Wondering what to do with your roast turkey leftovers? This Leftover Turkey Biryani is your answer! Turkey Biryani is a quick, easy and delicious way to use up leftover roast turkey – it takes just 25 minutes and only uses 1 pot! If you don’t have any leftovers, don’t worry… I have included instructions for how to make this with fresh turkey too.
Got roast turkey leftovers? Make biryani!
So, you’ve had a wonderful roast turkey dinner, but now you have a pile of roast turkey leftovers… What do you do? Make this easy peasy biryani of course!
This Turkey Biryani is such an easy and delicious way to use up leftover roast turkey – it takes just 25 minutes and only uses 1 pot!
Want more leftover turkey inspo?
No problem! Here are 5 more delicious recipes for your roast turkey leftovers…
- Leftover Turkey Fried Rice
- Leftover Turkey Fajitas
- Leftover Turkey Risotto
- Leftover Turkey Curry
- Leftover Turkey and Lentil Soup
Leftover Turkey Fried Rice
No leftover roast turkey?
No problem! I have included instructions in the recipe card for how to make this delicious biryani with fresh turkey too.
How to make Turkey Biryani
This delicious Turkey Biryani is super easy to make!
All you need to do is fry up some onions and peppers. Then add garlic, chilli and a few easy spices. Next add the turkey, rice and stock, and simmer for 8 minutes before adding some frozen peas. Cook for a further 5 minutes then stir in some chopped fresh coriander (AKA cilantro). Sprinkle extra coriander on top and serve. Easy peasy!
(Full recipe given in the recipe card below.)
Not an ‘authentic’ biryani
OK, I’ll be the first to admit, this is not an ‘authentic’ biryani.
Traditional recipes for biryani are often quite long and complicated, and a bit faffy. And you know that’s the opposite of what I do on this website!
My focus is on making quick, easy and delicious recipes, that give you all of the flavour, but none of the faff…
And that’s exactly what I’ve done here with this Easy Turkey Biryani!
What to serve with Turkey Biryani
This turkey biryani is a complete meal in its own right, but I like to serve it with naan bread, Bombay potatoes, mango chutney and lime pickle.
Alternatively, you could serve this easy peasy biryani as part of an Indian-themed spread, including other curries and rice dishes such as:
- Multicoloured Pilau Rice
- Fruity Pilau Rice
- Easy Beef Mince Curry (Keema Curry)
- Easy Peasy Lamb Curry
- Easy Chicken Dhansak
Multicoloured Pilau Rice
What to drink with Turkey Biryani
This Turkey Biryani goes best with aromatic whites, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris (from Alsace or New Zealand) and Torrontes (from Argentina).
Alternatively it also works well with fruity rosés.
Can you reheat turkey biryani?
Food safety guidelines state that you should not re-heat food more than once. And this is especially important with ‘high risk’ foods like turkey. So if you made this with leftover / previously cooked turkey, I do not recommend reheating this biryani.
However, if you made this with fresh turkey, it should be fine to reheat, so long as you take care to adhere to food safety guidelines for reheating turkey and rice.
Can you freeze turkey biryani?
Again, since food safety guidelines state that you should not re-heat food more than once, I do not recommend freezing and reheating this biryani.
However, if you made this with fresh turkey, it should be fine to freeze and reheat, so long as you take care to adhere to food safety guidelines for reheating turkey and rice.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
- Easy Turkey Fajitas
- Turkey Mince Fried Rice
- Easy Turkey Mince Bolognese
- Rolled Stuffed Turkey Breast
- Christmas Pizza
- 10 Easy Ideas for your Turkey Leftovers
Easy Turkey Fajitas
Leftover Turkey Biryani
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion sliced thinly
- 1 red pepper sliced thinly
- 3 cloves garlic crushed or grated
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes (or to taste)
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 3 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 400 g cooked turkey shredded (see Note 1)
- 300 g basmati rice (see Note 2)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 600 ml chicken stock (from a cube is fine, I use 1 Kallo Organic Chicken stock cube)
- 100 g frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons fresh coriander plus extra for garnish (optional)
- Pickles/chutneys/naan bread/chapattis – or whatever you like to serve with a biryani.
Instructions
- Put the olive oil, onion and red pepper in a large frying pan or sauté pan (must have a lid), fry gently over a low heat with the lid on for 3 minutes or until softened but not browned.
- Add the garlic, chilli and spices and fry for a further 2 minutes.
- Add the shredded turkey, rice, salt and pepper. Stir to coat the turkey and rice in the spices, then add the stock and bring to the boil.
- Put a lid on the frying pan and turn the heat right down, simmer for 8 minutes then add the frozen peas, stir once and replace the lid.
- Cook for a further 5 minutes or until the rice is done to your liking. If it starts sticking before the rice is cooked, add an extra splash of water.
- Finally stir in the 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh coriander (AKA cilantro).
- Sprinkle extra coriander on top and serve with all your favourite extras, such as naan breads, pickles and chutneys.
Notes
- If you don’t have any cooked turkey, simply use 400g fresh turkey breast. Dice the turkey breast into bitesize pieces, then stir fry the turkey breast pieces for 5 minutes over a high heat until they are nicely browned. Tip out onto a plate and then continue with the rest of the recipe – you can use the same frying pan so it’s still a one pot recipe!
- Cooking time will depend on the specific brand of basmati rice you use. I use Tilda Basmati Rice, which yields perfectly cooked rice when cooked as above. Tilda advise cooking their basmati rice for 10-12 minutes. If your brand’s instructions advise you to cook the rice for longer than this. Add the extra time to the initial 8 minutes.
- Not suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Deborah M says
This sounds and looks great. I do love your recipes – thanks for keeping them coming 🙂
I’ve given it a 5 rating although I haven’t made it yet [!]
Based on other recipes of yours though, that I’ve tried, I’m sure it will be another winner.
Not sure I’ll be able to make it unless I buy some basmati rice, as I seem to rely on micro rice for all my needs these days – wholemeal, long grain, basmati, wild and red. All of it’s micro really these days for me just for speed and ease – apart from Thai Jasmine for some reason which I still buy in a non-microwave version.
Perhaps I will buy some basmati and give it a go …….
Thanks again
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thank you for this lovely message! So great to hear how much you love my recipes 😀
Ruth Friend says
I made this last week but used left over lamb instead of turkey. The family all agreed that it was really tasty, so we are having it again tonight! It made 4 generous portions and I expect I will try it with left over turkey after Christmas. Thank you for this recipe – I love one-pan dishes as it saves on the washing up.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, that’s so good to hear – I LOVE the idea of doing this with lamb! Thank you for this lovely review and 5* rating 😀