Leftover Turkey and Leek Pasta Bake is a very quick and easy way to use leftover turkey. It’s a perfect filler for the family that doesn’t keep you in the kitchen for long.
Why make Leftover Turkey and Leek Pasta Bake?
I always have leftovers after big celebration dinners like Christmas, Thanksgiving or Easter. I deliberately over-cater because I really like all the sandwiches, soups and recipes like this pasta bake that you can make with the leftovers.
This is such an easy recipe because you don’t have to make a sauce. Simply combine some flavourings with creme fraiche and the sauce is done. It’s a great dish to feed a crowd when you really don’t want to cook.
What do I need to make Leftover Turkey and Leek Pasta Bake?
Leftover turkey can be a little bit bland, so I’ve packed this pasta bake with lots of bold flavours. Here’s what you will need:
- Cooked turkey or chicken
- Grilled bacon
- Leeks
- Spring onions
- Creme fraiche
- Frozen peas
- Half a lemon
- Dijon mustard
- Olive oil
- Macaroni or other short pasta
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- Parmesan or Grano Padano cheese
How do I store the pasta bake?
You can make the pasta bake ready to bake and store it in the fridge for around 12 hours without it spoiling. Once baked you can store the remaining pasta until the following day and reheat, it can dry out so it’s best to reheat it in the microwave.
Can I freeze the pasta bake?
This recipe is not really suitable for freezing. The creme fraiche sauce is likely to split and the pasta will soak up any sauce and may be dry. I don’t recommend that you freeze this dish.
Vegetarian
Leftover Turkey and Leek Pasta Bake is designed to use up leftover turkey which is not suitable for vegetarians. However, you can use the other ingredients and simply add 200 grams of grated cheese to the sauce and you will have a Cheese and Leek Pasta Bake.
Gluten Free
Use gluten free pasta to make the recipe. As there is no flour in the sauce this pasta bake should be suitable for a gluten free diet. However, please do check the labels on all the ingredients to check that they are suitable.
How I make Leftover Turkey and Leek Pasta Bake
Making Leftover Turkey and Leek Pasta Bake is really very simple.
Make sure you clean the leeks well, slicing them and soaking in cold water, then rinsing and draining to make sure there is no grit left between the leaves.
Drain well then saute the sliced leeks gently in olive oil until they are soft.
Cook the pasta, following the instructions on the packet, then add the cooked turkey or chicken, the bacon, peas and the cooked leeks and spring onions.
Mix together the creme fraiche with remaining ingredients and mix through the pasta, then cover with grated cheese and bake until golden and bubbling.
Sprinkle over the remaining spring onion and serve.
More leftover recipe ideas from Farmersgirl Kitchen
Leftover Turkey Shepherd’s Pie is a simple potato-topped pie recipe that makes a delicious family meal using leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.
Coronation Turkey quickly transforms your leftover turkey into a classic to serve with salads and in sandwiches. An easy recipe and an excellent way to use your Thanksgiving or Christmas leftovers.
Cheese Bacon & Turkey Quiche – this tasty tart is a great way to use a number of different leftover ingredients.
More Leftover Recipes
Cheeseboard and Chutney Quiche – Kavey Eats
Leftover Broccoli, Chestnut & Mushroom Bake – Casa Costello
Leftover Marzipan Cherry Bakewell Cookies – Casa Costello
Chinese Five Spice Turkey Tacos with Sesame Oil Sour Cream – Recipes from a Pantry
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Leftover Turkey and Leek Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 150 grams (0.75 cups) cooked turkey or chicken chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 100 grams (0.4 cups) crisp grilled bacon cut into 2-3 cm pieces
- 2 (2) leeks cleaned and finely chopped
- 3 (3) spring onions finely chopped
- 300 millilitres (1.3 cups) of half fat creme fraiche
- 75 grams (0.5 cups) frozen peas
- juice of half a lemon
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) olive oil
- 300 grams (2.8 cups) macaroni or other pasta
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 75 grams (0.75 cups) grated Parmesan or Grano Padano cheese
Instructions
- 2 leeks, 1 teaspoon olive oil, 3 spring onionsIn a large frying pan or saute pan, heat the olive oil and gently cook the leeks and 2 of the spring onions until soft.
- 300 grams macaroni or other pastaCook the pasta in a pan of boiling water for about 9-10 minutes until just cooked. Drain, leaving a little of the cooking water in the pan.
- 100 grams crisp grilled bacon, 75 grams frozen peas, 150 grams cooked turkey or chickenAdd the cooked leeks, frozen peas, cooked turkey or chicken and the bacon.
- 300 millilitres of half fat creme fraiche, juice of half a lemon, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, salt and freshly ground pepperMix together the creme fraiche, mustard, lemon juice and seasoning together in a bowl then add to the pasta
- 75 grams grated Parmesan or Grano Padano cheesePile into an ovenproof dish, sprinkle over the grated cheese and put in an oven at 200C for about 10 minutes until brown and bubbling.
- Chop the remaining spring onion finely and scatter over the bake before serving.
Fiona Maclean says
tee hee, stone pasta?
seriously it looks delicious! and isn't it amazing what you can do with leftovers:)
Hannah says
Sorry to hear your visitors called off. The pasta looks great – I haven't used creme fraiche like that before.I made roast lamb for Easter and the leftovers have gone into 9 meals (some for the freezer) and a pot of stock – I'm quite proud of myself!
Baking Addict says
I love pasta and this looks delicious! Great job using up all the leftovers. When can I come round for dinner? 🙂 ps not a stalker – dont worry! 😉
Tartlets and Teacakes says
That looks delish! Would never have thought of using tagliatelle. Can't beat a good pasta bake..only just finished eating my own duck version. Really must get my poor broken computer back up and running so I can get the blog back on track, have 5 months worth of cooking to post 🙂
Olivia Ashe says
Looks yummy. I love chicken and am always looking for ways to add more veges to meals, so will try this 🙂
Esther says
Brilliant idea for leftovers! and it looks amazing! yum yum……
mr. pineapple man says
Mmmm yum!! Looks delicious!
carpet cleaning Fargo ND says
The dish looks so yummy!
Dom at Belleau Kitchen says
pasta bakes are such a wonderfully homely and brilliant thing to do with left-overs and I hardly ever make them… now I need a big roast this weekend to give this one a go… looks so inviting!
Solstitches says
I made this tonight and it was very good.
I put a tiny splash of white wine in it instead of lemon juice.
Definitely something I will make again.
Margaret
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
What a delicious way to use leftover turkey! Thanks so much for mentioning my tacos!
Janice Pattie says
Thanks, Bintu, your tacos look delicious.
Corina Blum says
It sounds really delicious! My mum often makes a pasta bake with leftover turkey or ham at Christmas time too. I rarely get to make anything as we are usually visiting family at Christmas rather than at home. I would love to have all the leftovers to get creative with though!
Janice Pattie says
Thanks Corina, you could always cook a turkey breast, chicken or ham ?
Monika Dabrowski says
This is a lovely turkey leftovers recipe, hearty and delicious, and so easy to make too! Thank you for joining in with #CookBlogShare!
Eb Gargano| Easy Peasy Foodie says
Yum! I love leftovers recipes!! And this one sounds delicious. Perfect for Boxing Day!! Eb x
Janice Pattie says
Thanks Eb, it’s definitely what we’ll be eating on Boxing Day.
Hannah says
Why has this recipe randomly changed?? Bring back the original, or at least link to it!
Janice Pattie says
Hi Hannah, I’m puzzled that you think the recipe has changed. I took some new photos and other than that the only thing that changed was to substitute turkey for chicken. You can add cooked chicken or any other cooked meat to the recipe.