A leftover turkey sandwich is an easy way to turn holiday leftovers into a new meal. Layer leftover turkey, provolone cheese and green leaf lettuce on your favorite bread, then add cranberry jalapeño spread for a sweet and spicy twist. It's a simple sandwich with a combination of flavors that makes leftover turkey a lot more exciting.
I always make a bigger turkey at Thanksgiving than I need because I know I'm going to want lots of leftovers. This leftover turkey sandwich and my turkey and white bean chili are two of my very favorite ways to use up holiday turkey. I think I look forward to both recipes almost as much as the original meal. But the cranberry jalapeño spread is what makes this sandwich different from the usual turkey sandwich, adding a sweet and spicy bite that works so well with turkey and cheese.
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Ingredients
- Hearty bread of choice
- Leftover turkey
- Provolone cheese
- Green leaf lettuce
- Cranberry jalapeño spread
- Salt and pepper to taste
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Step 1: Arrange the bottom slices of bread on a cutting board or baking sheet. Layer the turkey on top of the bread. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Step 2: Layer provolone cheese on top of turkey. Add green leaf lettuce on top of provolone.
Step 3: Spread the cranberry jalapeño spread (or your preferred spread) on the remaining bread slices. Place on top of the sandwiches.
Step 4: Enjoy!
Substitutions and Variations
- Gluten free - to make this sandwich gluten free, use a gluten free bread.
- Turkey - so maybe it's July and you don't have leftover holiday turkey...you can use deli turkey meat or even leftover or rotisserie chicken.
- Provolone cheese - feel free to substitute your favorite cheese. So many different cheeses would work well, such as havarti, Swiss, pepper jack or cheddar.
- Green leaf lettuce - you can also use your favorite lettuce. I love green leaf and red leaf lettuce for turkey sandwiches, but romaine, butter, or iceberg lettuce will also work. Even spinach or a spring mix would work great.
- Bread - bread is important to a good sandwich. I love a hearty rustic or country style bread for leftover turkey sandwiches. But, we've also used Russian rye, Jewish rye and sourdough over the years. Rustic might be my current favorite, but a good rye is my all-time favorite.
- Cranberry jalapeño spread - the cranberry jalapeño spread takes the sandwich to the next level, but you can use a store-bought version. I know I've seen one at Costco. You could also use straight leftover cranberry sauce. However, as much as I love cranberry sauce, I personally find that to be a little overpowering on my sandwiches. You could also use butter, mayo, your favorite moistening agent or even some leftover cranberry pecan cheeseball.
Equipment
No special equipment is needed for this recipe.
Storage
Store any leftover sandwiches in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Next Level Tips
- If you don't carve your whole turkey immediately, consider carving half of the turkey with leftovers in mind. So for sandwiches, we cut long, thin pieces of breast meat. Then we cut thicker pieces that can be chopped or torn for turkey and white bean chili. It's just a nice step if you have the ability to think about it ahead of time.
- If you're making this at Thanksgiving, set aside a little cranberry sauce just to make the cranberry jalapeño spread for this recipe. It's a great way to finish up that cranberry sauce too!
FAQ
You can use either. I like to slice my turkey meat for sandwiches in long, thin pieces. So for that, turkey breasts are best. But you could make sandwiches with dark meat or mixed light and dark meat.
I like to store leftover turkey in the turkey juices, so save that turkey juice! Carve up your leftover turkey and place it in a container. Then pour any leftover turkey juice over it. Some of the juice will soak into the turkey meat. Some of the juice may also congeal, but you can scrape those parts off if you don't reheat the turkey. Turkey juice congeals as it has a high fat content, but the fat content is also what keeps the turkey moist. So don't be afraid to store leftover turkey in its own juices.
Absolutely. You could use a panini machine to turn it into a hot sandwich or you could apply the instructions for my grilled ham and cheese sandwich to the meat and bread for this sandwich too. For a hot sandwich, you may want to skip the lettuce.
I love a good rustic or country style bread for hearty sandwiches. Sourdough would also be a great choice. And rye is probably my all-time favorite for leftover turkey sandwiches. You can really use any bread you want. But if you choose thin white bread, you may need to make the sandwich insides thinner as well.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Leftover Turkey Sandwich
Ingredients
For sandwich
- 1 pound leftover turkey sliced
- 4-8 slices provolone cheese
- green leaf lettuce torn
- 8-16 slices hearty bread of choice
- salt and pepper to taste
Optional cranberry jalapeño spread
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- ¼ cup cranberry sauce homemade or store-bought
- ½ jalapeño seeded
- ½ green onion white and light green parts
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Making the sandwiches
- This recipe makes 4 large or 8 regular sandwiches.
- Arrange the bottom slices of bread on a cutting board or baking sheet. Layer the turkey on top and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add 1 to 2 slices of cheese, followed by the green leaf lettuce.
- Spread the cranberry jalapeño spread (or your preferred spread) on the remaining bread slices. Place on top of the sandwiches. Enjoy!
Making the optional jalapeño cranberry spread
- Finely chop the jalapeño and green onion. Set aside.
- Add the cream cheese to a small food processor and process for about 1 minute, scraping down the sides as needed, until light and fluffy.
- Add the cranberry sauce, jalapeño, green onion and salt. Process until well combined.
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