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 Tetrazzini (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.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter , unsalted
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 cup turkey gravy
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup mozzarella , shredded
- 3 cups cornbread , cut into 1 inch 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 9×13 pan and cover with the gravy before cooking for 20-25 minutes covered, followed by 10 minutes uncovered.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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My family really enjoyed this! I made it according to the recipe, but added a little garlic flavored better than bouillon and italian spices to the gravy and removed the onions after they cooked in the butter since we don’t like to eat them. I will try it again with chicken and possibly a ready-made gravy when I need a quick recipe.
Appreciated hearing your feedback Jennifer and thank you for the 5 star rating.
Amazing!!! Very very delicious…
You talk about substituting noodles for the cornbread but you don’t say how much noodles.
sorry about that – 3 cups of cornbread so substitute 3 cups of noodles
Delish! I used my own chicken stock instead of the store bought turkey gravy and 3 Tablespoons of flour along with the butter when making the roux. I used 2 cups of my homemade, seasoned croutons instead of the corn bread. I also added onions. Of course, I sauteed all the veggies before assembly to bring out a roasted flavor. The ratio of sauce to solids was just about perfect. Thanks for a satisfying meal. This recipe is a “keeper”!
what type of cornbread did you use for this recipe
Feel free to use whatever cornbread used from an earlier meal or bake up some cornbread of your choice.
Fantastic!
Used 1.5c ‘Green bean casserole’ instead of green beans, added 1c ‘Mukimeme’ (Soybeans), and topped with dressing then the gravy from the recipe.
This was an amazing dish!! I did add a can of cream of mushroom soup like some of the reviews said to do. Will def be making this again!!!
Excellent!!! Going to keep making this ??
I replaced the cornbread with dinner rolls ~ excellent. Use any vegetables you have
Since I don’t like cornbread I used stove top turkey stuffing and it worked out pretty well and I also think can you use almost any vegetable that you have lying around. For example I used peas and carrots, green bean casserole, and Pearl onions that were left over from Christmas and it still tasted pretty good. And I think you could almost use any cheese to I know it says to use mozzarella and I didn’t have any so I used Swiss cheese shredded and it still taste pretty good. So I’m going to keep this one handy when I don’t know what to do with my leftovers.
Overall recipe is a great idea, but the sauce is way too thick. Next time I’m probably going to add some chicken broth or extra milk because the sauce just stayed on the top. I ended up adding a can of cream of chicken soup to it just to make it creamy.
Thank for adding your comment!! You saved me. My family likes creamy casseroles and when I saw your comment I added the cream of mushroom right quick! Love the flavor of the gravy but needed to double or triple for coverage. I also cut down on the cheese and used some for topping.
I made this as directed and it’s good. My one comment is that the “gravy” on top gets gummy, once you add the cheese to the mixture. Next time I won’t add the cheese to the gravy, I will pour the gravy over the casserole and sprinkle the cheese on top. This is great with endless options!
Can I use the leftover stuffing in place of the cornbread?
You could but I am not sure what the overall taste would change to. Experimenting is half the fun though!
YES!!!! Great recipe, I did add some spots of leftover mash potatoes in areas and used cheddar but it was awesome!!! Thank you.
Only part of the recipe I followed was the sauce and boy was it delish!! Instead of using cornbread and the veggies listed above, I used leftover stuffing and the veggies I made for thanksgiving which was corn and broccoli. I also added some dollops of cranberry sauce on top. SOOOO GOOD!
Can I sub wild rice for the cornbread?
Do I need to adjust the cook time if I use canned veggies instead of frozen?
Not by much, I would just keep an eye on it.
Very good! The leftovers were getting a bit dry so I put all that was left in a pot and added some chicken broth …and made soup! And it is incredible! Thank you for the recipe!
Loved the flavor of the recipe but the green beans weren’t as cooked through as I would’ve liked. Made it harder for my little one to eat. My husband devoured it, ate two helpings. I think leftover cooked green beans/green bean casserole might work better.
I substituted green beans with fresh mushrooms, sautéed the carrots and mushrooms in butter. I used left over turkey stuffing instead of cornbread, Doubled the gravy after reading another comment. Will enjoy it for tonights dinner.
Subbed green beans with broccoli, used frozen peas and carrot blend. Also used Jiffy cornbread mix. Otherwise followed recipe exactly. For 13×9 baking dish, 1 cup of gravy isn’t enough. Recommend doubling gravy or casserole will be dry. It turned out good, however; not great.
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.
Can this be premade & frozen to cook at a later date?
Yes! just take it out do defrost the day before you plan to bake it.
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.
I used cheddar & added fried onions on top as someone suggested. Great casserole to use up the turkey.
That sounds DELICIOUS. Thanks so much for the great review! Happy Holidays. 🙂
Yummy. This is so easy to make and so good. I did share a little with our two dogs for a treat in their dry food. Oh my, they loved it too.
Yay! So glad you all enjoyed it.
I love quick I love quick and easy food and easy food
Thanks for the 5 stars, Connie.
I cut back the amount of turkey by 1/2c and cut the cornbread to 2 c and increased the veggies to make it a healthier recipe. Added more peas and carrots, sautéed onion, celery and garlic and used my own homemade turkey gravy plus added salt and pepper as needed.
This came out much more delicious then expected! I did crumble 3 pieces of bacon on top and added some Bells Seasoning to the gravy mixture for added flavor. The turkey was incredibly moist. Definitely will make again.
The addition of bacon is always a winning idea!
I never made it before tonite. It is unbelievably amazing! I’ll be making turkey dinner more often so I can have this the next day. So good!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Cindy.
Can you use brown gravy instead of turkey gravy
If that’s what you like instead, go ahead and use that. 🙂
I discovered this recipe to use leftover turkey frozen. It seems a little bland to me also. I like the tip of crispy onion on top.
I also forgot the salt and pepper.
My other confusion involved the gravy. Is this a divided portion? Gravy goes in saucepan with milk and cheese in step 2.
Then gravy is to be poured over the top before placing in the oven. Nevertheless it is a good recipe and I may use a couple of tweaks
Judy, I believe if you add “gravy mixture” to step 3 that will help any confusion.
I loved this recipe and that it’s so versatile. Stuffing, salt, pepper and crispy onion were loved in my kitchen 🙂
The dish was good. Used a lot of leftover turkey, but the carrots were not done for the baking time listed. Had to cook alot longer. Also, didn’t have in the instructions when to add the salt and pepper, but remembered to add at the end after going over the recipe again.
I found this recipe lacking in flavor. Tweak it with at least some salt. It seemed a bit dry too.
You can definitely add more spices to fit your personal taste.
We all loved this!
I used leftover cornbread stuffing, and cooked some frozen mixed veggies since I had none left from thanksgiving dinner, which added a lot of color under the sauce. A tasty finishing touch – scatter some French-fried onions on top of the sauce during the last 5-10 minutes of heating in the oven – nice and crunchy!
Yay! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it.
This was recipe was great. Kind of like a turkey pot pie filling. My kid wasn’t a fan, but it used up a lot of left overs and the adults liked it. I used stuffing instead of cornbread and a onion gravy. Don’t forget to add the salt and pepper. It’s not listed in the instructions and as a person who has to follow the recipe I forgot to add it because it wasn’t in the instructions (no one noticed).
I’m so glad you all enjoyed it, Kimberly.
I made it, but I Stacefied it… subbing all vegetables with leftover mashed potatoes & some of the leftover dressing and added another cup of milk to offset the moisture the potatoes & corn bread might soak up…it was amazing! Also served it with a side of Corn Bread Casserole.
I used Cheddar instead of Mozzarella.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Made this today amazing used cheddar instead of mozzarella and stuffing and noodles and put a pillsbury croissant top to make it more pot potpie ish
Thanks for the recipe
You’re welcome, Carol.
This casserole turned out very well. I used leftover turkey gravy from Thankgiving. I didn’t have mozarrella so I used gruyere. I used lactose free milk with a little lactose free evaporated milk added to make a cup. I didn’t have these frozen veggies, so I used a blend of Asian frozen veggies. Even with all these changes, the dish was very satisfying.
Sounds delicious! I love that this dish is totally customizable to what you have on hand.
I love that this is made with cornbread instead of stuffing. Sounds like a delicious variation! Can’t wait to try it out on my family. 🙂
Enjoy!
YES! I always need ideas for leftover turkey. Totally making this!
Holiday leftovers are the best!
We LOVE leftovers!! I can’t wait to try this! It looks incredibly delicious!!
I hope you enjoy it!
YUM!!! I love this delicious version!!!
Thanks, Erin!
Such a great way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers! Love the addition of the cornbread!
Thanks, Jamielyn! The flavor is amazing and has everyone looking forward to leftovers!!