What to do with Thanksgiving leftovers? This simple recipe repurposes your leftover turkey into a simple and delicious low carb turkey enchilada bake!
This post is in partnership with my friends at Lindsay Olives! All opinions always my own.
Low Carb Turkey Enchilada Bake
With Thanksgiving being this week, I thought I’d whip up an easy-to-make recipe with your leftover turkey. That is assuming you have any left!
TIP: buy an extra turkey breast (or two) so there’s guaranteed leftovers!
You can actually make this anytime of the year, so you should definitely pin this for future use!
This would also be a fantastic addition to your weekly meal prep/batch cooking day! Break out that Instant Pot for quickly cooking some poultry. Just add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and set to manual high pressure for 10-12 minutes, and you have shredded chicken!
Okay… about this turkey enchilada bake. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Turkey: if you don’t have any leftover turkey, or not enough for this recipe, you can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Enchilada sauce: I used a store bought one, but you can definitely make your own here if you feel like it!
- Zucchini: I thinly sliced zucchini on my mandoline slicer in place of tortillas to keep it light and low carb plus getting in some veggies! Feel free to stick with regular tortillas, cuz you can never go wrong there!
- Black olives: these are my favorite black olives and they’re from the Lindsay Olives Naturals line. Literally just olives, salt, and water! SO GOOD! I used the whole olives since that’s what I had on hand, however they do also carry sliced black olives for your convenience! I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again… you may need an extra can of olives for this recipe. Because, snacking! They melt in your mouth!
- Raw, grass-fed cheese: lots of cheesy goodness! (omit if you can’t do dairy.)
- 9×13 casserole dish or cast iron skillet like I did here.
- Baking sheet
The Method:
It’s super simple.
I just alternated layers of the zucchini, enchilada sauce, shredded turkey, cheese and olives. You can definitely get fancy and make individual little zucchini roll ups if you want, but I opted for the simple layering route.
Now it just needs to hang out in the oven for a good 25-30 minutes to heat in all through and melt the cheese!
Note: since zucchini has a high water content, you can salt the slices and set out on a paper towel lined baking sheet for about an hour prior to assembly (that is, if you have the time.) If not, just know that as the dish bakes, the sauce can get runny.
Oh, and guess what..
In honor of olive harvest season and Thanksgiving, my friends at Lindsay Olives are hosting a fun “Sharing the Harvest” sweepstakes! You can enter to win on their Instagram as well as their website, Lindsay Olives! Just head over there and follow their instructions for entry! Good luck!
PrintLow Carb Turkey Enchilada Bake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6-8
Ingredients
- 3 cups turkey, shredded or diced
- 25 oz can enchilada sauce
- 3 zucchini, sliced very thin
- 3 cups raw, grassfed cheese, shredded
- 1 can black olives, sliced (I used Lindsay Olives Naturals line)
- sea salt
Garnishes:
- sour cream
- cilantro
- avocado
- green onions, chopped
- radish slices
Instructions
1. If time permits, salt zucchini for an hour by laying in a single layer on top of a paper towel lined baking sheet. This helps draw out excess moisture prior to baking. Pat dry with paper towels after an hour. If you don’t have time for this step, no worries. You sauce will probably just be a bit more watery which isn’t the end of the world!
2. In a large covered skillet over medium heat add leftover turkey (or chicken if using) and enchilada sauce (reserve about 1/4 cup sauce and cook until warmed through. Approx 10 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
4. In a casserole dish (9×13) or large cast iron skillet, start layering. Start with the remaining 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce, followed by zucchini, turkey mixture, shredded cheese, sliced olives. I used about 1/3 of each. Then repeat layers until all gone or until casserole/skillet is full. Make sure top layer is cheese and olives!
5. Place dish/skillet on a foil lined baking sheet just in case it bubbles over. You don’t want that cheese baking on the bottom of your oven!
6. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is nice and melted and starts to get golden on top.
7. Serve with sour cream, cilantro, radish and avocado slices!
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