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This delicious and easy recipe for Turkey Rice Casserole is a delicious and simple way to use up leftover turkey. This healthy dish creates a completely new and exciting dinner that the whole family will love. 

a plate of turkey casserole with rice on a white plate with cilantro.
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Can I tell you the best part of making this turkey and rice casserole for dinner? Besides the fact that it’s delicious, and creatively repurposes leftover turkey.

You only need to use one dish. One. There is no complicated mixing or sauteing. Just one dish, a cozy blanket of foil, and you pop it in the oven. That’s it!

Meal Prep Tips

Ingredients

bowls of carrots, salsa, turkey, black beans, uncooked rice, and other ingredients on a marbled board.

This recipe uses:

  • Leftover turkey
  • Jasmine rice
  • Corn – fresh or frozen
  • Garlic
  • Onion
  • Chicken Broth or use homemade turkey bone broth instead of chicken stock
  • Enchiladas sauce or thin salsa
  • Black beans – canned or homecooked
  • Shredded cheddar

Step-by-step Instructions

*I’ll walk you through it here with some photos and tips, and you’ll also find a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post with exact measurements, etc. You can also click “jump to recipe” to skip down.

Grab an 8×8 baking dish and add the uncooked rice, cooked turkey, black beans, corn, chopped garlic, onion, salt, and olive oil.

In a small mixing bowl (carefully!) combine enchiladas sauce and boiling chicken stock. Pour that mixture over the rice, and use a fork to make sure all the rice is covered by the liquid.

Cover the baking dish with foil and pop it in the oven. Bake it for 35 minutes. After the 35 minutes is up, remove the dish from the oven and carefully remove the foil. I like to use a spoon to push any rice around the edges around back down under the liquid.

Add some shredded cheese on top – I recommend a cup but listen, we all know that cheese should be measured with your heart.

Place the dish back in the oven and bake uncovered for another 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and all the rice is fully cooked.

4 photos showing the process of making turkey casserole.

Variations

I have made this leftover turkey casserole multiple times and each time the ingredients vary depending on what is in my fridge. It’s a very forgiving dish.

For the protein, I have used cooked turkey after Thanksgiving and even raw cubed chicken breasts that I nestled in the rice. You can make this plant-based by doubling or tripling the beans, leaving out the turkey and cheese, and using a veggie broth.

Any veggies you have kicking around your fridge will work great. In the past, I’ve added chopped celery and diced green peppers. You can even sub in cauliflower, quinoa, or cauliflower rice for the rice.

HOW TO STORE AND REHEAT

Storing Leftovers: Allow the turkey casserole to fully cool before storing it covered in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Reheating Leftovers: You can reheat the turkey and rice casserole for 1-2 minutes in the microwave.

Freezing: I do not recommend freezing this recipe.

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

  • Green canned enchiladas sauce is a bit milder than the red pepper version. Both are delicious and both can be used in this recipe. You can also use a thin salsa verde.
  • If you’re dairy-free, skip the cheese or use your favorite plant-based shredded cheese alternative.
  • Lightly spritz the underside of the foil with cooking spray before covering the baking dish and putting it in the oven. If the foil accidentally touches the top of the casserole, it won’t stick to it.
  • If you don’t have any canned black beans, Katie’s recipe for Spicy Instant Pot Black Beans is my go-to for the homemade version.
  • A previous version of this recipe included a few cups of diced celery. I no longer include it in the recipe but if you choose to add it in, the cooking time and other ingredients remain the same.

Leftover Turkey Casserole WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS

One serving has 3 WW Freestyle SmartPoints.

a turkey and rice casserole in a white baking dish topped with cilantro.
4.75 from 8 ratings

Turkey Rice Casserole

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 10 minutes
a plate of turkey casserole with rice on a white plate with cilantro.
This delicious and easy recipe for turkey rice casserole is a delicious and simple way to use up leftover turkey. This healthy dish creates a completely new and exciting dinner that the whole family will love. 

Ingredients 

  • 3/4 cup uncooked jasmine rice
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup onion {chopped}
  • 3 cloves garlic {minced}
  • 3 cups cooked turkey {cubed or shredded}
  • 1 cup canned black beans {drained}
  • 1 cup corn kernels {fresh or frozen}
  • 1 cup enchiladas sauce {green or red}
  • 1 cup boiling chicken stock {or turkey stock}
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar {optional}

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Place rice, olive oil, salt, onion, garlic, turkey, corn, and beans in the bottom of an 8×8 baking dish.
    3/4 cup uncooked jasmine rice, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 cup onion, 3 cloves garlic, 3 cups cooked turkey, 1 cup canned black beans, 1 cup corn kernels
  • Pour the enchiladas sauce and boiling chicken stock over the top of the rice mixture. Use a fork to make sure all the rice is covered by the liquid. 
    1 cup enchiladas sauce, 1 cup boiling chicken stock
  • Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes.  Pro tip: lightly spritz the underside of the foil with cooking spray before covering the baking dish and putting it in the oven.
  • After 35 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and top with cheese.
    1 cup shredded cheddar
  • Bake uncovered for another 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the rice is fully cooked.
  • {optional} top with cilantro, avocado, sliced green onions, and/or sour cream.

Notes

  1. No leftover turkey? Feel free to use leftover chicken, shredded rotisserie chicken, or even raw chicken breasts. If you use raw meat, the bake time remains the same. 
  2. Green canned enchiladas sauce is a bit milder than the red pepper version. Both are delicious and both can be used in this recipe. You can also use a thin salsa verde.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 197kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 11gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 374mgPotassium: 334mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 400IUVitamin C: 2.7mgCalcium: 50mgIron: 1.1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @sustainablecooks or tag #sustainablecooks!

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Helping you serve up budget-friendly sustainable recipes with a side of balanced living.
Come for the food. Stay for the snark.

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15 Comments

  1. Delicious! Gave three stars as I find it so frustrating each time I make this that it’s not actually done in an hour. The cook time is underestimated I find, as the rice is still hard at 50 minutes. But a delicious recipe!3 stars

    1. Nicola, by any chance are you using a very deep pan? I’m wondering if perhaps the depth is preventing it from cooking it in the stated time. We make it often and have never had hard rice after 50 minutes.

  2. Hi. This was nice the first time I made it and I made another version of it last night. I did about half rice (I had a mixture of white, brown & quinoa) and half chopped and lightly steamed cauliflower to up the veggie content. I added in some Greek yogurt and spices and omitted the celery (cause cooked celery 🙁 and the corn (didn’t have any). And served it with avocado chunks, more Greek yogurt and fresh salsa. Delish. 5 stars

    1. I love the idea of the Greek yogurt! Did you mix it in or put it on top like sour cream?

      It’s so great when people put their own spin on a recipe. It makes my heart happy.

      1. Hi. I mixed some in, to add a creamy element, and let people put it on top too (it always helps tame the spice for my little snowflake ;-). That and black olives are easy ways to get his buy in 🙂5 stars

  3. I don’t understand how cooked turkey and raw chicken require same cooking time, but I’m ready to give this a go with my leftover turkey. Thanks for sharing,5 stars

    1. It is the rice that needs the long cooking time, not the meat. If you use cooked meat, it stays juicy (I won’t use the “m” word) because of the sauce. If you use raw chicken it finishes cooking before the rice but doesn’t dry out because of the sauce.

  4. Thanks for this recipe. I made it tonight with turkey leftovers, and it’s delicious! Got me out of the leftover rut. It’s a keeper!5 stars