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This easy recipe for a Turkey Pesto Sandwich with bacon is a delicious and simple way to use up leftover turkey. This recipe creates a new and cozy meal with turkey and pesto that the whole family will love.
When you can’t eat one more boring leftover turkey sandwich, this turkey, bacon, and pesto showstopper is here to save the day.
It tastes like an entirely new take on leftovers, and in our family, it is called “the fancy restaurant sandwich”. It.Is.So.Good.
Ingredients and Variations
- Leftover turkey – aim for thicker slices if possible, or use multiple thinner slices. White or dark meat both work for this tasty sandwich.
- Sauce – I used some of our homemade pesto mayo for an exciting zip of flavor.
- Cheese – provolone is my go-to.
- Bread – focaccia, rolls, ciabatta, brioche, or sliced bread all work. If your bread is on the large side, you may need more of each ingredient to fill the space.
- Greens – butter lettuce or arugula is my favorite, but use whatever you have on hand. Sprouts work great too.
- Bacon – already cooked and deliciously crispy. Pro tip: make a lot of bacon at once for meal prep. Check out our post on how to bake bacon.
- A little olive oil for the bread.
- Tomato – something firm and good for slicing! You can also use our tomato jam recipe instead of fresh tomato.
But don’t stop there! Add some sundried tomatoes, sliced avocado, or pickled shallots. Make this sandwich your own.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- No leftover turkey? Feel free to use leftover chicken or even a grocery store rotisserie chicken.
- This recipe is for one leftover turkey sandwich, but it’s easy to increase the ingredients for making multiple sandwiches.
Turkey Bacon Sandwich
This easy recipe for a pesto turkey bacon sandwich is a delicious and simple way to use up leftover turkey. This recipe creates a completely new and exciting dish with turkey and pesto that the whole family will love.
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix pesto and mayo until combined. Set aside.1 tsp pesto, 1 tsp mayo
- Preheat cast iron skillet over medium heat.
- Brush 2 slices of Focaccia bread with olive oil on 1 side on each slice.2 slices focaccia bread, leftover rolls, or leftover biscuits, 1 tsp olive oil
- Place bread, olive oil side down on the cast iron skillet, and toast until bread is lightly-browned.
- Spread pesto mayo over the toasted sides of both slices.
- Top 1 slice of the toasted bread with provolone, turkey, tomato, bacon, and greens. Place the other side of bread on top.2 slices leftover turkey, 1 slice provolone, 2 slices tomato, 2 slices bacon, handful of greens
- Return the sandwich to the cast iron skillet over medium-low heat and toast until the provolone is getting melty and the turkey is warmed through.
Notes
- No leftover turkey? Feel free to use leftover roast chicken or shredded rotisserie chicken.
- This recipe is for one leftover turkey sandwich, but it’s easy to increase the ingredients for making multiple sandwiches.
Nutrition
Serving: 1sandwichCalories: 534kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 22gFat: 36gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 66mgSodium: 876mgPotassium: 203mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 334IUVitamin C: 0.4mgCalcium: 158mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I saw this recipe before Thanksgiving and made sure I had all the ingredients in stock. The sandwiches did not disappoint. The pesto mayo was really tasty and I added a little sliced onion because why not? This will be a year round recipe too using deli sliced turkey and fresh garden tomatoes in the summer. Yum!
I’m so glad you liked it, Cathy. And YAY for adding onions!!
This is delicious, super customizable, and quick to make. This will be on repeat the rest of this weekend!
Love to hear that Jen! We made these for our Thanksgiving main dish, and frankly, I am never going back to a full turkey!