This turkey rice casserole is the perfect way to use up your leftover Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey. This dish only takes 15 minutes to put together and is creamy, hearty and filling. This dish is a real crowd pleaser and easy to make.
If you are wondering what to do with that left over turkey from Thanksgiving or Christmas, then I have the perfect post holiday recipe for you! This turkey rice casserole is deliciously comforting and so easy to whip up – perfect after spending days in the kitchen!
Table of Contents
How to Make This Turkey Rice Casserole Recipe
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Heat oven to 375°F and adjust oven rack to middle position. Spray an 8×8-inch casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
FOR THE TOPPING:
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Place the crackers and bread in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse until fine crumbs. Place the crumbs in a small bowl and add the melted butter. Mix well and set aside.
FOR THE TURKEY RICE CASSEROLE:
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Heat a large nonstick skillet, over medium heat and add the oil and butter. Add the onion and carrots and cook about 6 minutes or until the carrots have softened and are lightly browned.
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Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds, until bloomed and fragrant.
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Add rice and cook, stir until coated.
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Add water, chicken stock, cream, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper. Bring the rice mixture to a simmer and turn heat to low.
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Cover and cook, stirring often, for 20-25 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. The rice should be just tender.
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Add the turkey, water chestnuts, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, Worcestershire Sauce, tarragon and peas. Cook uncovered, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
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Pour the turkey/rice mixture into the prepared casserole dish, sprinkle with the cracker topping and bake at 375°F until bubbly and the top is golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.
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Transfer to a cooling rack and cool 5-10 minutes before serving.
What does turkey rice casserole taste like?
There are a few key ingredients in this comforting dish that make it vibrant and full of flavor:
- Heavy cream
- Lemon
- Parmesan
- Tarragon
- Ritz crackers
These ingredients create a rich and decadent dish, but at the same time it has a fresh and light flavor to it.
Can you make this ahead of time?
You can make this dish a day ahead, just keep it covered in the fridge and reheat in the oven before serving. The leftovers, if I do say so myself, taste amazing the next day for a lunch.
What do you serve with this dish?
You really can’t go wrong with serving this casserole by itself, it has a good amount of veggies in it so it’s a well balanced meal. You can easily serve it up with a veggie side though if you like – here some recipes for inspiration:
- Honey Balsamic Roasted Carrots
- Cheesy Crispy Baked Green Beans
- Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Pecans
- Crispy Baked Zucchini Recipe (Easy and Cheesy!)
Top tips for making this turkey rice casserole recipe
- Be sure to grease your casserole dish for easy removal.
- Use an unsalted or low sodium stock.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven for the best results.
- Let it sit for a few minutes before serving.
- Store any leftovers covered in the fridge and gently reheat the next day.
Be sure to check out these other easy casserole recipes
- Frito Pie Casserole Recipe
- Eggs Benedict Casserole with Easy Eggs Benedict Sauce
- Easy French Onion Soup Casserole Recipe (French Onion Casserole)
- Cheesy Sausage and Potatoes Recipe (Sausage Breakfast Casserole)
- Tuna Noodle Casserole
- Ground Beef Casserole
Recipe
Turkey Rice Casserole (Leftover Turkey Idea)
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 50 minutes
Total: 1 hour 20 minutes
Serves4 people
This turkey rice casserole is the perfect way to use up your leftover Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey. This dish only takes 15 minutes to put together and is creamy, hearty and filling. This dish is a real crowd pleaser and easy to make.
Ingredients
For the Topping:
- 14 Ritz crackers about ½ cup
- 1 slice hearty sandwich bread about ¼ cup
- 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
For the Turkey Rice Casserole:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 medium carrots peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup long-grain white rice uncooked
- 1 cup water
- 2½ cups unsalted chicken or turkey stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cup cooked turkey shredded or cubed
- 8 ounces sliced water chestnuts drained (1 can)
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1½ teaspoon dried tarragon leaves or 1 tablespoon (mincefresh
- 1½ cup frozen baby peas
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F and adjust oven rack to middle position. Spray an 8x8-inch casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
For the Topping:
- Place the crackers and bread in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse until fine crumbs. Place the crumbs in a small bowl and add the melted butter. Mix well and set aside.
For the Turkey Rice Casserole:
- Heat a large nonstick skillet, over medium heat and add the oil and butter. Add the onion and carrots and cook about 6 minutes or until the carrots have softened and are lightly browned.
- Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds, until bloomed and fragrant.
- Add rice and cook, stir until coated.
- Add water, chicken stock, cream, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper. Bring the rice mixture to a simmer and turn heat to low.
- Cover and cook, stirring often, for 20-25 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. The rice should be just tender.
- Add the turkey, water chestnuts, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, Worcestershire Sauce, tarragon and peas. Cook uncovered, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
- Pour the turkey/rice mixture into the prepared casserole dish, sprinkle with the cracker topping and bake at 375°F until bubbly and the top is golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.
- Transfer to a cooling rack and cool 5-10 minutes before serving.
- Enjoy!
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Nutrition Information
Calories: 775kcal (39%) Carbohydrates: 57g (19%) Protein: 28g (56%) Fat: 49g (75%) Saturated Fat: 26g (163%) Cholesterol: 164mg (55%) Sodium: 722mg (31%) Potassium: 522mg (15%) Fiber: 2g (8%) Sugar: 4g (4%) Vitamin A: 6510IU (130%) Vitamin C: 5mg (6%) Calcium: 325mg (33%) Iron: 2mg (11%)
Did You Make This?I want to see! Be sure to upload an image below & tag @thecookierookie on social media!
This was so good! My son asked that I start making this at least once a week. I was going to take pic but the kids couldn’t wait! If I took a pic now it would be of an empty casserole dish! LOL
That’s great! Thanks for sharing, Stacy!
Thanks for the inspiration. I had to substitute peas for corn, bread crumbs for crackers and leave out tarragon and water cress but overall it was a success.
Looks great, Kat!
This is a great way to use up days-old turkey (that’s kinda dried out since Xmas). Oh, be sure to use a big stock pot to do the one-dish stove top prep. I failed on that as I used my cast iron and it was just not big enough.
Here’s a few of my thoughts: I added corn and peas and a few other veggies to this. Super yummy. Then we added some hot sauce to individual bowls for a little kick. Next time, I’ll add some chili flakes or a small amount of Cayenne pepper to add more flavor. We used long grain brown rice. I suggest cooking the rice on it’s own and then adding it to the pan before putting in the oven, for the sake of cook time. The rice took forever on the stove and in the oven (even then, there were a few grains that didn’t get cooked…but that’s the story of brown rice). I even suggest adding a second can of water chestnuts as those add a yummy crunch to the dish.
I look forward to making this recipe again, and it will get added to my Day-After-Holiday recipes as it’s super easy to put together.
Thanks for sharing, Jessey!
Absolutely loved this! Making it again for dinner tomorrow.
Has anyone tried doubling this recipe? Hoping to use my stock pot tomorrow so I have lots of leftovers ❤️
Can this casserole be frozen?
Yes! Just be sure to thaw completely before reheating!
Thank you very much for this recipe! I included additional veggies. We enjoyed it for lunch today, and I’m so glad we have some left over for another round :)
Leftovers are the best!
This was good. Tarragon is a spice I’ve sort of forgotten about. You’ve whet my appetite for it now. I love water chestnuts in stuff! Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks for stopping by, Deb!
Great way to use up some leftover turkey and the water chestnuts were a nice addition.
I’m glad I could help out!!
Delicious! Rice is a nice change from the other Thanksgiving starches. Even though there’s only 1 cup of rice in the recipe, the total amount of liquid is correct. Since the juice of 1 lemon varies from 2-5 Tbsp, I used 2 Tbsp lemon juice. As written, the recipe would be wonderful, however, I made a few changes. I did not use the water chestnuts (but they would add a nice crunch). I also did not have tarragon. I’ve learned that dried tarragon does not impart the same flavor. I used Herbs de Provence instead. Another favorite poultry herb(s) should work as well. I also made some lower calorie changes: 1) used only 1/2 cup of light cream and 2) omitted the topping. Both of these changes would certainly make the casserole less rich and tasty, and also drier. The key was not to overcook or bake. If I were making this for company, I’d stick with the recipe for the full, yummy effect! Will make again. It should also work well with chicken.
Forgot to add that since I had broccoli to use up, I cut it into small florets and steamed them before adding instead of the frozen peas.
YUM!!! That sounds delicious!
That sounds absolutely delicious! I’m going to have to give that a try next time for sure!!
This is recipe for leftover turkey I’ve seen in a long time! Can’t wait to make – looks fantastic and full of flavor!
Let me know what you think once you’ve made it!