After the Christmas chaos and commotion has died down and we’re left with surplus roast turkey, there’s only one thing I will do with it every year...
My Easy Leftover Turkey Curry is just about all that I can manage to summon the energy for because it’s quick and easy, but the bonus is that cold turkey makes a really special curry too!
Well we’ve eaten all the cheese we can lay our hands on, we’ve gorged on anything in pastry and chocolate, and in the days after Christmas I don’t want to look at another pig in a blanket or mince pie.
It’s time to change it up and get those different flavours and spices we’ve forgotten about for the last few weeks. And the best thing about this recipe is, it’s an economical and easy way to use leftovers and make sure that big expensive bird we’ve worked so hard on doesn’t go to any waste!
Why you’ll love this recipe
⭐️ Perfect for Christmas Dinner leftovers
⭐️ Other easy store cupboard ingredients
⭐️ An added dose of vegetables after festive excess!
About this Leftover Turkey Curry
Apart from bubble and squeak, one of my absolute favourite Christmas dishes is this Easy Leftover Turkey Curry. It’s easy, quick, healthy (no cream!) and packed with veg for a dose of goodness after aaalll the calories.
I love the simplicity of being able to throw together a big pot of this at any point when I feel like I want to get off the sofa at Twixmas. It’s also such a forgiving one-pot recipe as you can also adjust the ingredients to fit the amount of turkey you have left.
What you’ll need
- Onions – Use frozen to save time if you have it
- Garlic – The pre-made kind or frozen is fine
- Ginger – Same as above
- Curry paste – Whichever is your preference
- Butternut squash – Again, I use frozen pre-chopped for convenience
- Tinned tomatoes
- Vegetable stock
- Red lentils
- Leftover turkey
- Mango chutney
- Baby spinach
- Sea salt
How to make it
1. Add the onions, garlic, ginger and curry paste to a pan with oil and cook gently for about 10 minutes. Add the butternut squash, passata, about half of the stock and lentils.
2. Add the turkey and mango chutney. Cook for a further 5-10 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the spinach and pop the pan lid on for 5 minutes until wilted.
Hint: Stir occasionally and add more of the stock as and when needed.
Substitutions
- Vegetables – You can swap the butternut squash with other vegetables if you like, or use them all.
Leftovers
In the fridge Technically, you shouldn’t reheat food more than once, according to the Food Standards Agency. So if your turkey was roasted on Christmas Day and then reheated to make this curry, really you should be eating it straight away. That said, I have done this before and it was fine, ensuring the food was piping hot.
In the freezer If you want to make this to freeze, omit the turkey at step 4, then add it to the sauce when it is cold, and then freeze. This way it hasn’t been reheated and is safe to do so after defrosting.
Top tips
If you don’t have curry paste
If you’re making this from what you have lying around in the store cupboard and are determined not to go out to the shops for a while, you can easily make your own sauce instead. Make it up using onions, garlic, ginger, turmeric, curry powder and passata.
Serving suggestion
Serve it up with rice, poppadoms and more mango chutney, and you could garnish with coriander if you’re that way inclined.
FAQ
Yes! Just add everything into the slow cooker apart from the cooked turkey, spinach and mango chutney.
Put the lid on and cook for 5-6 hours on HIGH or 8-9 on LOW. Then add the turkey and cook on HIGH for 15-30 minutes until heated through.
Add the spinach and mango chutney before serving. The method can also be found in the recipe below.
I have tried-and-tested a number of one-pan pans, and I hope this review will help you! It’s so important to get a good one that works for you because they get used a lot.
I would tailor this recipe around the weight of the turkey you have as the sauce ingredients are simple and inexpensive, so it seems silly to have leave any meat to waste.
Use this recipe as a guide using 500g of turkey, and work out your measurements accordingly. For example, 250g of turkey means halve the ingredients, 1lb and double it instead.
Don’t forget to use the plain old taste test too. You can be a little relaxed with this dish.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Easy Leftover Turkey Curry
Ingredients
- 2 tsp Olive oil
- 250 g Chopped onions See notes
- 1 tbsp Chopped garlic See notes
- 1 tbsp Grated ginger See notes
- 150 g Curry paste Whichever type you like
- 500 g Butternut squash See notes
- 400 g Tinned tomatoes
- 500 ml Vegetable stock
- 100 g Red lentils
- Generous pinch of sea salt
- 500 g Leftover turkey
- 4 tbsp Mango chutney
- 200 g Baby spinach
To serve:
- Rice, poppadoms, more mango chutney
- Coriander, to garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan over a low heat.
- Add the onions, garlic, ginger and curry paste and cook gently for about 10 minutes until soft.
- Add the butternut squash, passata and about half of the stock. Add the lentils, stir well and pop a lid on. Leave to cook down for about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally and add more of the stock as and when needed.
- When the lentils and butternut squash are soft and cooked through, add in the turkey and mango chutney. Cook for a further 5-10 minutes, again, adding a splash more stock when needed.
- Turn off the heat, add the spinach and pop the pan lid on for 5 minutes until wilted.
- Serve with rice, poppadoms and more mango chutney.
To SLOW COOK:
- Add everything into the slow cooker apart from the cooked turkey, spinach and mango chutney.
- Put the lid on and cook for 5-6 hours on HIGH or 8-9 on LOW.
- Add the turkey and cook on HIGH for 15-30 minutes until heated through.
- Add the spinach and mango chutney before serving. (The heat of the curry will wilt the spinach).
Loubyloux S says
I’ve had this Le Crueset dish for about 2 years and it’s still in its box so perfect reason so unpack it!
Ciara Attwell says
Sarah this looks delicious! Love that it has so much goodness in it too, perfect after all my Christmas indulgence!
Donna says
I have nightmares about turkey curry and turkey stew. We lived off the stuff after Xmas each year as children for literally months. It was always yellow, always with less meat than the last meal and always with added potatoes or vegetables to bulk it out. BUT, this could get rid of those nightmares. It looks lush and a great use of leftovers x
Hugo says
I’ve made it this morning for little Ralph and he loves it! Fantastic recipe 😋😋
Louise says
Winner winner turkey leftovers 😉
Barbara Healing says
Introduced to your Instagram by my lovely daughter in law, Sarah. Fantastic recipe and so easy to follow. Delicious and will definitely do it again. Thanks xx
Zara says
Absolutely amazing as always thank you for the recipe ! Full of goodness and so yummy 😋
Ali says
Seriously never had a bad recipe from you – today, no exception. I added in some cauliflower and a splash of cream (it is Christmas) – fantastic curry!
janet beedle says
Y go to curry at the weekend. Sometimes use fresh chicken and whatever veg are in the fridge xx