The Best Leftover Turkey and Rice Casserole with a Crispy Surprise

[Updated on September 10, 2020] Looking for leftover turkey recipes to use up your turkey leftovers from the holidays? This Leftover Turkey and Rice Casserole is a delicious alternative to a turkey sandwich.  And it has a crispy surprise!

Do you have turkey leftovers?  I always do because I usually make at least two turkeys every holiday season.  Sometimes three!  I can come up with several reasons to justify this overload of turkey roasting:

• Turkey is never cheaper than at Thanksgiving time, so if you have an extra freezer, it’s a good time to load up!
• My family prefers roasted turkey for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I buy two at Thanksgiving just for this reason, i.e., because it is cheaper than at Christmas time.
• And, if we are having a big crowd for one or both of those holiday celebrations, I buy an extra turkey just so I can have leftovers!  I love turkey leftovers!
• And, if I make a turkey either the day before Thanksgiving or a few days before, I can make the turkey gravy ahead of time, thus saving precious time on the big day.  Win-win!

But, as hard as it is to believe, we reach our tolerance limit for turkey soup and turkey sandwiches rather shortly, so coming up with creative ways to use the remaining leftover turkey has become a mission of mine.  And, that mission took me here – a delicious and easy leftover turkey and rice casserole with crispy bits of turkey skin as a garnish in honor of my mother!

Yes, you read that right.  The surprise ingredient is turkey skin!  I took the leftover skin and made it into little bits to sprinkle over the top of the casserole.

Not unlike bacon bits.  Well, sort of.  I mean, it is a little weird, I know.

What got me thinking about using the leftover turkey skin was my mother.  She loved roasted, crispy turkey skin.  When the Thanksgiving turkey came out of the oven, she’d make a beeline for the carving station (the end of my counter), sit on a barstool, and peck away at it while carving was underway.  The “carver” varies every year; not one specific person in my family carves the turkey!  And, they’d have to watch out for her tiny, spindly fingers!

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And, another thing:  I live in Southern California where Mexican food is available on almost every street corner!  So, I thought about pork rinds, a popular snack, known as chicharron in Spanish.  The South has “cracklings” AKA pork rinds and in the UK, they are known as either “pork scratchings” or “pork cracklings.”

In Spanish, “turkey” is “pavo” and turkey meat is “carne de pavo”.  So, I’ve named my turkey cracklings “chicharron de pavo”.  And, guess what?  They’re pretty good!  I guess my mom was right all along!

Here’s a picture of the turkey skin I pulled off leftover turkey pieces.  As I was deboning leftover turkey, if it had the skin on it, instead of throwing it away, I put it back in with the leftovers.  At the time I didn’t know if I would use it; I just didn’t throw it out.

There’s a movement that started around 2018 called “nose-to-tail.”  It involves using all parts of the animal rather than throwing bits and pieces away.  You know, a “green” thing.

As a Baby Boomer and a child of the ’70s (when I was in high school), we were all about Earth Day and green living, etc.  The Big Yellow Taxi hit song of the era by Joni Mitchell runs through my mind:  “don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone?  They paved paradise, put up a parking lot.”

So I’ve always tried to do my part and not waste.  I’m not always successful, but I do try.

Here’s my confession for the day:  until now, I threw away my turkey skin!

Here they are, chicharron de pavo, fresh from the oven, roasted, and salted.

And here they are all chopped up!  They kinda look like bacon bits, don’t they?

While my casserole was baking in the oven, I set the table for the photo shoot and took this “test” shot.  This is in the day time, natural window daylight.  It was a cloudy day so it made a gray cast.  But, even though these photos aren’t filled with light, I like them anyway.  I like the moodiness they evoke.

Served up and ready to eat!  Charlie was nearby, patiently waiting for me to finish my food photography for this post because it smelled delicious!

A close-up of my leftover turkey and rice casserole – it’s (obviously) cheesy, which leads to its overall appeal.  This is a great alternative to the typical Thanksgiving leftover turkey casserole recipes with pasta.

It’s surprisingly delicious as far as leftover Thanksgiving recipes are concerned – chicharron de pavo and all!

I used a special rice blend for my leftover turkey and rice casserole.  It had long grain and wild rice, split peas, orzo, couscous, and quinoa.  It adds to the overall flavor instead of just using white rice or brown rice.  Whatever blend you choose to use, be sure it’s a dry blend and not one of those blends that you can heat in the microwave for 90 seconds and you have a meal!  Those microwavable blends are pre-cooked and you need a dry blend for this recipe.

Another idea is to use a blend that is pre-cooked; just be sure to adjust the milk and water in the recipe below.  If you don’t reduce the liquid, you’ll have a runny casserole and be very disappointed!  Trader Joe’s makes a delicious multi-grain blend with veggies and I’m sure it would be great in this casserole, too!  But, their multi-grain blend it is not dry, but rather frozen.

Also, at this point in my quest to use my leftover turkey, the turkey pieces were mostly shredded bits and pieces.  I bet my leftover turkey and rice casserole is even better with chopped, cubed turkey breast meat.

Anyway, this is a tasty way to use up leftover turkey.  I’m sure it’s good with chicken, too!  And, if you aren’t inclined to use crispy turkey skin to top your casserole, use bacon.  I’m sure it’s even better – after all, everything’s better with bacon, right?

Will you do me a favor?  Would you share my post on social media?  The pinnable images scattered throughout this post are for your Pinterest boards so that you can bookmark this post and come back to it later.  Thanks for sharing!

Here’s one that’s fun and eye-catching!

And here’s a collage that shows this casserole, both in the baking dish and plated.

Here’s the recipe for the Best Leftover Turkey and Rice Casserole with a Crispy Surprise:

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Kitchen Tools and Equipment Needed to Make This Casserole:

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.  Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Oven || Stovetop || 9″ x 13″ x 1″ casserole dish or 8″ x 12″ x 2″ baking dish || Baking Sheet || Aluminum Foil || Non-Stick Cooking Spray || Kitchen Knife || Chopping Board || Non-Stick Skillet || Liquid Measuring Cup || Measuring Spoons || Measuring Cup Set || Wooden Spoon

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Oh, one more thing:  I have a friend who’s a vegetarian EXCEPT she eats bacon.  She calls herself a bacon-tarian.

Tootles,

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