This Mexican inspired turkey rice casserole turns holiday leftovers into a delicious, easy to make one-pot meal everyone will love. It’s spicy, flavourful, nutritious and comes together in under 30 minutes!
Check out also this low fat chicken fajitas casserole!
This turkey rice casserole transforms your holiday leftovers into a surprisingly delicious meal with no sprout, cranberry or potato in sight! This tomato based rice leftover turkey casserole with a Mexican twist is full of spice, flavour as well as nutritious ingredients. Perfect as a post-holiday easy family meal.
It's quick and easy to put together and you don't have to cook the rice ahead!
Turkey rice casserole ingredients
I cooked the rice in vegetable stock along with onion, garlic, green chili peppers and red bell pepper. The casserole also contains tomatoes, tomato puree and sweet chili sauce for flavour as well as to naturally thicken the sauce. The black beans and sweetcorn add substance and the cilantro offers a refreshing final note.
I added these ingredients along with the turkey just before popping the casserole into the oven to finish cooking and crisp up the top (made using soft bread, a little cheese and oil).
Can I use brown rather than white rice
I do not recommend it in this recipe. Brown/whole grain rice takes longer to cook and requires different amounts of moisture than white rice so it simply wouldn't work with the other ingredients in this recipe. It's best to use good quality long grain rice.
What dish to use
I recommend using a large shallow pan with a lid that’s suitable for all heat sources so you can easily switch between using the stove and oven. You can, however, cook the casserole in an ordinary large pan and then transfer the mixture into a large shallow casserole dish before popping in the oven.
Step-by-step recipe instructions
1.Preheat the oven to 450 F/ 230 C/ gas mark 8. Break the bread into small pieces (you can do this in a food processor), add 1 tablespoon of oil and the cheese and toss together to combine. Set aside.
2. In a large, shallow casserole dish heat up 2 tablespoons of oil, add the onion, garlic and chilies and gently fry for 3 minutes until softened. Add the rice and red pepper, stir and cook for another minute or so.
3. Add ⅔ of the stock, tomatoes, tomato puree, spices, sweet chili sauce, stir, cover and bring to the boil then simmer for 6 minutes stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from the heat, add the turkey, beans (drained), corn, cilantro, the rest of the stock and stir.
5. Scatter the bread mixture over the top and bake in the upper part of the oven for 13 minutes or until lightly browned and crispy.
6. Remove your turkey rice casserole from the oven and serve immediately.
Do I have to use the bread topping
No, you don’t. If you prefer to make this turkey and rice casserole gluten free or simply keep the calories down it's absolutely fine to omit the bread. If you do you I recommend cooking the entire casserole on the stove without using the oven.
After the recommended 6 minutes add the remaining ingredients (as per recipe), cover and cook for a few more minutes to ensure the rice is fully cooked. Once ready scatter some cheese over the top of your turkey rice casserole (optional) and serve immediately.
Substitutions
- You can use chipotle sauce instead of the sweet chili sauce (if you do make this swap use sweet paprika rather than smoked).
- Use either white or whole wheat bread.
- This recipe will also work with leftover chicken.
Top tips
- I recommend using white long grain rice rather than whole grain rice (which takes longer to cook and requires different amounts of moisture).
- Taste the mixture before covering with the bread topping and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Use soft bread for the top to ensure it stays light and crispy.
- It is important to bake the casserole in the upper part of the oven so the top can be as crispy as possible.
- This turkey rice casserole is best served immediately.
- Refrigerate leftovers for up to 2 days (as you are using already cooked leftover meat I do not recommend refrigerating this casserole for very long).
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Serving suggestions
This turkey rice casserole is delicious on its own but you can serve it with guacamole or sour cream/Greek yogurt (especially if you’ve made it quite spicy), as well as with manchego, queso asadero or chihuahua cheeses. Try it also with steamed vegetables (broccoli, carrots or cauliflower would work well).
You might also like
- Turkey Salad Sandwich (No Mayo)
- Quick and Easy Tortilla Bake
- Leftover Turkey Potato Patties
- Turkey Cranberry Salad with Lime Dressing
- Leftover Turkey Vegetable Soup with Beans
Keep in touch!
If you make this leftover turkey casserole with rice I'd love to know how it turned out for you. Did you make any swaps? Let me know in the comments below, thanks!
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Recipe
Mexican Inspired Turkey Rice Casserole
Equipment
- Large shallow pan with lid suitable for all heat sources
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g) leftover turkey (8.82 oz) chopped
- ½ cup+1tbsp (110 g) rice (3.88 oz) uncooked, rinsed
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1-2 green chili peppers with seeds, finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper roughly chopped
- ⅔ cup (110 g) canned corn kernels (3.88 oz) drained
- 1x14.11oz can (400 g) black beans drained
- 1x14.11oz can (400 g) chopped tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons tomato puree
- 1½ tablespoons sweet chili sauce
- 2 cups (480 ml) vegetable/chicken or turkey stock hot
- 2 tablespoons vegetable/olive oil
- 1¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon paprika sweet or smoked
- ⅔ teaspoon ground cumin
- 6 tablespoons cilantro/fresh coriander finely chopped
For the bread topping
- 2 slices soft bread white or whole wheat
- 4-5 tablespoons (30 g) cheddar or another strong hard cheese, finely grated
- 1 tablespoon vegetable/olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 F/ 230 C/ gas mark 8. Break the bread into small pieces (you can do this in a food processor), add 1 tablespoon of oil and the cheese and toss together to combine. Set aside.
- In a large, shallow casserole dish heat up 2 tablespoons of oil, add the onion, garlic and chilies and gently fry for 3 minutes until softened. Add the rice and red pepper, stir and cook for another minute or so.
- Add ⅔ of the stock, tomatoes, tomato puree, spices, sweet chili sauce, stir, cover and bring to the boil then simmer for 6 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Remove from the heat, add the turkey, beans, corn, cilantro, the rest of the stock and stir.
- Scatter the bread mixture over the top and bake in the upper part of the oven for 13 minutes or until lightly browned and crispy. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Notes
- This recipe will also work with leftover chicken.
- I recommend using white long grain rice rather than whole grain rice (which takes longer to cook and requires different amounts of moisture).
- Taste the mixture before covering with the bread topping and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Use soft bread for the top to ensure it stays light and crispy.
- It is important to bake the casserole in the upper part of the oven so the top can be as crispy as possible.
- You can use chipotle sauce instead of the sweet chili sauce (if you do make this swap use sweet paprika rather than smoked).
- Use either white or whole wheat bread.
- Best served immediately.
- Refrigerate leftover casserole for up to 2 days (as you are using already cooked leftover meat I do not recommend refrigerating this casserole for very long).
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.
**A note about baking: If using a fan-assisted oven refer to your appliance's instructions and adjust the temperature accordingly.
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