This turkey stir-fry recipe is such an easy and tasty way to use up leftover turkey. Simply add some vegetables and a tasty sauce and quickly saute.
This recipe is ready in less than 30 minutes, it's very simple to make, and the sauce is wonderfully flavorful!
This delicious stir-fry is one of my most requested leftover turkey recipes. All my family members love it! And I love the way leftover turkey forces me to be creative.
Back when I didn't mind bread, it was easy! Turkey salad, quesadillas, paninis, enchiladas, and even turkey pizza were the obvious solution. Now that I've changed my way of eating, things have become more challenging - and more interesting. I definitely need to be more creative these days, and this turkey stir-fry is a great way to go about it.
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Ingredients
Here's an overview of the ingredients you'll need to make this tasty stir-fry. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below.
Cooked turkey meat: I typically use turkey breast, but dark meat is fine too. Just make sure to remove the skin.
Frozen stir-fry vegetables: I like to use a frozen mix that I get at Whole Foods (link provided in the recipe card below). It contains broccoli, carrots, green beans, onions, red bell peppers, and mushrooms.
Sauce: A mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar, red pepper flakes, and cornstarch.
Avocado oil: I use it for frying. It's an excellent cooking oil with a neutral flavor and a high smoke point.
Aromatics: Garlic and ginger. It's best to mince the garlic and grate the ginger by hand, but I'm lazy, so I often use the jarred products.
For garnish: Sesame oil and chopped scallions.
Instructions
This turkey stir-fry is ready fast, especially if you use a frozen vegetable mix. Please scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps:
- To make the sauce, whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, red pepper flakes, and cornstarch.
- Cook the frozen veggies, garlic, and ginger in avocado oil. Then add the cooked turkey meat and the sauce.
- Stir-Fry until the sauce thickens. Then drizzle the dish with sesame oil, sprinkle it with scallions, and serve.
Expert tip
An important tip when making this recipe is to cook it minimally. After all, the meat is already cooked and you don't want to dry it out.
So at the last step, when you add the meat and sauce to the skillet, really do cook the whole thing no more than the time it takes to heat through. That should take about 2 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Of course. I use frozen veggies for convenience, but you can use fresh ones. Any sturdy vegetables will work in a stir-fry recipe, including broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, cabbage, green beans, and bell peppers.
Yes. I typically use turkey breast, but you can use dark meat. Whatever you use, remember to remove the skin. Its texture won't work in a stir-fry.
It depends. You'll need to check the bottle and see what the recommended cooking temperature is. Refined sesame oil can be used for cooking, but dark unrefined same oil should only be used as a finishing oil. Its smoke point is too low.
Variations
I love this recipe as is - it has lots of umami flavor from the soy sauce and just the right level of heat. However, it's definitely spicy, so use just ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes if you don’t like your food spicy.
It's not a bad idea to balance out the flavors by adding just a bit of sweetness. A teaspoon of honey (real or sugar-free) is a nice addition to the sauce.
Instead of red pepper flakes, you can add a teaspoon of sriracha to the sauce.
Needless to say, this recipe works beautifully with leftover chicken!
Serving suggestions
I often serve this dish on a bed of cauliflower rice. It's also good on top of mashed cauliflower (omitting the parmesan) and even on a bed of raw spinach leaves - the hot stir-fry wilts the spinach just enough to lightly cook it.
Storing leftovers
Since you're making this stir-fry with leftover meat, you should take into account how long that meat has already been in the fridge when you decide how long you can store it.
Cooked poultry can be kept in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days. As for reheating the leftovers, you can reheat them in the microwave, covered, on 50% power.
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Recipe card
Turkey Stir-Fry
INGREDIENTS
Sauce:
- ¼ cup light soy sauce (or use a gluten-free alternative)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (¼ teaspoon if you don’t like your food spicy)
Stir-fry:
- 1 lb. cooked white turkey meat skinless, cut into thin strips (about 3 cups)
- 1 (1 lb.) package frozen stir-fry vegetables*
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
Garnish:
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ¼ cup green onions thinly sliced, green parts only
INSTRUCTIONS
- Whisk the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large, deep skillet, heat the avocado oil over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add the frozen vegetables, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring often, until the veggies are defrosted and tender, about 5 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Give the sauce another stir, then add the turkey meat and the sauce to the skillet. Cook, stirring, until everything is well-coated and the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer the turkey stir-fry to a serving platter. Drizzle with the sesame oil and scatter the scallions on top. Serve immediately.
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NOTES
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NUTRITION PER SERVING
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, and Country Living. 