Leftover Turkey Biryani

Leftover Turkey Biryani is a quick and easy family meal that uses up leftover turkey - so it's a great meal to make with the leftover turkey from Christmas.

Our cheat recipe for leftover turkey biryani is a totally delicious one-pot meal you can make using leftover turkey or chicken.

And... we'll even give you a really easy, time-saving version too, using microwave rice, for when you just can't be bothered to wait.

Our leftover turkey biryani really is a great way of feeding a crowd on Boxing Day and using up that leftover roast turkey!

Cooks Note! Remember when reheating chicken or turkey, to re-heat it thoroughly so that it is piping hot throughout with a core temperature of a minimum of 75C

Leftover Turkey Biryani Recipe

Serves – 4 

Prep Time – 10 minutes 

Cook Time – approx 25 minutes

Total Time – around 35 minutes 

Equipment Needed To Make Leftover Turkey Biryani

• Chopping board

• Knife

• Large skillet pan - or other large saucepan with a lid

• Cooking spoon

• Tablespoon

• Frying pan - preferably non-stick

You might also just LOVE our leftover turkey curry recipe here!

Leftover Turkey Biryani Ingredients

You'll just need a handful of ingredients to throw together this easy leftover turkey recipe!

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 onion - peeled and diced

• 400g leftover turkey - this is approximate, you can add more or less. Chop the turkey into small pieces so that it re-heats thoroughly, throughout more quickly

• 3 tablespoon curry paste - we used Patak's Mild Curry Spice Paste

• 200g frozen spinach - optional, you could also swap it for frozen peas if you prefer (or add both)

• 250g basmati rice

• 750ml chicken stock

• 2 tablespoon flaked almonds

• small bunch coriander - chopped

• 1 lemon - cut into wedges to serve

• Pinch salt - to taste

Get all our Christmas recipes here

How To Make Leftover Turkey Biryani

You'll just LOVE how easy this leftover turkey recipe is to make - hardly any prep, great for Christmas when you want to be doing anything but cook!

Step One - fry the onions in the curry paste

• Add the olive oil to a large pan over a medium heat. Tip in the onions and curry paste and fry slowly for around 5 minutes to soften them.

Step Two - add the leftover turkey and frozen spinach

• Add the chopped leftover turkey and frozen spinach to the pan with the fried onions. Give everything a good mix together to coat all the chicken in the curry paste.

Step Three - add the rice

• Add the rice to the pan and stir it into the curried turkey and vegetables.

• Pour over 750ml hot chicken stock, season with a pinch of salt if using. Then bring the pan to the boil, then reduce the heat to low, put the lid on and simmer for around 15-20 minutes or until the rice is tender and fluffed up.

• Give the biryani a stir every few minutes and if it's looking a little dry just top up with some boiling water from the kettle.

Step Four - serve the leftover turkey biryani

• Toast the flaked almonds - heat a frying pan over a high heat. Don't add any oil, just tip in the almond slivers and leave to toast for a few seconds, then shake the pan to turn them and toast the other sides. Then tip onto a plate until ready to use.

• Scatter the toasted almonds and chopped coriander over the leftover turkey biryani, then serve straight away.

Get loads more easy dinner recipes  and Indian recipes here

Want To Make It Faster? Then Cheat!

If you want to make a version of our leftover turkey biryani faster then, just cheat with the rice. It's quick, still tastes great and is less faff!

So, follow the steps above, except you must add around 200ml of boiling water when you add the chicken to the curry paste and onions.

Then pop the pan lid on and cook through for about 10 minutes or until the turkey is re-heated throughly and piping hot throughout. (Turkey needs to be reheated to a minimum core temperature of 75C).

Whilst you're re-heating the turkey - cook 2-3 packs of microwave rice in the microwave, I often choose and Indian spiced pack to go with this.

Then tip all the cooked rice into the the turkey curry and stir well. Then serve with the toasted almonds and chopped coriander.

You might also love our leftover turkey fried rice recipe here!

What To Serve With Biryani

Really make our leftover turkey biryani into a total feast and add all your favourite Indian style side dishes

• Indian mint yogurt

• Poppadoms

• Indian salad

• Yoghurt flatbreads

• Indian spiced potatoes

• Vegetable curry

• Spicy chips

Get more leftover turkey recipes here

Need Some Family Meal Ideas?

Check out our meal planning here – it’s filled with recipes, meal planning tips and pre-filled printable meal plans weekly or seasonally. We’ve got hundreds of the BEST family recipes and Easy Family Meals your whole family will LOVE!

You might also just LOVE our French Dip Style Turkey Sandwich recipe here!

Get more delicious meal ideas and easy recipes here