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This leftover turkey curry recipe is great for using up Thanksgiving or Christmas leftovers. It’s healthy and quick to make so perfect for the busy holiday season!
We eat a lot of curry. It’s one of our favourite easy dinners and there’s so many different variations that it never feels boring even if we’ve had it a couple of times in a week.
Whether it’s a quick veggie curry in a pressure cooker or a healthy salmon version that’s perfect for the warmer time of year it always makes a filling dinner. This leftover turkey curry recipe uses a simple base which works perfectly for any meat or vegetables but I love making a big batch of it just after Christmas to use up all our Christmas dinner leftovers.
What to do with turkey leftovers?
I realised the other day that it’s less than ten weeks until Christmas. Can you believe that?! This year has gone scarily fast but I am so excited for Christmas!
My parents are coming over for Christmas this year so we’re going to be cooking our first ever Christmas dinner. I’ve found this guide to how to brine a turkey so that it’s deliciously moist and I can’t wait to try it. Once the day is over we’re going to need something to do with those turkey leftovers which is where this leftover turkey curry comes in.
INGREDIENTS YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS LEFTOVER TURKEY CURRY:
- Oil
- Turmeric
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Cumin
- Coriander
- Chilli Powder
- Cinnamon Stick
- Onion
- Pepper
- Chilli
- Chopped Tomatoes
- Leftover Turkey – Or you could use this curry base with any other meat!
Keep scrolling to get the full recipe for this quick and easy leftover turkey curry…
When I was a kid my parents and I used to go to stay with their friends for new year every year and they would always serve a delicious turkey curry made from their Christmas dinner turkey.
A turkey curry recipe is always a great one to have on hand as it’s such a great way to use up leftover meat and you can easily bulk it up with veg if you don’t have much left. Oh, and if you want a more complete meal then why not add a side of saag aloo as well?
Of course, here in the UK we really only have one turkey occasion every year and it honestly doesn’t get much of a look in the rest of the year round.
I kind of think that’s a shame because I think turkey is a bit of an underrated meat, what do you think? If you want some more ideas on how to use turkey any time of year then try out this udon noodle stir fry with turkey mince or how about this turkey chilli! And if you’re in the US this recipe will be equally perfect for your Thanksgiving leftovers!
HOW TO MAKE LEFTOVER TURKEY CURRY:
- Fry the giner, garlic and turmeric then add the rest of the spices and cook until fragrant.
- Add the onion, chilli and pepper and fry until soft then pour in the tomatoes. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and add the turkey. Simmer for another couple of minutes until heated through.
Equipment you need to make this recipe…
TIPS FOR MAKING THIS EASY LEFTOVER TURKEY CURRY RECIPE:
- This recipe is for four but it’s easy to multiply so if you made yourself a huge turkey for Christmas (which I really hope you did) then you can easily make yourself a huge batch of turkey curry with your turkey leftovers and it’ll be enough to feed the whole family
- This recipe is totally customisable. If you’ve got any other veg that needs using up just chuck it in there, if you have a different meat like lamb or chicken leftover instead then use that. You can easily make this your own.
CAN YOU REHEAT LEFTOVER TURKEY CURRY?
As the turkey has already been cooked and reheated once you should avoid reheating the curry as meat shouldn’t be reheated more than once for food safety reasons. If you’d like to make this curry ahead of time simply follow the instructions to make the sauce but don’t add the turkey. When you’re ready to eat simply heat the sauce then add the turkey and simmer for a couple of minutes until the turkey is heated.
CAN YOU FREEZE LEFTOVER TURKEY CURRY?
As above, you should avoid reheating leftover turkey more than once so freezing isn’t a good idea. However, the sauce freezes really well so you could make a batch before Christmas and then simply defrost and add the turkey when you’re ready to eat as suggested above.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH LEFTOVER TURKEY CURRY?
I like the curry served with some naan and rice plus maybe some mango chutney and yoghurt if you have them on hand.
Want more? Try these other leftover turkey recipes!
- Leftover Turkey Pot Pie Empanadas
- Pressure Cooker Turkey and Potato Curry
- Leftover Turkey Taquitos
- One Pot Leftover Turkey Pilaf
- Leftover Turkey Instant Pot Ramen
- Leftover Turkey Soup with Noodles
Keep scrolling to get the recipe…
WONDERING WHAT TO DO WITH THE LEFTOVER INGREDIENTS YOU’VE GOT FROM MAKING THIS LEFTOVER TURKEY CURRY?
If you’re anything like me then you’re always looking for ways to save money and avoid food waste so I want to make sure you’ve get plenty of ideas on how to use up any ingredients that are leftover from my recipes!
Healthy Red Lentil Dal with Spinach
Another yummy curry recipe perfect for using those same spices
Winter Spiced Apple Cocktail with Rum
Use leftover cinnamon sticks in this delicious winter cocktail
Quick & Easy Leftover Turkey Curry
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Oil
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tbsp Ginger grated
- 2 cloves Garlic crushed
- 1 tbsp Ground Cumin
- 1 tbsp Ground Coriander
- 2 tsp Chilli Powder
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 1 Onion thinly sliced
- 1 Pepper roughly chopped
- 1 Chilli split in half lengthways
- 1 400g tin Chopped Tomatoes
- 400-500 g Cooked Turkey Meat
Instructions
- Heat the oil over a medium heat and add the turmeric, ginger and garlic. Cook until fragrant. Add the cumin, coriander, chilli powder and cinnamon stick and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Add the onion, pepper and chilli and fry until softened. Add the tin of chopped tomatoes. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and add the cooked meat. Simmer until the sauce is thickened and the meat is heated through. Serve with rice.
Like the look of this recipe? Make sure you pin it for later!
10 Comments
Patty @ Spoonabilities
18/10/2017 at 10:39 PMWhat a great way to use up left-over turkey. I never would have thought of making a curry dish with it. Love it!
Amy
19/10/2017 at 1:05 PMThanks Patty!
Lisa|Garlic & Zest
18/10/2017 at 10:39 PMThe flavors in this curry are amazing! It’s almost worth making a turkey just so I can make this for dinner. Or maybe just buysome turkey pieces and cook them.
Amy
19/10/2017 at 1:05 PMSo true, that’s what we did and it was such a nice treat
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
19/10/2017 at 9:28 AMA brilliant way to use up any leftover turkey you may have – as we all usually do after Christmas. So important not to waste it.
Amy
19/10/2017 at 1:04 PMDefinitely!
Sarah
19/10/2017 at 10:58 AMI can absolutely guarantee you that I’ll have an abundance of turkey next month, and now I’ll have a great recipe to use it in! Thanks for sharing!
Amy
19/10/2017 at 1:04 PMGreat!
Lyla Hassan
28/12/2018 at 9:58 AMSuch a delicious recipe this is…Will be trying it on the coming weekend for sure
Edwina
01/01/2020 at 11:38 AMI had never made a turkey curry before. I made your recipe and it was delicious. I added some mango chutney and yogurt and the family loved it. We’ll be making it again. I was worried it would take me a long time to get all the ingredients together (and it did take longer than the 30 minutes suggested to make it) but it was worth it. Totally delicious. I’m hoping that next time I make the recipe it will be faster because I’ll be familiar with it. Thanks for such a great recipe.