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Turn your Thanksgiving leftovers into a whole new meal with this creamy turkey casserole recipe. So flavorful, with lots of tender turkey, stuffing, gravy, and vegetables, this turkey stuffing casserole is total comfort food.
Table of Contents
Why We Love This Turkey Stuffing Casserole Recipe
From Mashed Potatoes to Sweet Potato Casserole to Cranberry Sauce to that amazing Turkey recipe, there are always lots of Thanksgiving side dishes and turkey leftovers. There are usually so many Tupperware containers filled with leftovers that it can be overwhelming!
Last year I had had enough, so I whipped up this turkey stuffing casserole and my family went nuts. Everyone needs a good leftover turkey recipe in their back pocket, and this turkey casserole is mine. It uses up lots of the things we always seem to have left over, like turkey, stuffing, vegetables, and even turkey gravy.
Of course, you don’t need to have leftovers in order to make this recipe. Whip up some packaged stuffing mix, use some shredded chicken, and frozen vegetables. I’ll even include instructions to make the creamy gravy in the recipe below.
Ingredients for Turkey Stuffing Casserole
- Gravy – you can use 2-3 cups of leftovers, or make your own creamy gravy-like sauce with a roux of flour, butter, chicken broth, and milk. Add some flavor with diced onions and garlic. You could also use 2 cans of cream of chicken soup and 2/3 cup of milk.
- Sour cream – this will make your gravy extra creamy.
- Turkey – 3 cups diced or shredded turkey; you can also use shredded chicken. Cooked ground turkey or even ground beef would work as well.
- Mixed vegetables – The veggies can be a bag of frozen mixed or whatever vegetables you happen to have left over. Green beans, corn, peas, celery, carrots, and broccoli are all excellent options. Frozen vegetables (thawed) would work if you don’t have leftovers.
- Cooked stuffing – Use 3-4 cups of cooked stuffing. You can whip up a quick boxed mix if there’s not enough homemade stuffing left over.
How to Make Turkey and Stuffing Casserole
The base of this recipe is of course all that yummy leftover turkey that is sure to be leftover from your holiday feast. Make a creamy sauce from scratch, similar to a pot pie, to coat the turkey and some veggies, pour it all into a baking dish, and top with leftover stuffing. You’ll never go back to canned soup – making it from scratch is so easy!
- If you don’t have enough leftover gravy, you’ll need to make a sauce. Sauté some onions and garlic in butter, then add some flour and cook for a few minutes until it’s nice and golden. Finally pour in some chicken stock and milk and whisk it all together as it comes to a simmer. The sauce will thicken as it simmers.
- In a large bowl stir together the diced turkey and veggies. If you don’t have any leftover turkey for the casserole, chicken makes an easy substitute. Pour that golden, creamy sauce over the turkey and veggies, stir in some sour cream, and just keep stirring until it’s all coated well. Pour that into a large, deep baking dish.
- Spoon the cold stuffing on top of the turkey mixture, or use your hands, and break it up as you go. You want to cover as much of the turkey mixture as possible because some of it will sink a little as it cooks. Don’t have any leftover stuffing? Leftover mashed potatoes would make a fantastic substitute.
- Bake for around 30-35 minutes, or until the top is nice and crispy. Let it sit for a bit to set and cool down – that sauce is hot!
- I like to garnish my Turkey Casserole with parsley because it adds a fresh element and it just looks pretty but it’s not necessary. Then scoop yourself out a big ‘ol portion because this stuff is delish!
Storage and Reheating
Storing leftovers: Cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Reheating: Large portions of the whole casserole can be reheated in the oven at 350 until warmed through. Microwaving is also an option for individual portions.
FAQs
Absolutely! If you don’t have stuffing, or just prefer pasta, boil some rotini, egg noodles, or even macaroni to mix in with the turkey and cream sauce. You might need to double the sauce for this method. Then just bake as directed.
Yes. Cool the cooked casserole completely, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and foil, or transfer leftovers to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw completely in the fridge before reheating.
Hot Tip!
For even more flavor, add some dried herbs or chopped fresh herbs to the gravy mixture with the garlic. Sage, thyme, rosemary, or even a poultry seasoning blend would work well with the flavors.
More Leftover Turkey Recipes to Try
Some of these recipes call specifically for shredded chicken, but turkey is an easy swap.
- Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
- Homemade Chicken Soup
- Turkey Vegetable Soup (light and fresh, and perfect for a cold day)
- BLT Turkey Wraps
- Turkey and Cranberry Pasta Salad
- Cranberry Chicken Puff (use turkey instead)
Leftover Turkey Recipes
Got a bunch of leftover turkey you’d like to repurpose? Tired of eating turkey sandwiches? Check out these insanely delicious leftover turkey recipes!
Creamy Turkey & Stuffing Casserole
Ingredients
Gravy/Sauce
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2/3 cup milk or cream
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Filling
- ½ cup sour cream
- 3 cups diced or shredded turkey
- 1 ½ cups frozen mixed vegetables thawed (or other leftover veggies)
- 3-4 cups cooked stuffing
- Fresh minced parsley
Instructions
- Grease a 13×9-inch rectangular baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Stir in garlic for 30 seconds then whisk in flour, salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently until golden; about 2-3 minutes. Pour in milk and broth and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside. Taste and adjust seasonings, as desired.
- Stir in sour cream, diced turkey and vegetables.
- Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish and top evenly with small spoonfuls of leftover stuffing, breaking it up with your fingers if necessary.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Allow several minutes to cool and set.
- Garnish with fresh minced parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Loved this recipe! A friend gave me an entire roasted turkey carcass. There was 7 cups of meat! I boiled the bones with onion, peppercorns and bay leaf to make a nice broth, used that to make the gravy. I did add thyme, rosemary and a bit of garlic powder to the gravy. I had mixed her home made stuffing with a store brand stuffing mix and the casserole turned out very tasty. Thank you, the recipe is a keeper.
You are so welcome Georgetta! Awesome feedback, thanks for stopping by.
This is a wonderful recipe to use the turkey and stuffing left over after a holiday meal. I appreciate that it requires only the things you are likley to have on hand, and does NOT use canned soup, for instance. It is flexible, easy to make, and everyone found it to be totally delicious!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by to share Suzanne!
Great way to get rid of leftovers! Tastes great!
Love the feedback Cherie! Thanks for stopping by.
So good!
Thank you Colleen!
Instead of making the gravy, could I mix the sour cream with a jar of store bought turkey gravy?
Sure that would work.
Exactly what I was looking for! Used the carrots, green beans and corn veggies that I had leftover. Everything cooked perfectly! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
You are so welcome Marebear64! Thanks for the awesome feedback.
K.
My entire family, picky eaters included, loved this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing!!
You are so welcome Barb! Love the feedback!
K.
Hi, I am dairy free. Is there substitutes you can recommend for the sour cream? I usually substitute with coconut milk but I’m not sure about the consistency with this recipe… I can’t wait to try this, thanks
I don’t personally have an idea for that, but did find this recipe for vegan sour cream online: https://cookieandkate.com/vegan-sour-cream-recipe/
It was great my husband love it
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Barbara.
This was so delicious and easy. It came in handy during quarantine having all the basics for the sauce. We had lots of left over turkey from Easter without company!
Thank you Kalen! Thank you for stopping by and leaving some positive feedback.
This was so good! Can it be made ahead and frozen?
It can; I’d refrain from baking and freezing though. Just make the casserole then freeze and wrap up really tight to keep from freezer burn. Then defrost and bake according to the directions.
Five star
That’s awesome! Thank you Michael.
Hi, Kristin! I’m about to try this – it looks great! I have a question, though; in your description, you write about adding sour cream, but I don’t see anything about sour cream in the condensed recipe. Can you please clarify? Thanks!
I updated the recipe.
This recipe was delicious. It helped me to use up the leftover turkey and stuffing in a really easy recipe with simple ingredients that I already had on hand. Thank you.
You are so welcome Suzanne! Thanks for stopping by.
I LOVE the idea of adding the mashed sweet potato layer! Thank you!
I loved this casserole! I used string beans and also added a layer of mashed sweet potato between turkey and stuffing! I would gladly have this for my Thanksgiving meal!!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Joan.