Holiday Left Over Casserole

 A creamy, dreamy casserole that uses left over ham, turkey, or chicken from your holiday dinner. It’s a great way of turning one main course into a completely different dish. 

 
Thanksgiving will be here in a few days! We pretty much know what we will be making to celebrate, however, I haven’t prepared a menu for the aftermath of it all. This is where this casserole comes into play. If you are wondering what to do with some of that turkey or ham you have left over (if there is such a thing), you should try this recipe out.

I stumbled upon this dish on the internet years ago.  We were so tired of having turkey sandwiches and wanted something different to make.  This casserole definitely hit the spot and it has been in our family for the last 5 years.  It calls for nutmeg which is something that normally isn’t called for in a casserole.  However, I think it adds a woodsy touch to it.

In these pictures I used ham, however, you can also substitute chicken in place of the turkey.  Ham, turkey, chicken, even duck…it will all come out tasting scrumptious. The Italian Seasoned Panko crumbs is an added flair to this comforting dish. It’s a creamy, dreamy casserole that is actually fitting for the chilly weather that knocks on our door during this time of year. Place this recipe on your ‘holiday left overs’ file and make it this week! You’ll be glad you did!

Holiday Casserole

A creamy, dreamy casserole that uses left over ham, turkey, or chicken from your holiday dinner. It's a great way to of turning one main course into a completely different dish.Serving Size: 1 cup
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Serves: 6 to 8 people
Calories Per Serving: 393

Ingredients

  • 2 cups uncooked pasta any shape
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped celery
  • 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 2 10 and 3/4 ounce cans condensed cream of chicken soup
  • 2/3 cups milk
  • 2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
  • 2 cups cooked and shredded turkey or chicken
  • 4 ounces chopped pimentos, drained
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup Italian Seasoned Panko Crumbs

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook and drain noodles, following package directions.
  • In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat.
  • Add celery, green pepper, and onion. Cook until tender.
  • Blend in soup, milk, and shredded cheese. Cook, stirring until cheese is melted.
  • Combine cheese mixture with noodles, pimiento, turkey, salt, and nutmeg.
  • Transfer all of the above to a buttered 3-quart casserole.
  • Sprinkle Panko crumbs over the top.
  • Bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Libby's Notes

Time Saving Tips:
*Chop the onion, bell pepper, and celery up to 2 days ahead of time. Store in the fridge in a labeled air tight container.
*Boil and drain the noodles up to 2 days ahead of time. Store in the fridge in a labeled air tight container.

Nutrition

Calories: 393kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 607mg | Potassium: 338mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1335IU | Vitamin C: 27.8mg | Calcium: 335mg | Iron: 1.5mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @cooknwithlibby or tag #cookwlib!

14 Comments

  1. Libby this looks so delicious! I will be making this one soon! : )

  2. @Lesa-You are welcome! Congratulations! I will be contacting you soon 😉
    @Holly-I hope you enjoy it 😉

    1. Pimentos are little red sweet peppers. If you can't find any, you can always leave them out of the recipe or substitute them with green peppers.

  3. Made it for dinner tonight. Perfect way to use up 2 leftover chicken breasts I didn't want to go to waste. Left out the pimentos and nutmeg, but sprinkled in some paprika instead. Thanks for the recipe!

    1. You are welcome 😉 This is the perfect dish to use up that left over poultry 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it!

  4. Anonymous says:

    I've made this numerous times it's fantastic!!!

  5. Anonymous says:

    I made this today. Its just about to go into the oven.

    I made it completely Gluten Free. I made my own Cream of Chicken Soup from a recipe I found on the Celiac website. I didn't have onion powder so it was omitted. And I used half cream and half almond milk in the soup. So that was an added step I had to take to make this recipe.

    I just had a bowl of it now to give it a try and I found it a bit bland…

    It was pretty good, the next time I make it I will add more spices to my soup before adding it.

    I also made it with Gluten Free pasta. When cooking a casserole with GF Pasta, lessen the cooking time as the noodles can get smushie.

    I give this recipe 3.5 stars out of 5. It was good, just need to add more flavor.

    Thanks for the recipe!
    Lauri

    1. I agree that it probably did need more flavor/spices to be added, especially with the substitutions that you used. Thank you so much for experimenting with turning it into a Gluten Free recipe. Hopefully this will help those out there who are looking for comforting GF recipes 😉

  6. 5 stars
    We love to make this casserole when we have a few Thanksgiving left overs! So yummy!

  7. Annette Maakestad says:

    5 stars
    Great combination ❤️❤️

4.86 from 7 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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