• Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Work With Me
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosure
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms and Conditions

Easy Peasy Foodie

easy, delicious, stress-free, family food

  • Recipe Index
    • Popular Recipes
    • Easy Midweek Meal Ideas
    • Under 30 Minutes
    • Traybakes
    • Easy Entertaining
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Soups, Salads & Light Meals
    • Sandwiches & Burgers
    • Main Courses
    • Side Dishes
    • Sauces & Dips
    • Desserts, Puddings & Cakes
    • Vegetarian & Vegan
    • Roundups
  • Reviews
  • Blogging Tips
  • Meal Plans
  • Easter
Home » All Recipes » Christmas » Easy Leftover Turkey Curry

All Recipes Christmas Easy Midweek Meal Ideas Main Courses

Easy Leftover Turkey Curry

1.9K shares
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
Easy Leftover Turkey Curry

My Easy Leftover Turkey Curry is quick and simple but packed full of flavour. Ready in just 25 minutes, this tikka masala style curry is a great way to use up your turkey leftovers on Boxing Day and beyond! No leftover turkey? No problem – this tasty curry can be made with leftover chicken or pre-cooked turkey instead.

Easy Turkey Leftovers Curry

 

What to do with turkey leftovers?

What do you usually do with your leftover roast turkey at Christmas time? There are tons of options, from cold turkey with bubble and squeak to turkey sandwiches to leftover turkey pie, but one which is a perennial favourite is leftover turkey curry!

Given how passionate about leftovers in general I am, and how many leftover turkey recipes I have on my blog, it seems rather remiss of me that, until now, I didn’t have a leftover turkey curry on my blog!

Actually, I do have a Leftover Turkey Thai Green Curry on my blog – which has been there for quite a while. But this is the first time I’ve shared an Indian-style leftover turkey curry.

Easy Turkey Leftovers Curry

 

Easy Leftover Turkey Curry

My Easy Leftover Turkey Curry is a great way to use up leftover turkey after Christmas (or Thanksgiving!). It’s the sort of curry I do a lot with roast chicken – broadly tikka masala in style, very quick and simple to make – ready in just 30 minutes. Exactly the knd of meal you want after spending hours in the kitchen the day before.

And this Easy Leftover Turkey Curry is packed with flavour – your taste buds won’t be disappointed! It’s also pretty healthy too. Especially if you serve it with some brown rice – and maybe a healthy Indian-style salad.

Easy Turkey Leftovers Curry

 

Perfect for filling the freezer

So long as you haven’t frozen your cooked turkey before, you can freeze this curry too – making a great easy peasy midweek meal in the future. Just defrost for 24 hours in the fridge then dump in a saucepan, bring to the boil and cook for about 10 minutes, until the turkey is piping hot all the way through.

Alternatively, you could freeze your cooked turkey and then make this curry from scratch later in the year.

What I usually do is, straight after eating lunch on Christmas day strip off all the meat from the turkey carcass and save it in one meal-size boxes (typically 500g in each box). I put the boxes of leftover turkey in the freezer and then defrost them the day I want them (often much later on in January) and cook up this easy leftover turkey curry (or one of my other leftover turkey recipes) from scratch that day.

Either way it’s nice to know you have some quick, easy, healthy and cheap dinner options throughout January and beyond!!

Easy Turkey Leftovers Curry

 

What to serve with turkey curry

This Easy Leftover Turkey Curry is great with brown or white rice, alternatively you could serve it with my easy peasy pilau rice and/or naan breads. If you are watching your carbs and /or calories, you might like to try my pilau cauliflower rice instead!

Easy Leftover Turkey Curry

 

Easy Turkey Leftovers Curry
Print Pin
4.50 from 14 votes

Easy Leftover Turkey Curry

My Easy Leftover Turkey Curry is quick and simple but packed full of flavour. Ready in just 25 minutes, this tikka masala style curry is a great way to use up your turkey leftovers on Boxing Day and beyond! No leftover turkey? No problem – this tasty curry can be made with leftover chicken or pre-cooked turkey instead.
Prevent your screen from going dark
Course Main Course
Cuisine British, Fusion, Indian
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4 people
Calories 308kcal
Author Eb Gargano

Ingredients

Metric - US Customary
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium onion sliced
  • 1 red pepper sliced
  • 1 green pepper sliced
  • 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
  • 3 cloves garlic crushed or grated
  • 3 cm ginger grated
  • 3 teaspoons garam masala
  • 2 teaspoons turmeric optional
  • 500 g leftover cooked turkey shredded or cubed (see note)
  • 350 ml passata (or chopped tinned tomatoes)
  • 200 ml coconut milk
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Place the oil, onions and peppers in a wide, deep pan and cook over a gentle heat (lid on) for about 5 minutes, or until softened but not brown.
  • Add the chilli, garlic, ginger, garam masala and turmeric and fry gently for 2 more minutes (add a very small splash of water from the kettle if it gets to dry)
  • Add the turkey, passata, coconut milk, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Turn down low and simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly and the turkey is piping hot all the way through.
  • Serve with rice and/or naans and all your favourite accompaniments

Notes

If you don't have any leftover cooked turkey, you can substitute with leftover cooked chicken. Alternatively start by pan frying cubes of raw turkey or chicken until cooked, before continuing with the recipe.
Suitable for freezing.
Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Nutrition Facts
Easy Leftover Turkey Curry
Amount Per Serving
Calories 308 Calories from Fat 117
% Daily Value*
Fat 13g20%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Cholesterol 67mg22%
Sodium 301mg13%
Potassium 1020mg29%
Carbohydrates 17g6%
Fiber 4g17%
Sugar 8g9%
Protein 30g60%
Vitamin A 2480IU50%
Vitamin C 88.8mg108%
Calcium 57mg6%
Iron 4.7mg26%
* % Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet
Tried this recipe?I'd love to hear about it! Leave a review in the comments below.

 

Pin Easy Leftover Turkey Curry for later

Ready in just 25 minutes, this tikka masala style curry is a great way to use up your turkey leftovers on Boxing Day and beyond! No leftover turkey? No problem – this tasty curry can be made with leftover chicken or pre-cooked turkey instead. #turkey #leftoverturkey #turkeyleftovers #christmasleftovers #christmasfood #boxingdayfood #christmasrecipes #easyrecipes #easypeasyfoodie #cookblogshare #freefromgang

 

FREE 4 Week Easy Dinners Meal Plan

Have you got your hands on a copy of my meal plan yet? If not CLICK HERE to download a copy of my FREE 4 Week Easy Dinners Meal Plan today!

 

Don’t want to miss a thing?

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Or why not subscribe to my blog and get delicious, stress free recipes straight to your inbox every week?

1.9K shares


48 Comments

GET FREE MEAL PLANS!

Get my 4 Week Easy Dinners Meal Plan plus ready-made shopping lists...

« Roast Parsnips with Honey and Thyme
6 Unusual Christmas Recipes and #CookBlogShare Weeks 51 & 52 »

Comments

  1. Corina Blum says

    12th December 2018 at 11:06 am

    You might have guessed but curry is my absolute favourite thing to make with leftover turkey! This looks so good – It’s a really lovely colour too! Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      13th December 2018 at 12:15 pm

      Hahaha – I would definitely have guessed that! Thanks for your kind comments 🙂 Eb x

      Reply
  2. Anna | Once Upon A Food Blog says

    12th December 2018 at 4:28 pm

    A great idea Eb and it looks really delicious. And I’ve not come across your pilau cauliflower rice before. I’ll definitely be looking that recipe up!

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      13th December 2018 at 12:16 pm

      Thanks Anna! Hope you like the cauliflower pilau rice! 😀 Eb x

      Reply
  3. Monika Dabrowski says

    13th December 2018 at 4:10 pm

    With recipes such as this one you almost want to have turkey leftovers so you can make it! Delicious! Thank you for bringing it to #CookBlogShare.

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      14th December 2018 at 10:23 am

      Haha – thanks Monika. If my leftovers recipes are tempting people to want to make extra turkey just so they have plenty of leftovers I know I’ve done my job right! 😀 Eb x

      Reply
      • Corinne says

        5th December 2020 at 12:50 pm

        We found your recipe by chance last year my husband loves chicken and I make a veg one for myself

        Reply
        • Eb Gargano says

          7th December 2020 at 10:54 am

          Aw, yay! That’s so good to hear 😀 Thanks for this lovely comment! Eb 🙂

          Reply
  4. Cat | Curly's Cooking says

    13th December 2018 at 11:23 pm

    This is my kind of boxing day meal! Every boxing day we used to have cold turkey and chips when I was still living at home and I was never a fan. This is a much more appealing way of adding some much needed spice to leftover turkey.

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      14th December 2018 at 10:28 am

      Thanks Cat! Oooh – no, I would not like to have cold turkey and chips on Boxing Day. That would feel a bit of a let down after the loveliness of the food the day before. Making a bit of a feast out of the leftovers is much more my style! So pleased you like my curry. Eb x

      Reply
  5. Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food says

    17th December 2018 at 5:04 pm

    I’ve used up my leftover turkey in green curry, but I haven’t tried tikka-masala style. It sounds super yummy and easy! I like your strategy for freezing your leftover meat—sadly, my leftover meat gets snarfed down within a couple of days. Well, I guess that’s a good thing, right? 😉

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      18th December 2018 at 11:24 am

      Oh definitely a good thing! But sadly it’s not the same for everyone and so much leftover turkey gets wasted each year. I love having 1 meal size boxes of leftover turkey ready to go in my freezer. I have a few from the last time I cooked a turkey for the blog and it’s great to be able to pull one out and make a quick, easy and TASTY midweek meal in just a few minutes with my leftovers! Eb x

      Reply
  6. Dee says

    2nd January 2019 at 7:48 am

    Hiya,
    Just to let you know when I try to save the recipe in Pinterest it comes up with an error message about too many characters and doesn’t save.

    I have to delete all the #hashtags in the description and then it saves fine. Thought you might like to know.

    Cheers, Dee

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      2nd January 2019 at 7:08 pm

      Oooh thanks Dee – I’ll get on to that and get it fixed pronto – thanks so much for taking the time to let me know! Eb 🙂

      Reply
  7. Richard Halliday says

    27th December 2019 at 1:32 pm

    Hi Eb, Thank you for your turkey curry recipe, I will be making it later today,, will let you you know the outcome,, sure it will be tasty,,
    ?????????

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      27th December 2019 at 3:10 pm

      A pleasure. Hope you enjoy it. Let me know how it goes! Eb 🙂

      Reply
  8. Rob says

    27th December 2019 at 5:29 pm

    Made this curry today. 27th Dec 19. Absolutely delicious. Thanks so much for making the recipe available. We all had empty plates.

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      28th December 2019 at 12:13 pm

      Yay! Thank you for this lovely comment. So pleased to hear you enjoyed my curry. Empty plates is the best compliment! Eb 🙂

      Reply
  9. Jo Heath says

    27th December 2019 at 9:12 pm

    I was looking for a curry recipe to make with my left over turkey and your photo looked fantastic. I am not a great cook but as I had all the ingredients I followed the recipe exactly.
    Sadly it didn’t come out as hoped, my husband thought it had too much turmeric in it, and we ended up leaving most of it.

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      28th December 2019 at 12:22 pm

      Oh no – I am so sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy this one. I am at a loss to know why that might be. I’d be surprised if it was the turmeric – I mean it could be, but turmeric is a pretty common spice in curry and I am assuming you generally do like curry! It’s also not a super strong flavour and 2 teaspoons is not an especially large quantity in a recipe designed for 4. The only thing I can think of is this is definitely a ‘healthy’ style curry, in that it has a lot less oil than say a typical takeaway or ready meal curry and no sugar (also found in many takeaway and ready meal curries!) – so that could explain it. Otherwise I am really not sure as I’ve had lots of very positive feedback about this particular recipe. Maybe it just comes down to personal taste. We are all different after all! Eb 🙂

      Reply
  10. Cat London says

    28th December 2019 at 12:07 am

    This was tasty — I squeezed in quite a bit of fresh lime because it felt like it needed to be brightened up, and I wish I’d had fresh cilantro, but it was the perfect dinner after two days of Christmas leftovers when no one could face the turkey and stuffing one more time.

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      28th December 2019 at 12:24 pm

      Yay! So happy you enjoyed my curry. Thanks for taking the time to let me know! Eb 🙂

      Reply
  11. Frøydis Adamson says

    28th December 2019 at 8:26 am

    3 cm ginger??

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      28th December 2019 at 12:27 pm

      Yes – although it does depend on how fat your ginger is, I guess! Another way of describing it would be a thumb-sized piece of ginger. But if you are not a ginger fan then obviously feel free to reduce that amount. Hope that helps! Eb 🙂

      Reply
  12. Chilli Ray says

    28th December 2019 at 8:25 pm

    Thank you for posting this tasty and easy recipe, it was a hit with the family.
    I have a vegetarian wife, a 3 year old and my love for hot food ? so I had to make a few adaptations which are fairly normal in my house, no Turkey, extra veg for my wife, not much chilli for my son and extra chilli for me.
    I’ve tried my son on jarred curry and he doesn’t like it, he only liked curry from the local Indian restaurant, so to see him eat it all and enjoy it was great to see.
    I kept to the recipe quantities but added some mustard seeds while the spices went in, I also added some coriander as I saw it in your photo and the results was great.
    I chopped a fresh 7 pod Chilli in to mine which was perfect for my tastebuds.
    Thank you

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      31st December 2019 at 5:02 pm

      Yay – so pleased to hear this was a hit! I am especially pleased to hear your son liked it – he clearly has good taste 😉 Thanks for taking the time to write this lovely comment. Eb 🙂

      Reply
  13. Mo says

    27th December 2020 at 11:04 am

    Looking forward to cooking this today with our leftovers. After cooking can we freeze the curry as I am worried that when we defrost it will be being reheated for a third time.
    Please advise or it will be a shame to waste it. TY

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      30th December 2020 at 10:09 am

      Hi Mo, sorry I didn’t get to this comment until today. I hope my advice will still help you! The rule is that you can freeze turkey (or any meat) once uncooked and once cooked. In theory, it should be fine to reheat turkey more than once as long at you reheat it until it is piping hot all the way through each time. However, it really depends on how well you have followed turkey cooking / cooling / reheating best practice. If you are at all worried, I would err on the side of caution and not reheat your turkey for a third time. Please see these websites for more information: https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/reheating-turkey/ https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/cooking-turkey-safely/

      Reply
  14. June Gaynor says

    27th December 2020 at 4:58 pm

    I’m so pleased I found this recipe, I made it today from my leftover Turkey and it was really quick and easy, yet super delicious. Only problem was I didn’t have any coconut milk, so I added a bit of double cream at the end to give a bit more richness. Hopefully I redeemed myself with the brown rice!

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      30th December 2020 at 10:18 am

      Yay! I am so pleased to hear you enjoyed this so much. I’m sure it was lovely with double cream! Eb 🙂

      Reply
  15. Holly says

    27th December 2020 at 8:09 pm

    Nice and easy – and tasty, but personally feel this could benefit from quite a bit more spice? Tasted quite tomatoey! I am freezing a batch which I will add some cumin and coriander to!

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      30th December 2020 at 10:28 am

      Hi Holly, I am sorry to hear you did not find this curry spicy enough for your tastes. At least it’s an easy fix for next time! I am glad to hear you found it nice and easy, though. Eb 🙂

      Reply
  16. Brian McMahon says

    28th December 2020 at 6:01 pm

    I made this!!!!!!

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      30th December 2020 at 10:39 am

      Yay! Good to hear you enjoyed this. And thanks especially for the 5 stars! Eb 🙂

      Reply
  17. Ann says

    29th December 2020 at 9:18 am

    My children ate it all with no comment. What a winner!! ?

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      30th December 2020 at 10:40 am

      Yay! That’s so good to hear. I am always especially happy to hear when my recipes go down well with children. They are definitely the toughest critics 😉

      Reply
  18. Elaine says

    11th January 2021 at 2:40 pm

    Omg this recipie is so good. It’s easy to make and full of flavor with turkey. I used one hot chili for us it was sufficient heat. Next time we have left over chicken will it as well.

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      12th January 2021 at 10:22 am

      Aw, yay! Thank you for this lovely comment and 5* review 😀 I am so happy you enjoyed it so much! Eb 🙂

      Reply
  19. Faye McDermott says

    28th December 2021 at 9:45 am

    I had a holiday a few years back in Sri Lanka and hold fond memories of the curries enriched with coconut milk that they served there. This recipe lived up to that! Just wonderful thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      28th December 2021 at 11:46 am

      Aw, yay! I am so happy to hear that 😀

      Reply
  20. Ashley says

    30th December 2021 at 6:39 pm

    Tastes great, I like a little bit of spice so added some fresh chopped chillies. Perfect for anyone who doesn’t like a lot of heat to their curry (like my girlfriend).
    Big love x

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      3rd January 2022 at 9:37 am

      Thanks for this lovely feedback – so pleased to hear that both you and your girlfriend enjoyed this curry!

      Reply
  21. Liz says

    30th December 2021 at 7:23 pm

    Hi Eb
    Thank you so much for your recipe for easy leftover turkey curry! My mom passed away a few years ago and had not written down her recipe for leftover turkey curry, so finding your recipe was a godsend. My dad loved the curry and the heat was just as he liked it. I live in South Africa and I love Malay dishes.

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      3rd January 2022 at 9:38 am

      Aw, I am so sorry to hear about your mom. But I am delighted that you liked my curry so much! Thank you for taking the time to leave this lovely review 😀

      Reply
  22. Diane says

    1st March 2022 at 11:43 pm

    Made this for the first (but not last!) time tonight. We were both tired and had left over turkey so I thought I’d give it a try. WOW! It was so easy to pull together and absolutely delicious! I used cauliflower rice this time, but will use brown rice in the future to soak up the yummy sauce. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      2nd March 2022 at 8:26 am

      Aw, yay! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed my recipe so much. Thank you for taking the time to let me know, and especially for the 5* rating! Eb 🙂

      Reply
  23. PETER I LORENZELLI says

    26th December 2022 at 1:39 pm

    i am going to try this recipe today nut not a fan of coconut milk or creams in curries what is beswt for a replacement ,, ? chicken stock ?

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      27th December 2022 at 11:12 am

      If you don’t like coconut milk, water or chicken stock would be a good replacement. Eb 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Connect with Me

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

About Me

Eb Gargano Headshot

Hi and welcome to Easy Peasy Foodie! I’m Eb – a professional blogger, busy mum and passionate foodie and it is my mission in life to make cooking EASIER and MORE DELICIOUS! READ MORE

Find a Recipe

Get my 4 Week Easy Dinners Meal Plan!

COPYRIGHT © 2023 EASY PEASY FOODIE · DIVINE THEME BY RESTORED 316 · BUILT ON THE GENESIS FRAMEWORK · POWERED BY WORDPRESS
1.9K shares