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This delicious and easy recipe for turkey casserole with rice is a delicious and simple way to use up leftover turkey. This tasty one-pot dish with black beans and enchilada sauce creates a completely new and exciting dinner that the whole family will love.
Can I tell you the best part of making this turkey casserole with rice 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!
Reader Review
“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!”
Tanya
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, store-bought rotisserie chicken, and even raw cubed chicken breasts that I nestled in the rice.
Add, while I give you a recommendation for how much shredded cheese to add, we all know that cheese should be measured with your heart.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Green canned enchilada 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.
- 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.
- 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 With Rice and Black Beans
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 corn kernels {fresh, canned, or frozen}
- 1 cup canned black beans {drained}
- 1 cup enchilada sauce {green or red}
- 1 cup boiling chicken stock {or turkey stock}
- 1 cup shredded cheddar {optional}
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
- 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 enchilada 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 enchilada 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 (if using).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
- 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.
- 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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!
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.
Any ideas on how this could be adapted for the Insta pot?
I don’t because this is such a casserole-style dish. It really would need to be baked.
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.
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.
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 🙂
It is all in the marketing of dishes with those picky ones, huh? 🙂
What a nice compliment of flavors! I’d make it again!
I’ve made it twice because I love it so much! Used rotisseries chicken because I didn’t have turkey.
Love using rotisserie chicken for this!
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,
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.
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!
Thank you so much for letting me know; you made my day!