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    Home > Seasonal & Holiday

    Leftover Turkey Bolognese

    Published: Dec 28, 2020 by Nicky Corbishley

    Go to Recipe Go to Video Print Recipe

    Use up that leftover turkey with this turkey bolognese! Shredded turkey in a lovely rich ragu. Ready in 30 minutes!
    The recipe is almost exactly the same as my regular Spaghetti Bolognese - why change it if it works!

    leftover turkey bolognese on a white plate with spaghetti. Topped with spring onions.

    Jump to:
    • 📋 What do we need?
    • 🔪 How to make this turkey bolognese
    • 🍽️ What to serve it with
    • 📺 Watch how to make it
    • 🍲 More leftover turkey recipes
    • Leftover Turkey Bolognese
    • 💬 Reviews

    After all the feasting at Christmas, I usually crave curry or pasta in the following days.
    Of course we still have loads of turkey left, so that's my staple meat for the next few days.

    I'll be making this turkey bolognese to satisfy that pasta craving (and turkey tikka masala for the curry!)

    📋 What do we need?

    Ingredients for Leftover Turkey Bolognese on a wooden table
    • Turkey - shreds or small chunks of leftover cooked turkey. Even those little tiny bits of turkey are great - so be sure to get as much meat of as you can.
    • Tinned tomatoes - I love using finely chopped tomatoes for a thicker sauce (rather than the tins of tomato with big lumps of tomato in a think sauce). Passata is also good too.
    • Wine - don't worry about which wine to use. Any red wine will do. I use a fairly cheap merlot just because that what we have in.

    🔪 How to make this turkey bolognese

    Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.

    Soften onions, garlic, carrots, celery and mushrooms in a pan with a little oil.

    Add in the cooked turkey and then the wine and bubble for a few minutes. The red wine will darken the meat, but don't worry, we're adding tomatoes etc later, so the colour all evens itself out.

    Add in tomato puree, some tried thyme and oregano, Worcestershire sauce, a crumbled chicken stock cube, a couple of tins of chopped tomatoes, a little sugar (to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes) and a pinch of salt and pepper.

    Bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 until luscious and thick.

    8 image collage showing how to make leftover turkey bolognese

    👩‍🍳PRO TIP Put your pasta on to boil as soon as the bolognese comes to a simmer so it will all be ready at the same time.

    Serve on top of spaghetti with a sprinkling of spring onions and parmesan.

    leftover turkey bolognese on a white plate. Gold fork resting on the plate.

    🍽️ What to serve it with

    • Fresh Homemade Pasta
    • Homemade Garlic Bread
    • Cheesy Tomato Garlic Pizza Bread
    • Chunks of Homemade Artisan Bread

    If you haven't tried our simple 2-ingredient homemade pasta recipe yet (no machines needed!) take a look 😋

    homemade tagliatelle being lifted off a board

    📺 Watch how to make it

    YouTube video

    🍲 More leftover turkey recipes

    • Overhead of Sweet and sour turkey with peppers and onions in a white oval bowl
      Sweet and Sour Turkey
    • Overhead image of leftover turkey, ham and cheese pasta bake in a black pan
      Leftover Turkey Pasta Bake with Ham and Cheese
    • Use up that leftover turkey with this spicy-as-you-like Turkey Tikka Masala! Cream and delicious, it's on the kids and adults will enjoy. Gluten free too!
      Leftover Turkey Tikka Masala
    • What should you do with all that leftover turkey....Make these Crispy Turkey Nachos!! Crispy fajita-spiced turkey, beans, and a ton of melted cheese!!!
      Crispy Turkey Nachos
    • Overhead photo of leftover turkey risotto on a white plate, dressed with a sprig of thyme and with a gold fork.
      Leftover Turkey Risotto

    Stay updated with new recipes!
    Subscribe to the newsletter to hear when I post a new recipe. I’m also on YouTube (new videos every week) and Instagram (behind-the-scenes stories & beautiful food photos).

    leftover turkey bolognese on a white plate with spaghetti

    Leftover Turkey Bolognese

    By: Nicky Corbishley
    Use up that leftover turkey with this turkey bolognese! Shredded turkey in a lovely rich ragu. Ready in 30 minutes!
    5 from 3 votes
    Rate this Recipe Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 minutes mins
    Cook Time 25 minutes mins
    Total Time 30 minutes mins
    Course Dinner
    Cuisine American-Italian, British-Italian
    Servings 4
    Calories 208 kcal

    Ingredients
     

    • 1 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 onion - peeled and finely diced
    • 2 cloves garlic - peeled and minced
    • 1 carrot - peeled and finely diced
    • 1 stick of celery - finely diced
    • 3 chestnut mushrooms - finely diced
    • 300 g (10.5oz) leftover cooked turkey - finely chopped or shredded
    • 120 ml (½ cup) red wine - any red will do
    • 3 tbsp tomato puree
    • 1 tsp dried oregano
    • ½ tsp dried thyme
    • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
    • 1 chicken stock cube - crumbled
    • 800 g (2 x 400g/14oz) tins finely chopped tomatoes
    • ½ tbsp granulated or caster sugar
    • ½ tsp salt
    • ½ tsp black pepper

    To serve:

    • Cooked spaghetti - swap for pasta shapes if you prefer
    • Small bunch spring onions - scallions, chopped
    • grated parmesan

    INSTRUCTIONS
     

    • Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the onion softens.
    • Add the garlic and cook for a further minute.
    • Add the carrot, celery and mushrooms and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
    • Add the chopped turkey, stir, then add the wine. Bring to the boil and let it bubble for 2-3 minutes, until reduced by three quarters.
    • Add the tomato puree, oregano, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock cube, tinned tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir and bring to the boil.
    • Turn down the heat and simmer for 15 -20 minutes until thickened (this is a good time to cook your spaghetti).
    • Spoon the bolognese on top of the spaghetti and sprinkle on the spring onions (scallions) and parmesan before serving.

    Video

    YouTube video

    ✎ Notes

    Can I make it ahead or freeze?
    I would usually say yes for a bolognese, but since we're using turkey that's already been cooked once, then cooked a second time to make this bolognese, we don't really want to reheat the meat a third time. So just make enough for the people you're feeding. You can increase or decrease the number of servings to the same ratio.
    Ingredient swaps
    If you have leftover veggies from Christmas dinner add them in! Carrots and green beans work great!
    I'm not so sure about sprouts (but being a sprout lover I'd probably try it anyway 😁)
    If you made roast beef for your Christmas dinner - use the leftover beef instead of the turkey. Just chop it up finely (I find this tastes better than large chunks of meat when using beef).
    How to scale up and scale down this recipe
    Increase or decrease the servings by sticking to the same ratios.
    Nutritional information is per serving not including the pasta, spring onions and parmesan.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 208kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 15gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 942mgPotassium: 802mgFiber: 4gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 2918IUVitamin C: 24mgCalcium: 97mgIron: 3mg
    Keywords Leftover Turkey Recipe, leftovers, pasta
    Tried this recipe?Mention @KitchenSanctuary or tag #KitchenSanctuary on Instagram!

    Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.

    Hi I’m Nicky

    I love to cook and I want to share with you my favourite, delicious family friendly recipes. I want to inspire you to create fantastic food for your family every day.

    Read More

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    1. Peter Pani says

      December 30, 2021 at 6:26 pm

      5 stars
      Was very surprised how good is was. I made sure I cut the turkey into small cubes and added chill flakes to give it an extra kick.

      Reply
    2. Keeley Robinson says

      February 05, 2021 at 10:35 pm

      5 stars
      Tastes great...we substituted the turkey for chicken and chorizo. Beautiful!

      Reply
    3. Eleanor says

      December 29, 2020 at 11:43 am

      5 stars
      Perfect timing, the kids were asking for bolognese and we still had some leftover turkey (it was destined for the freezer). Along comes this recipe in my in box😋 Happy kids, happy Mum, thank you.

      Reply

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    Hi I’m Nicky

    I love to cook and I want to share with you my favourite, delicious family friendly recipes. I want to inspire you to create fantastic food for your family every day.

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      Nicky Corbishley is the recipe creator and photographer for Kitchen Sanctuary. Wife to Chris (chief techie and videographer) and mum to Lewis and Gracey. Read More…

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