, carrots were hard and there wasn’t enough gravy to cover the 9 x 13 dish. I do plan to make again with parboiling the carrots and doubling the gravy recipe.
Easy and delicious. Family devoured it!
I’m so glad you all enjoyed it, Julie. Thanks for the 5 stars.
Were the carrots supposed to be frozen also? I used fresh chopped carrots, and they weren’t quite done.
They don’t need to be but make sure they’re cut up small enough to cook through.
What if I have no cornbread? Do I have to use it?
Yes, you’ll need some type of bread for this recipe.