Leftover turkey recipes mostly come down to how much meat you have and how much time you’re willing to give it. We read three that use up the bird in very different ways: a 10-minute soup, a bake built on canned soup and a potato-topped pot pie.
We haven’t made any of these, so the amounts and times belong to each page. The meat amounts are the best way to choose, so start with how much you have left!
How do three leftover turkey recipes compare?
They differ most in the amount of turkey they use and the time they take. Skinnytaste’s noodle soup (November 2023) is the lightest. Julie’s Eats and Treats (November 2025) makes a tetrazzini. Skinnytaste’s pot pie gratin (November 2025) uses the most meat.
| Noodle soup | Tetrazzini | Pot pie gratin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey used | 2 cups shredded, about 8 oz | 1 pound, diced or shredded | 1½ pounds of breast, about 4¾ cups |
| Time | 10 minutes | 45 minutes | 1 hour 45 minutes |
| Serves | 4 | 8 | 6 |
| Base | 6 cups turkey stock, vegetables, egg noodles | Linguine, cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, peas | Leeks, peas and carrots, broth thickened with cornstarch, sliced potatoes, Gruyère |
| Oven | No, one pot | 350°F, 25 to 30 minutes | 375°F, about 1 hour covered, then broil |
The soup page says its stock can be homemade or low-sodium canned, so you don’t need the carcass.
Which leftover turkey recipe should you make?
Not sure which one fits your night? Choose by how much turkey you have. A small amount suits the soup, a pound suits the bake and a big stash suits the pie.
- About 8 oz left: the noodle soup, which uses 2 cups.
- About a pound: the tetrazzini, which calls for diced or shredded meat.
- 1½ pounds of breast: the pot pie gratin, which asks for white meat in particular.
- Short on time: the soup, at 10 minutes total.
Which one leans on shortcuts?
The tetrazzini does. Julie’s Eats and Treats uses two cans of cream soup and 2 cups of sour cream, and it doesn’t make a sauce from scratch. The pot pie gratin goes the other way. It slices potatoes ⅛ inch thick on a mandoline, cooks leeks and thickens the broth itself, and the whole thing runs over an hour.
If you’re still planning the bird, our how to brine a turkey page covers the start, and the Thanksgiving side dishes list covers the rest of the plate.
Leftover turkey questions people ask
Do you need the carcass?
Not for the soup. Skinnytaste says the stock can be homemade or low-sodium canned.
Does it have to be white meat?
Only the pot pie gratin names breast. The soup and the tetrazzini just say turkey.
Which noodles do they use?
Skinnytaste uses 3 ounces of egg noodles in the soup, and Julie’s Eats and Treats uses 16 ounces of linguine for the tetrazzini.