Ready in just 15 minutes, this Leftover Turkey Curry recipe is a great way to use up that post Christmas or Thanksgiving turkey. A really simple curry dish, that is packed with flavour, and uses ingredients you most likely have in your cupboard right now. You can easily use leftover chicken, or cook some chicken or turkey fresh for this dish too.
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About this Turkey Curry Recipe
By the time it gets to about the 27th December, I am ready to scream if I see yet another turkey sandwich! But, we don't like wasting anything, so we are always looking for ways to use leftover turkey. There are lots of ways to add vegetables to this curry with leftover turkey too.
The best thing about this is how easy it is. You just throw what ever you have leftover into a pan with some shredded turkey, spices, tomato and a little coconut milk and it is ready in just 15 minutes.
After all the calories of Christmas (nothing wrong with that), it can be nice to have a lighter meal. There are just 259 calories for a big bowl of this turkey curry with leftovers.
This is one of our favourite leftover turkey recipes because it is so simple and doesn't need any fancy ingredients. If you are looking for more recipes with leftover turkey, why not try our Turkey Grilled Cheese, Leftover Turkey Pasta, Leftover Turkey Soup or Leftover Turkey Quesadillas?
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Ingredients and Substitutions
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Shredded turkey - We use this as our main turkey leftovers recipe and use the majority of our turkey in it. We shred ours, but you could chop it into chunks. Only got chicken? Use that instead. You can use this recipe with out leftovers too, just cook some chunks of chicken or turkey breast fresh.
- Vegetables - After an indulgent festive season, we like to pack as many vegetables into this leftover turkey curry recipe as possible. A base of onion, mushrooms and peppers work, and we like courgette and/or aubergine too. We sometimes throw in leftover roasted vegetables from Christmas day too. Just before serving, we had a couple of handfuls of spinach to give it a green boost too.
- Spices - The spices are the most important part of a curry, but we wanted to keep it simple with just a couple of tablespoons of curry powder. But you could use a tikka or korma powder or even you favourite curry paste.
- Sauce - This is a tomato based curry, with just a tin of chopped tomatoes. We wanted to make it a little bit creamy, so we added half a tin of coconut milk which also adds loads of flavour. But you could leave it out or swap it for double cream, which you might have leftover from Christmas anyway.
- Mango Chutney - If you haven't tried mango chutney in a curry before, then you are seriously missing out. It adds so much flavour, with very little effort. So always have some in your fridge for a quick flavour boost to your favourite homemade curry. You could swap it for cranberry sauce if you have a lot of that that needs using up.
More ingredient substitutions and variations can be found in the recipe card.
How to Make Leftover Turkey Curry
- Step 1: Cook the vegetables in the oil for 3-4 minutes until softened.
- Step 2: Add the garlic and curry powder. Stir and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Step 3: Add the turkey, tomatoes, coconut milk and mango chutney. Stir and simmer for 7 minutes.
- Step 4: Add the spinach and continue cooking until it has wilted.
Serving Suggestions
This is a pretty healthy curry, so we don't tend to go overboard with sides and keep them light. We love a brown rice and quinoa mix with this curry and then some mini popadoms and mango chutney.
It has mango chutney in the actual curry (it's our not so secret ingredient for most of our homemade curries), but you can never have too much, right?
Why not try serving some Peshwari Naan with it or our Easy Naan Bread. I dipped it in some Homemade Mango Chutney. If you wanted some rice, then our Pilau Rice, Turmeric Rice or Coconut Rice is a delicious side.
Dannii's Top Tips
- You don't have to wait until you have leftovers to make this. Simply fry some chunks of chicken or turkey breast first, and then follow the rest of the instructions for this recipe.
- Add some extra flavour to this turkey curry with leftover turkey with a couple of spoonfuls of mango chutney or cranberry sauce. This is optional though.
- You can use any cooked vegetables you have leftover in this recipe, or cook some fresh. We added some spinach in at the end, however you could use kale.
- You can leave the coconut milk out of this recipe (however replace it with a little stock) or use cream instead.
- You can bulk this turkey curry out by chopping up leftover roast vegetables too.
- Add some extra sweetness with a handful of raisins.
- If you want to bulk out this turkey curry a little, then add some cooked lentils.
Frequently Asked Questions
We wouldn't recommend reheating this curry as it would have already been cooked twice - once for the turkey and again for this curry. Food, especially poultry, should be cooked no more than twice.
Yes, as long as the curry powder you are using is gluten free, this is a delicious gluten free curry. Just be careful of the side dishes you serve up.
Yes, this curry can be made in the slow cooker. Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker and cook for 2 hours on high.
Once you have finished your Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner, cover the turkey up, leave it to cool and then put it in the fridge. When you are ready to use the leftovers, slice off whatever meat you can, and then use your fingers to take off whatever else you can. You can use the carcass to make stock with, so nothing goes to waste.
More Turkey Recipes
If you've tried this Leftover Turkey Curry, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
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Recipe
15 Minute Leftover Turkey Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of Olive oil
- 1 Onion - thinly sliced
- 1 Red bell pepper - diced
- 1 Courgette (zucchini) - diced
- 6 Mushrooms - sliced
- 100 g (3.5 oz) of Spinach
- 300 g (10.5 oz) of Leftover turkey - shredded
- 3 Garlic clove - crushed
- 2 tablespoon of Curry powder
- 400 g (14 oz) of Chopped tomatoes - canned
- 200 ml (0.75 cups) of Light coconut milk
- 2 tablespoon of Mango chutney
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp of Olive oil in a large pan. Cook 1 Onion, 1 Red bell pepper, 1 Courgette (zucchini) and 6 Mushrooms for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the 3 Garlic clove and 2 tbsp of Curry powder. Stir and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Add 300 g of Leftover turkey, 400 g of Chopped tomatoes, 200 ml of Light coconut milk and 2 tbsp of Mango chutney. Stir and simmer for 7 minutes.
- Add 100 g of Spinach and continue cooking until it has wilted.
- Serve over rice.
Recipe Video
Recipe Tips
- You don't have to wait until you have leftovers to make this. Simply fry some chunks of chicken or turkey breast first, and then follow the rest of the instructions for this recipe.
- Add some extra flavour with a couple of tablespoons of mango chutney. This is optional though.
- You can use any cooked vegetables you have leftover in this recipe, or cook some fresh. We added some spinach in at the end, however you could use kale.
- You can leave the coconut milk out of this recipe (however replace it with a little stock) or use cream instead.
- You can bulk this turkey curry out by chopping up leftover roast vegetables too.
- Add some extra sweetness with a handful of raisins.
- If you want to bulk out this turkey curry a little, then add some cooked lentils.
Nutritional Information
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The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Euan Thomas says
When does the turkey go in? It's not mentioned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dannii says
Apologies, that was missed out from step 5. It has been included now
Tina Williams says
Easy and quick and very tasty. Just what you need after spending days in the kitchen
Dannii says
So glad you enjoyed it. We will be eating it with leftover roast chicken throughout the year too.