Thanksgiving Leftovers - Turkey Casserole

Great way to serve up Thanksgiving turkey & stuffing leftovers

Serving the casserole out of a clear glass dish -
turkey on the bottom & stuffing on the top

This is one of my favorite ways to prepare leftovers on Friday. It’s a super easy and quick meal, featuring chunks of light and dark turkey meat in rich, creamy mushroom sauce topped with enhanced stuffing. Inspired by a chicken casserole recipe shared by a family friend, back in the 1970’s.

Day after Thanksgiving Turkey Casserole

Ingredients:

Cooked Turkey meat, dark or light – in bite size pieces

1 can Cream of Mushroom condensed soup (10¾ oz)

2 cups sour cream (16 oz)

Prepared stuffing (use your leftovers from Thanksgiving feast – enough to spread over the whole top – or see recipe for Cathi’s Thanksgiving Stuffing below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Spread the meat over the bottom of a 9x13 glass casserole dish. Meat can be knife cut, finger torn or shredded. You can use a mix of white/dark meat or just one kind. How much you want to use is up to you; this dish can help use up extra leftovers or can help stretch leftovers. Less meat equals more sauce.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the condensed soup and sour cream to make the thick sauce. I use a spatula.

Pour sauce into the glass casserole dish and use spatula to spread out over meat, folding meat into sauce. Smooth meat & sauce mixture evenly.

Break up any large clumps of the leftover stuffing – I use two forks. Top the meat/sauce mixture with the stuffing. How thick a layer is up to you; I use leftovers from a 14 oz bag, but my family are light stuffing eaters so my layer is thick. I generally completely cover the top, sorta like the mashed potatoes on a Shepherd’s Pie casserole. If you have less stuffing, spread it out more or thinner.

Casserole prep showing creamy mushroom sauce on left & stuffing topping on right

Casserole prep showing side view before baking

 

Pop into the oven and bake uncovered for ~30-45 minutes. Sauce should be bubbling around all edges and top should be a bit crisp, but not dried out.

Suggestion for serving - with leftover mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes

ALLERGENS: contains dairy, wheat and mushrooms

ALLERGY ACCOMMODATIONS: to replace dairy, try a generous slathering of gravy instead of cream-based sauce; to replace wheat, make stuffing with gluten-free bread crumbs or use mashed potatoes/yams instead of stuffing for a variation on a shepherd's pie; to replace mushrooms, use cream of celery soup instead

Thanksgiving stuffing - w/breadcrumbs, onions, celery, carrots & dried cranberries

Cathi's Thanksgiving Stuffing recipe

I really like this combination of herbs, veggies and the sweetness of the dried cranberries. Depending on how long it takes your turkey to cook, the celery & carrots may retain some crunch. I like a little crunch, as it gives the stuffing a bit of texture. If very soft veggies are preferred instead, melt the butter in a pan and saute the onions, celery, and carrot dices first; then add the water and pour over the crumbs. 

Ingredients:

1 pkg Pepperidge Farm herb seasoned, breadcrumbs stuffing mix (14 oz)

¼ tsp dried sage

1/8 tsp dried thyme

1 medium onion – red or white – finely chopped

2-3 ribs of celery, finely diced

1 shredded or finely diced carrot

½ cup dried cranberries

2 cups of water

5 Tbsp butter

Directions:

In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, empty out package of crumbs. Add in spices and stir. Add in onions, celery, carrots, and cranberries and mix well.

In a small pot on stove, drop butter into water. Bring heat up to boiling and keep on heat until butter has melted.

Remove from heat and carefully pour into mixing bowl, over crumbs.

Briskly stir with long-tined fork or wooden spoon to create crumbly but equally moist mixture.

Stuff into turkey cavities – neck and body.

Hold back extra dressing to be used the next day in Leftover Turkey & Stuffing Casserole dish. Dressing can be baked at 350F for 20-30 minutes. After cooling completely, extra stuffing/dressing should be stored in fridge.

VEGETARIAN SUGGESTION: make as a side dressing and not as a stuffing

VEGAN SUGGESTION: make with margarine or oil instead of butter

ALLERGENS: contains wheat and dairy

ALLERGY ACCOMMODATIONS: to replace wheat, use gluten-free bread crumbs with your own herbs instead of Pepperidge Farm mix; to replace dairy, use margarine or oil instead of butter