Leftover Turkey Stir Fry Recipe – An Easy Recipe For Leftover Turkey

If you find yourself with leftover Thanksgiving turkey and you want to make something delicious and unique, then you are going to love this Leftover Turkey Stir Fry Recipe.

All the flavors of an Asian inspired meal using the leftover meat from your Thanksgiving dinner. It is a great recipe to make when you have had enough of the traditional Thanksgiving flavors.

As much as I love gathering for a traditional Thanksgiving meal with family and friends, by the time the weekend after the holiday rolls around, I am ready to indulge in other types of meals.

In fact, the lighter the meal the better! And this stir fry recipe is just what I crave.

Just like most stir fry recipes, the meal is prepared and ready to eat in under 15 minutes! Not to mention that it is a healthy recipe that provides a balanced serving of protein and vegetables.

Although the recipe below uses frozen stir fry vegetables as one of the ingredients, you can use leftover fresh vegetables instead. It is a great use of those leftover vegetables off a relish tray.

What Vegetables To Use In A Stir Fry Recipe

Although you will find a variety of vegetables in Asian stir fry recipe, I have listed the most common vegetables that you will most likely have on hand for your leftover turkey stir fry recipe.

• Carrots
• Broccoli
• White or Yellow Onion
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Mushrooms
• Bell peppers, any color
• Green onion

However, if you have zucchini, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, or cabbage on hand, feel free to add them in as well. The more vegetables the better!

Homemade Leftover Turkey Stir Fry Sauce

Although there are a dozens of store-bought stir fry sauces that you can purchase at the grocery store, it is easy to make your own.

The combination of soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil are the key ingredients in most stir fry sauce recipes. However there are a few other ingredients that you can add to the sauce to make it your own.

Sweeter Sauce – If you like a sweet sauce, add a little brown sugar, honey or agave nectar.

Spicier Sauce – To make things a little spicy, add in ground cayenne pepper, hot pepper flakes, or Sriracha sauce.

Thick Sauce – Making a thicker sauce is easy to do by adding cornstarch or flour to the mixture. However first, you need to mix the dry ingredients with a cold liquid before adding it to the hot pan.

This will prevent the cornstarch or flour from clumping when adding it to the sauce. However the amount of thickener that you use will depend on what product that you use.

For every teaspoon of cornstarch that you use, use 1-2 teaspoons of water. For a flour slurry use 1 tablespoon of flour for 1/4 cup of water.

Although you could use either to thicken the stir fry sauce, the flour will need to cook longer to get rid of that flour taste.

Use Fresh Garlic & Ginger

Because this leftover turkey stir fry recipe comes together so quickly, it is important to use fresh garlic and ginger. These two key ingredients will add a ton of flavor and aromatic properties to the recipe.

To make things easy I use a garlic press. There is no peeling of the garlic clove required.

Simply place it in the hopper and squeeze. The garlic will mince and be added to the mixture in a matter of seconds.

As for the ginger, purchase a piece of ginger root and store it in the freezer. Then whenever you need it, pull it out of the freezer and remove the outer surface by scraping it with a spoon or use a knife to remove the skin.

Then use a microplaner to grate the ginger directly over the skillet. However because garlic and ginger are so commonly used in Asian cuisine, there is another option as well.

If you don’t have fresh garlic or ginger root on hand, or prefer to have it already minced for you, purchase jarred minced garlic and ginger. Although you can purchase each individually, you can also purchase Garlic Ginger Paste.

The conversion of fresh minced garlic and ginger to paste is equal. Therefore, because this recipe calls for 1 fresh clove of garlic you will need 1/2 teaspoon of jarred minced garlic or paste.

Add in the 1/2 tablespoon of fresh minced ginger and you will need a total of 2 teaspoon of garlic ginger paste for this stir fry recipe.

Leftover Turkey Stir Fry Recipe

*A printable recipe card is located at the bottom of this article which contains the specific measurements, temperatures and cook times. However, continue reading below to learn about more helpful tips about this specific recipe.

INGREDIENTS

Sauce Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce, low-sodium
• 1/2 Tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1/2 Tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Other Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. cooked turkey meat, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
• 1/2 lb. package frozen stir-fry vegetables
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 Tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

Optional Garnish Ingredients

• diced green onions
• sesame seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

Because this leftover turkey stir fry recipes comes together so quickly, be sure to have all of the ingredients cut and prepared before you begin. Then set the diced turkey and sliced vegetables aside while you prepare the stir fry sauce.

In a small bowl add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, cornstarch and hot pepper flakes. If you want the sauce on the sweeter side, stir in a tablespoon of brown sugar.

If you want more spice in your dish, add 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or 1/8 cup of Sriracha sauce. Then whisk the sauce until incorporated and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the fresh or frozen stir fry vegetables and cook for 5 minutes or until heated through.

Then add the minced garlic and ginger and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. It is important that the garlic does not stick to the pan as it burn and become bitter tasting.

Reduce the heat to medium and mix in the stir fry sauce. Then add the diced turkey and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the turkey is heated through, the vegetables are coated, and the sauce has thickened.

Serve immediately over cooked white rice and garnish with diced green onions and sesame seeds if desired. You can also eat just the vegetables and turkey for a low-carb meal.

Other Leftover Turkey Recipes

If you are looking for additional recipes to use your leftover Thanksgiving turkey, here are a few of my favorite recipes.

• Turkey Noodle Casserole For Two
• Turkey & Butternut Squash Skillet Recipe
• Turkey Pot Pie
• Kentucky Hot Brown Dip

As much as I love leftover turkey recipes, remember, any recipe that calls for leftover rotisserie chicken, you can also make with turkey!

Enjoy! Mary

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