Leftover Turkey Enchiladas
The perfect recipe to repurpose your leftover holiday turkey! Turkey and baked sweet potatoes are rolled in tortillas with a tangy, spicy enchilada sauce.
Servings: 12 enchiladas
Calories: 185kcal
Ingredients
- 3 cups enchilada sauce (about 2 15-ounce cans, or 1/2 of my homemade enchilada sauce recipe)
- 12 corn tortillas
- 1 1/2 cups sweet potato roasted and mashed
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups turkey shredded
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 20 olives sliced
- avocado and cilantro to top, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Prepare all ingredients. Mash sweet potatoes, and season with lime juice, cumin and sea salt. Shred cheese and slice olives. Make sure turkey in either shredded or chopped in small pieces.
- Use a 9 x 13 baking dish, and begin by adding 1/2 cup enchilada sauce to the bottom of the pan, and spread into a thin, even layer.
- Wrap tortillas in a thin kitchen towel, and microwave for 20-30 seconds. The tortilla should be warm enough to be pliable. Most traditional recipes call for the tortillas to be pan fried to soften them, but that's really unnecessary - cooking them in sauce will make them soft and moist after baking.
- Dip 1 tortilla into enchilada sauce to fully coat it on both sides, then lay it in the baking dish, and add a spoonful of mashed sweet potatoes, followed by turkey, spinach, olives and a light sprinkling of cheese.
- Repeat with the other tortillas. This can be split into 2 small pans or put them all in 1 large pan.
- Top rolled enchiladas with the remaining sauce, and then sprinkle the rest of the cheese and olives on top.
- Cover the dish in foil, and bake for 30 minutes, until sauce and cheese are bubbling.
- Remove the foil, and continue to bake for another 5 minutes to lightly brown the top.
- Let sit for 5-10 minutes before attempting to slice enchiladas and serve.
- Top with avocado slices, more sauce, cilantro, jalapeños, or guacamole for a festive meal.
Video
Notes
*If you do not have leftover roasted sweet potatoes, you can make them by preheating oven to 400 degrees F, and placing sweet potatoes in a foil lined baking dish, then baking them for 1 hour. The sweet potatoes are done when the flesh inside is very soft, and the skin sinks in. You can also prepare them much quicker by simply microwaving them for 6-8 minutes, although the result isn't as creamy or sweet as the oven roasted method.
- Make it Gluten Free: Corn tortillas are naturally gluten free. They also are far fewer calories than white flour tortillas. La Tortilla Factory makes organic non-GMO corn tortillas, and since corn is almost always GMO, that's an important consideration. My homemade enchilada sauce is also gluten free (many store bought varieties aren't).
- Make it Ahead: This is a great casserole dish to make a day ahead or in the morning to bake in the evening. Just roll the enchiladas, cover with foil, and place in the fridge until ready to bake.
- Make it Vegetarian: If you had a meat free holiday, then use other leftovers in this dish! In place of the turkey, leftover roasted veggies would be wonderful. You could also just use sweet potato, spinach, olives and cheese.
- Make it Dairy Free: These don't absolutely need cheese! Use extra sauce, or make a guacamole to spread a little extra love on top after baking.
- For the Family: My homemade enchilada sauce is not spicy (depending on the chili powder you use-- my chili powder is pretty mild), so it's a family friendly option.
Nutrition
Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 340mg | Potassium: 219mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 3605IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 163mg | Iron: 1mg