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By Sarah Rossi
on Dec 27, 2022, Updated Mar 29, 2023
4.73 from 43 votes
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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
Can I make turkey curry in the slow cooker?
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.
Can you recommend a good pan for this dish?
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 have more leftover turkey than this recipe shows. What should I do?
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).
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4.73 from 43 votes
Easy Leftover Turkey Curry
By Sarah Rossi
This Leftover Turkey Curry recipe is the perfect post-Christmas dish. It's easy, quick, deliciously tasty. This wholesome turkey curry has added lentils, butternut squash and spinach for a dose of extra goodness.
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes minutes
Servings: 8
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).
Notes
Onions: I cheated and used frozen for speed, if using fresh this will be about 2 medium onions
Garlic: I used frozen. This would be about 3 gloves
Ginger: Again, I used frozen, this would be about a 1 inch piece of fresh.
Butternut squash: Cubed (again, I used frozen!)
Nutrition
Calories: 279kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 24gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 68mgSodium: 137mgPotassium: 1095mgFiber: 8gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 9475IUVitamin C: 33.7mgCalcium: 104mgIron: 5mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Additional Info
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Family Food, Indian
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Categorized as:
Batch Cook, Chicken, Christmas Recipes, Curry, Freezer Friendly, Main Courses, Recipes
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Hi, I'm Sarah. I help busy people decide 'What's for Dinner?' Find hundreds of recipes here, and also in my bestselling recipe book. Hope my recipes make your life easier ❤️
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10 Comments
Made this tonight! Another great easy recipe Sarah – Thank you. Total winner with leftovers for work tomorrow. Fab! XxReply
Y go to curry at the weekend. Sometimes use fresh chicken and whatever veg are in the fridge xxReply
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!
Reply
Absolutely amazing as always thank you for the recipe ! Full of goodness and so yummy 😋
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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 xxReply
Winner winner turkey leftovers 😉Reply
I’ve made it this morning for little Ralph and he loves it! Fantastic recipe 😋😋Reply
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
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Sarah this looks delicious! Love that it has so much goodness in it too, perfect after all my Christmas indulgence!Reply
I’ve had this Le Crueset dish for about 2 years and it’s still in its box so perfect reason so unpack it!Reply
