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This Green Chile Turkey combines sautéed onions, bell peppers, and roasted Anaheim chiles with leftover turkey. It is a comforting and wholesome turkey recipe that is perfect served over rice or as a filling for tacos, burritos, or even enchiladas. It’s been a family tradition for generations and is a great use for leftover Thanksgiving turkey!
This is a great leftover turkey recipe idea and a dish my mom has made every single year for both Thanksgiving and Christmas since I can remember. Growing up, my mom cooked two turkeys every year for each holiday – one completely dedicated to this green chile turkey. It wouldn’t be the holidays without Mom’s green chile turkey! If you happen to have any leftover turkey lingering after the holidays, I highly recommend you try my mom’s recipe.
Table of Contents
What is Green Chile Turkey?
It’s kind of like a combination of a turkey stew and a filling for burritos. It’s not as liquidy or soupy as a soup. It has more of a gravy-like consistency and it’s great to serve over rice, or as a filling for tacos or burritos. It has an earthy and rich flavor, but is also light and quite healthy (which is nice following a holiday full of indulgence!).
It’s my absolute favorite use for any leftover turkey we have after Thanksgiving Day. I just serve it up with some rice and it makes for a light and delicious post-holiday lunch. Sometimes I like to serve it with tortillas on the side to make mini tacos.
Ingredients
- Leftover Turkey – Mom would roast up a whole turkey to use for this. But this is my version, so we like to use our smoked turkey leftovers for this recipe. You can use any shredded turkey you would like.
- Olive Oil – This is the base for the sauté.
- Onion – White or yellow onion is the mildest flavor. You can substitute with red if you want that additional flavor.
- Garlic – Because everything is better with a little garlic.
- Green Bell Pepper – This gives it a nice earthy flavor and texture.
- Green Chiles – Traditionally mom would use Anaheim or Hatch chiles, which she would roast up and then chop up. But you can use canned green chiles in a pinch. Just know they don’t have as much flavor as if you roast them yourself.
- Chicken Bouillon Cubes – This is the way my mom makes it. But you can use chicken stock instead.
- Flour – The flour is used with the water for a slurry. This will give the stew its thicker texture. We use all-purpose flour.
- Seasoning – Kosher salt, coarse black pepper, and red chile pepper flakes are great additions to season out the green chile turkey.
How to make Green Chile Turkey
It’s incredibly easy to make.
You start by heating up a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet set to medium heat. Add onions and bell peppers and cook about 5 minutes, just to soften them. Add garlic, cook one more minute.
Next, make a quick slurry. While the onions and peppers are softening, mix 2 tablespoons of flour with ½ cup of water and shake until the flour is dissolved into the water. Add to the peppers/onion mixture. Add the bouillon now and let it dissolve.
My mom has a thing for bouillon cubes. She swears by them in many of her recipes. This one is no exception. I have at least converted her to using organic gluten-free bouillon with no MSG. And I don’t ask questions when it comes to mom’s cooking, I just eat it.
Alternatively, I use any leftover gravy in place of the slurry to get it to that rich consistency I’m looking for.
Add more water. Let it simmer until the sauce starts to thicken (about 5 minutes).
Finally, add the leftover turkey, sliced roasted green chiles, and spices, and let simmer some more.
Adjust seasonings and level of heat to your preference.
Done!
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How To Serve Green Chile Turkey
- My favorite way to serve this dish is alongside rice. The rice soaks up the juicy and flavorful broth. It makes for a light, fresh, and flavorful lunch.
- I also like to serve them with corn tortillas and a side of home-cooked beans and salsa and make mini tacos.
- Use as a filling for burritos.
- It makes for a killer huevos ranchero for a hearty breakfast.
- Green Chile Nachos… mmmmm. Need I say more?
- This also makes for an excellent topping for cheese enchiladas! Just roll up some corn tortillas with shredded cheddar, top with the green chile turkey and some extra cheese, and bake in a 375-degree oven for about 15 minutes or until the cheese starts to get bubbly. We made these for dinner, and the family devoured them.
To all my family and friends back home, and to all my amazing and supportive readers, have a very happy Thanksgiving! You can also check out more of our Thanksgiving recipes for more ideas like our Leftover Turkey Pizza.
Other Mexican-Inspired Recipe Ideas from My Mama
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Green Chile Turkey Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ large onion, sliced, (or 1 small onion, sliced)
- 1 medium sized green bell pepper, sliced
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons flour, (all-purpose or gluten-free AP mix)
- 1 ½ cups water, separated in half
- 1 vegetable bouillon cube, (or bouillon substitute)
- 4 cups of leftover turkey, shredded
- 1/2 cup roasted Anaheim or Hatch green chiles, chopped, (or a 4-oz can of green chiles)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, (optional to add additional heat)
Instructions
- In a large skillet heat olive oil to medium heat, add onions and bell peppers, and cook for about 5 minutes, just to soften them. Add garlic, and cook one additional minute.
- While the onions and peppers are softening, make the slurry. Mix the two tablespoons of flour with ½ cup of water and shake until the flour is dissolved into the water). Add to the peppers/onion/garlic mixture. Add the bouillon now and let it dissolve. Let it simmer until the sauce starts to thicken (about 5 minutes).
- Add the remaining 1 cup of water, turkey meat, and green chiles, and mix to combine. If the sauce is too thick, add more water (or chicken stock) to thin out to the consistency you desire.
- Season with the salt and pepper and red pepper flakes. Serve over rice or as a filling for tacos, burritos, or enchiladas.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this today with chicken and added some cumin. It was really delicious!