Leftover Turkey in Creamy Mushroom Sauce
HAPPY THANKSGIVING my friends!!
It’s insane how much leftover turkey meat you can rescue from your turkey carcass even after you think there’s nothing left. We plucked away at my Mom’s turkey last year and got like 8 cups of turkey meat (this was after about 12 people ate it!). Focus on the underside – this is usually the side that sits in all the turkey juices and much of it is dark meat which is so tender and tasty.
The gravy in this sauce causes the turkey to be tender and juicy all over again; I thought it was even better than fresh turkey. It doesn’t have that re-heated turkey taste either if you know what I mean; it’s just perfect. Oh p.s. outside of Thanksgiving time, you can also use the meat from a rotisserie chicken.
OUR LATEST VIDEOSI made a big batch of this leftover turkey in gravy for my sisters house for lunch and all of my siblings, their husbands and their kiddos all loved it! It was a big win across the board and they went on and on about how great the turkey gravy tasted. We’ve served it over steamy white rice and mashed potatoes. This is by far, the best way I’ve ever used up leftover turkey. And it’s so easy! p.p.s. There is a gluten free option 🙂
Ingredients for Leftover Turkey in Creamy Mushroom Sauce:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 Tbsp unsalted Butter
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour (gluten free flour works well too)
1 1/2 to 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
Salt and Pepper to taste
4-6 Cups leftover turkey meat, torn into bite-sized pieces
Parsley to garnish, optional
If you wish to cook a turkey to make this turkey gravy, here is our favorite turkey recipe.
How to Make Leftover Turkey in Gravy:
1. Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add 2 Tbsp olive oil and diced onions and sauté until soft and golden (4-5 minutes, stirring frequently). Add mushrooms to the pan and sautee until soft and golden (5-7 min, stirring frequently). Remove mushrooms and onions from pan.
2. In the same hot pan (no need to wash it), add 4 Tbsp unsalted butter. Once melted, whisk in 3 Tbsp flour (I used a gluten free flour at my sisters house and it worked just as well!). Cook, whisking continually until your roux is a golden brown (1 1/2 to 2 min) then whisk in 2 cups of chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and season to taste (I added 1/2 tsp sea salt and a pinch of black pepper).
3. Add add mushrooms/onions back to the pan. Stir in turkey and heat until turkey is just heated through. Garnish with finely chopped parsley if desired.
Leftover Turkey in Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb mushrooms sliced
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 4 Tbsp unsalted Butter
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour gluten free flour works well too
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 4-6 Cups leftover turkey meat torn into bite-sized pieces
- Parsley to garnish optional
Instructions
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Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add 2 Tbsp olive oil and diced onions and sauté until soft and golden (4-5 minutes, stirring frequently). Add mushrooms to the pan and sauté until soft and golden (5-7 min, stirring frequently). Remove mushrooms and onions from pan.
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In the same hot pan (no need to wash it), add 4 Tbsp unsalted butter. Once melted, whisk in 3 Tbsp flour (I used a gluten free flour at my sisters house and it worked just as well!). Cook, whisking continually until youx is a golden brown (1 1/2 to 2 min) then whisk in 2 cups chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and season to taste (I added 1/2 tsp sea salt and a pinch of black pepper).
-
Add add mushrooms/onions back to the pan. Stir in turkey and heat until turkey is just heated through. Garnish with finely chopped parsley if desired.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Need more inspiration? Here are another 16 leftover turkey recipes! You might need to make another turkey ;). Good thing they’re on sale after Thanksgiving. My sister bought a 13 pounder last year for like $3.00. #truestory.
I’d love to hear your creative ideas for leftover turkey. Let me know what post-Thanksgiving looks like for you in a comment below.
natashaskitchen
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I have made this a couple of times now & we love it.. Thank you x
You’re welcome Judith! I’m glad to hear you enjoy the recipe. Thanks for sharing!
THIs was so comforting & hearty! I used cauliflower rice to make it low carb. Thank you!
You’re welcome Sarah! I’m glad to hear how much you enjoy the recipe. Thanks for sharing your great review with other readers!
My father made a variation of this recipe for as long as I can remember for more than 50 years. Difference; instead of fresh mushrooms which my husband does not like, Dad used mushroom soup. And we serve it on lightly grilled hamburger buns. He always called it turkey burgers, my kids and grandkids call it turkey sloppy joes but everyone loves it
Oh yum! That sounds delicious Shelly! Thanks for sharing your great suggestion with other readers!
Wow. So I actually really dislike mushrooms- just texture/ idea of a fungus thing. But one of my kids insisted that I buy some and then I happened upon this recipe. I fully processed the mushrooms in my mini-prep so I could hide them from myself. I used Earth Balance (salted butter substitute) because we are dairy-free, so I was very careful with salt in other areas of the recipe. I added a pinch of rubbed sage and a sprinkle of sweet paprika. This was amazing. Delicious. I served it on top of quinoa with sweet potatoes and peas. Thumbs up from the whole family, including two 4 year olds and a baby.
Side note- I think this would also be amazing for vegetarians and vegans, just the gravy on top of quinoa and roasted veggies.
I’m so glad to hear the recipe is a HIT! Thanks for sharing your excellent review!
Wonderful. Definitely will make again
I’m glad you love it Jim! Thanks for sharing!
I get that the reason the seasoning was rather sparse was to allow for however folks might have seasoned their bird. When I made this, it turned out very flat and pasty. We kicked it up a notch with some pepper paste from Trader Joe’s, some smoked paprika, and crushed red pepper flakes. It ended up pretty tasty!
Thanks for sharing! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Delicous!!
I’m glad you like it Dina! Thanks for sharing!
Natasha – Happy Thanksgiving, I just wanted to tell you I used your recipe for my 24 pound turkey today and it was the best I ever made and lived up to everything in your video. Also the drippings made a extreme gravy by just adding flour and water. Thanks again for the perfect turkey recipe.
Richard, thank you for such a rave review, I’m all smiles 😬. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family as well.
Wow. This is amazing. Thank you. Not sure how to post a pic lol
I’m glad you love the recipe Sabrina! Please feel free to share your photos on my Facebook page, I love seeing them! 😊
Love this recipe. Easy. Delicious. And it worked great with my gluten free flour. Easy swap that did not alter the taste or texture. All ingredients mandatory, including the parsley…. Thanks for a delicious dinner recipe using a leftover turkey breast. Welcome to November! Will definitely be using this recipe over and over.
I’m happy to hear how much you love the recipe Gayle! Thanks for sharing your great review with other readers!
Hi Natasha!
This recipe looks amazing. We LOVE anything with mushrooms! Lol.
May I please use this recipe and an image in a Thanksgiving leftovers recipe roundup?
Thank you!
Hi Mel! That would be fine and thank you for the feature! 🙂
Absolutely loved this recipe! It was so good we didn’t have any leftover to keep for lunch the next day!
Yay, I am so glad to hear that Haley! Thanks for sharing your review!
Well I made this tonight. So easy 5 star.
Made a side of roasted green beans. This has to be the best leftover recipe I have ever made ! Another 5 stars.
I am so happy to hear that Linda! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 🙂
Did recipe with chicken ohhh so good.
I’m so happy you like dit! 🙂
Just found your recipe via Pinterest! It’s super yummy. I did add about a tablespoon each of Marsala cooking wine and balsamic vinegar. Mmmm… perfecto! Thanks for the great recipe!
Mmm yum! Thank you for sharing your add-ins! 🙂
I made this again this year. It was just as yummy as I remember. I added some peas as someone suggested and served over buttered noodles. It was sooooooooooooo goooooooooood! I added a little garlic powder just to zip it up a bit. I still have lots of turkey left so will make it again after we recover from turkey over load. lol
Thats awesome! I’m so happy you loved the recipe and your idea of adding peas and serving over buttered noodles,… mmm mmm!!!
Natasha do you know what the calorie count on this recipe is?
Thanks!
Hi Ashley, I don’t typically include calorie counts because of the time constraint that I have. I really need to hire some help to do that for me! When I need a quick answer though; I have used Caloriecount.com (their recipe analyzer is free).
Thank you!
I served ours over Amish egg noodles and it was awesome! Thanks!
Gwen, you are very welcome and I’m so glad to hear that you liked the recipe 😬.
I am going to make this tmrw. It is making my mouth water! This will cure my aching neck. Happy Thanksgiving Natasha and your wonderful family. God Bless your home. Keep up the super work!
Thank you so much and a blessed and happy Thanksgiving to you also! 🙂
I really want to make this but I dont have mushrooms. What else can you use?
Lia, you can simply omit the mushrooms and the recipe still turns out great 😬.
Just made this tonight with left over turkey. It came out delicious and will use this idea again in the future. I didn’t have chicken broth or stock on me so I just used water and some of the turkey fat drippings into the mixture to add some flavor. Also added different spices like basil, oregano, marjoram, garlic powder etc. Overall, great little recipe to clean out the leftover meat!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
You might want to correct the spelling of roux in this recipe too. French and English – such difficult languages when it comes to spelling.
I am going to try this with some left over chicken tonight and will probably add some fresh rosemary or basil.
Thank you for this lovely recipe. I have been looking for some good sauces and gravies and I think your site is the place to find them!
Thank you so much for pointing that out!! That’s awesome of you (I have no idea what I was thinking! :-O) Seriously, thank you! 🙂
Is there something I could substitute the butter with so it can be cholesterol friendly?
Hi Liz, it should work fine with oil as a substitute. You may only need 3 Tbsp if using oil. Enjoy!
This was delicious! Quick dinner that comes together perfectly. Thank you so much. My teenage son loved it.
Camille, thank you for the great review and you are welcome 😀.
Made this today with leftover chicken. It’s so fast and simple but really delicious. It was a big hit with everyone. I added peas after reading the recommendation of one commenter. Thanks for another great recipe.
I love the ideas of using chicken and adding peas. Thank you for sharing your awesome review!
Can I substitute the turkey with chicken? Also, would one of those small organic chickens be enough?
That will work fine. I’m not sure how small you mean but you can add as much or as little chicken as you want 🙂
Mmmmmm very good recipe, i added frozen peas and a little bit of white wine.
Those sound like great add-ins! Thanks for sharing that with me 🙂
This was so yummy!! Thank you for sharing. Would this be an okay dish to freeze?
You know, I haven’t tried freezing it, but I think it would work fine.
All I can say is Yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m so glad you loved it! Thanks Larisa 🙂
I made this today and OMG was it good!! I added dill instead of parsley and served it over white rice. Super delicious. Five stars.
Thank you so much for the fantastic review!! 🙂 I love the idea of using dill. You’re making me hungry!
I just bought mushrooms and I will try this recipe. My turkey is from Sunday, I hope it’s not too dry!
It’s very nice and not dry at all. Also, it reheats well on the stove top. I hope you LOVE it! My sister has made it a couple times already since Thanksgiving :).
Hey! Did you know you were mentioned in Season 2 Episode 14 of the Young and Hungry? SUPER cool! Just thought you’d like to know :).
http://amzn.to/1QQq8cC
I did see that and thank you! 🙂 It’s still very exciting. 🙂
Loved this Creamy Turkey recipe. It came out so yummy. I served it over noodles and we had some left over so I mixed the few noodles that were left along with a small amount of leftover stuffing and served it over rice. It was even better the second time on rice. I don’t know how I found this site but so glad I did.
I’m so glad you did too! Thank you for your awesome review 🙂
I made it and it came out great. I was thinking that this would go well stuffed into traditional (English) Yorkshire puddings. OR, for convenience maybe lining a muffin pan with puff pastry, baking until golden and then filling the pastry cups. Hmmmm… Thanks Natasha.
Wow that does sound really really good! Thank you for the great idea!
This recipe looks yummy. Going to try it as we had a 12# turkey for 3 people. Made the turkey from your recipe and it was insanely good. Even today reheated with gravy it was yummy. Love your recipes and the pictures of your beautiful family.
Thank you Cindy for such a nice compliment 😀 . We had same thing for lunch today 🙂 .
It’s so funny – here in Canada we already celebrated our Thanksgiving (it’s in October), but I am kinda sick of turkey by association (like seeing it all over Pinterest). This is a creative way to use up leftover turkey for sure haha… I am glad I don’t have any leftovers to worry about, though 😀
Yeah that would be a little weird to celebrate Thanksgiving and then watch everyone else celebrate it another month. Keep this one in mind for next year. It sure is good 🙂
hello, i was wondering if you have a kartoplaniki recipe?
Lily, I have few of them on the site. Click on the links to see the recipes. Mashed Potato Pancakes, https://natashaskitchen.com/2015/10/06/mashed-potato-pancakes-with-meat-filling/, https://natashaskitchen.com/2012/03/23/easy-mashed-potato-pancakes/, Stuffed Potato Pancakes. Hope this helps 😀 .
yes, those are good recipes i will try them. thank you so much. i was also hoping if you have a chicken roulette recipe somewhere on here maybe?
lol. i meant chicken roulade.
I don’t yet but that is a great suggestion. If I come across or come up with a great recipe, I will be sure to share! Thank you!
Looks wonderful. I love your recipe like this with chicken, I’m sure turkey will turn out just as great!
Thank you Teresa! 🙂
Thank you in advance for sharing this recipe. Definitely will try it…
You’re so welcome. I hope you love it as much as we do! 🙂 I kept the recipe since last year because I was too late to post it last year but I knew it was worth keeping for this year 🙂
What a great idea!! I will definitely buy a turkey or two after thanksgiving. This looks so so good and comforting. I can’t wait to try! Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!!
Thanks Marina 😀 , blessings to you and your family!