One of my favorite parts of the holiday turkey dinner is the leftovers! It is always fun trying to come up with new ways of using turkey leftovers in such a way that the leftover meals are just as interesting as the original. Before trying something new though, I had to enjoy my favorite way to use turkey leftovers, the turkey and cranberry sauce sandwich . Once I had satisfied that craving it was time to move on and given that both the turkey and cranberry sauce were done with texmex flavours I was thinking along the lines of turkey and cranberry sauce tacos or better yet quesadillas. Though the cranberry sauce already had jalapenos in it, it was not spicy enough for the heat that I want in a quesadilla so I added some more to the quesadilla along with some cilantro as it is one of my favorite herbs and a texmex staple. The turkey and cranberry sauce quesadillas turned out really well! The sweet, tart and spicy cranberry sauce worked surprisingly well in the quesadillas along with the turkey and the gooey melted cheese. I will definitely be making these again!
Turkey and Cranberry Quesadillas
Thanksgiving turkey dinner leftover quesadillas.
ingredients
- 2 (8 inch) flour tortillas
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese such as jack or cheddar
- 1/4 pound turkey, cooked, shredded
- 2 tablespoons cranberry sauce
- 1/2 jalapeno, finely diced
- 1 green onion, sliced
- 1 handful cilantro, chopped
directions
- Heat a pan over medium heat, place one tortilla in and top with the half of the cheese followed by the turkey, cranberry sauce, jalapeno, green onion, cilantro and the remaining cheese and tortilla.
- Cook the quesadilla until golden brown and the cheese is melted, about 2-4 minutes per side. (You can place a plate on top of the quesadilla in the pan and then flip it onto the plate and slide it from the plate back into the pan to easily flip it without loosing the contents.)
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Anonymous says
Mmmm! These sound delicious! I love the bright colors as well. Holiday leftovers are the best.
VeggieGirl says
Fun twist on the quesadilla!!
Heather says
holy good lord almighty. those sound so good.
Steph says
Those look amazing! I love your flavour combinations.
Gigi says
Great idea for left over turkey! Looks delicious.
ttfn300 says
just lovely!!
Sharon says
Perfect for leftovers. I think we have some turkey in the fridge still!
Curt McAdams says
Nice quesadilla! I love cranberries and turkey… though I’ve been on a pomegranate and turkey kick lately, too.
Anonymous says
Cranberries everywhere! Your last several posts incorporated cranberries. I’m beginning to think you bought a five pound bag of cranberries. hehe
Anonymous says
Those look fantastic! I need to make a turkey just for the leftovers 🙂
Ginger says
What the heck!!!!! These look totally awesome. These are on my list to make. Great new flavor combination.
Hayley says
Looks delicious, and so festive!
HoneyB says
Looks yummy!
jillian says
Great idea! I wish I had leftover turkey!
Anonymous says
Amazing and eye appealing..
Cathy - wheresmydamnanswer says
Now that is one good looking and colorful dish and I am sure the taste matches the look!
Darius T. Williams says
You’re on to something here sir – I love this!
-DTW
http://www.everydaycookin.com
Amy says
Those look very tasty!
Sara says
This looks like a great way to use up leftovers!
noobcook says
What a great use of leftovers, looks amazing
Sharon says
I’ve come up with a lot of turkey leftover recipes, but I can’t believe I’ve never thought of this one! Great photo. YUM!
Proud Italian Cook says
You are genius Kevin, This looks delicious!! Wishing you a heathy and happy New Year Kevin!
Esi says
Those sound so good. Like the combo of spicy, salty, and sweet.
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
Oh, what a lovely combination!
Cheers,
Rosa
Brilynn says
I don’t turn nearly enough things into quesadillas, this looks great!
Beachlover says
this quesadillas really look good and moist!! too bad I throw my leftover turkey away after so many days! Now I know what to do with it!! Happy New Year to you Kevin!
Sandy Quinn says
Please don’t throw away the left over turkey. You can always make turkey soup with the bones & veggies (onion, carrots celery tops), spices (salt & pepper, garlic, any thing else that you like) and lots of water.. Simmer all day in a slow cooker. After using a colander to separate the solids and the liquid – broth. Then you can add in the leftover meat and spices and what ever veggies you like to the broth. Simmer a couple of hours again to let the veggies cook and all the flavors to meld. If you can’t make the broth right away. freeze the bones in plastic storage bags to use later. If you’ve made the broth, but don’t have the time to make the soup, put the broth in quart jars (or other large containers) and freeze.
Jan says
Love the look of those Kevin!
Mrs Ergül says
you’re right! leftovers should be as tasty and interesting as the original meal! great job there!
Antonia says
Ooh – I love the look of these. What an original way to use turkey leftovers. We have (finally) finished our bird so I’ll have to wait ’till next year to try this out!
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Melissa says
Those look amazing. Anything with cranberry and turkey and cheese is always delish!
Olga says
what a great take on the classic turkey/cranberry sandwich! I would have tried to sneak mayo in somehow 🙂
Mila says
This looks great! I love your pictures!
Dawn says
Now this is a perfect combo! Very clever to take up a level and into a quesadillas.
Pam says
Kevin – you are definitely a master with leftovers! Sounds great and I love the picture!
Amanda says
I wish I liked Mexican food a bit more, you always make really delish looking Mexican stuff! Although technically, I don’t know if this counts as Mexican…
Mary says
Kevin, I must add my voice to the chorus – this is a truly beautiful creation. My congratulations!
Grace says
this is the epitome of beautiful, healthy, delicious food. fabulous.
Maria says
The prettiest quesadilla I have ever seen!
Deborah says
You can never go wrong with quesadillas! These look great!
~Madeline~ says
Leftovers are my favorite too 😉 These sound like a great way to use up leftovers. I also can’t wait to try your cranberry sauce with the jalapenos. Delicious! Happy New Year Kevin!
Paula says
This is a great way to use up leftovers! I like the idea of sweet, tart, and spicy in one!
Claudia Davila (Fran) says
I made this tonight for dinner — my husband and I loved it!
Lorraine E says
Love this combination! Quesadillas are such a quick delicious meal, especially with clever ideas like using turkey leftovers!
Lick My Spoon says
mmm these look so good! there is a crepe truck in my neighborhood that makes this crepe with those same flavors…love it!
meeso says
This looks great, really innovative… You have a great blog full of creative recipes!
EAT! says
Turkey, cranberries, and melted cheese is a great combo. I love this treat after the holidays.
Jan says
I’m wishing I had some more leftover turkey, then I could make these. I don’t think they’d be the same with just cranberries. Ho hum.
Anonymous says
Mmm, those look really good. I wish I had some turkey to make them right now.
Helene says
This looks again like a meal you would find in a restaurant. I like the mix of flavors.
Jaime says
i love this turkey leftover idea!
Michelle says
Finding turkey utterly dry and boring, I wish now I cooked with it more so that I can try this recipe!
Poligraph S. says
I just made this, and you are my new hero.
Marillyn Beard says
Those look SERIOUSLY good! I wish we had cranberries and turkey here in Costa Rica :o(
Anonymous says
Just made these tonight with our Thanksgiving turkey leftovers. HUGE hit!!! The kids wolfed them down and so did the hubs! Thank you!!
Asta says
My mouth started watering, mmmmmmm