Thanksgiving leftover recipes don't just have to involve a sandwich or mashed potato. This Thanksgiving turkey leftovers recipe will have you wishing you'd leftover turkey every week. 

Do you have tons of leftover turkey and mashed potatoes after Thanksgiving and want to wrestle up something a little bit more exciting than a sandwich or a casserole? This Thanksgiving leftovers recipe will have you dying to have some more leftover turkey in your fridge.

Thanksgiving leftovers recipe: Turkey enchiladas

Serves: 4

This one is with a Mexican flair. Serve this with guacamole, sour cream, salsa, and other Mexican fares for a grand lunch or dinner.

Ingredients:

  • 3 tbsp butter or margarine
  • 2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • 3 cups cooked turkey, chopped
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup pimento-stuffed olives
  • 1/2 cup toasted almond slivers
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 8 corn tortillas
  • Oil
  • 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Method:

  • Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add mushrooms and onion; saute until onion is tender. Remove from heat and stir in turkey, undiluted soup, sour cream, olives, almonds and chili powder. Briefly, cook tortillas in hot oil until softened; drain on paper towels.
  • Place 1/3 cup turkey mixture in center of each tortilla. Bring opposite sides of each tortilla up over turkey mixture overlapping edges at center.
  • Arrange seam-side down, on a greased 9x13 and an 8x8 baking dish. Spoon remaining turkey mixture down center of each enchilada. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes until hot. May take longer depending on oven.

AND FINALLY... The Twelve Days of Thanksgiving:

On the first day: We give thanks for the fresh turkey feast and its hot trimmings.

On the second day: We bless the cold turkey sandwiches, sloshy cranberry sauce and hard rolls.

On the third day: We praise the turkey pie and vintage mixed veggies.

On the fourth day: We thank the pilgrims for not serving bison that first time, or we'd be celebrating Thanksgiving until April.

On the fifth day: We gobble up cubed bird casserole and pray for a glimpse of a naked turkey carcass.

On the sixth day: We show gratitude (sort of) to the creative cook who slings cashews at the turkey and calls it Oriental.

On the seventh day: We forgive our forefathers and pass the turkey-nugget pizza.

On the eighth day: The word "vegetarian" keeps popping into our heads.

On the ninth day: We check our hair to make sure we're not beginning to sprout feathers.

On the tenth day: We hope that the wing meat kabobs catch fire under the broiler.

On the eleventh day: We smile over the creamed gizzard because the thigh bones are in sight.

On the twelfth day: We apologize for running out of turkey leftovers.

And everybody says, Amen!

* Originally published 2011. Last updated in November 2024.