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Before you earmark all those Thanksgiving leftovers for other meals, don’t forget to set enough aside for these Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches. Creamy Béchamel coupled with prized leftover Thanksgiving Day turkey, sweet cranberry sauce, and melty Pepper Jack cheese make these open faced leftover turkey cranberry sandwiches truly stupendous!
Got more turkey leftovers than you thought? Check out this intensely creamy Turkey and Noodles Tetrazzini casserole!
Quick Look: Leftover Turkey Cranberry Sandwich Recipe
- ⏲️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- ⏲️ Cook Time: 15 minutes
- ⏲️ Total Time: 25 minutes
- 👨👩👧👦 Servings: 4
- 🌽 Cuisine & Heritage: Classic American with a French sauce
- 🍽️ Calories: 696 calories per serving (more nutritional info in recipe card)
- 🥦 Dietary Info: can be made Gluten Free and Dairy Free
- 🟢 Difficulty: Easy
- 🔥 Cooking Method: Stovetop
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: A tangy, savory, and creamy sandwich with contrasting flavors and textures.
- 🔑 Top Tip: Make the béchamel sauce a day in advance, cover with plastic, and refrigerate until ready to use. Reheat gently on the stovetop.
- 🍷 Drink Pairings: Pair this with a crisp apple cider or black tea, or try a bright, lightly oaked Chardonnay or malty amber ale.
- ❄️ Storage: Leftover béchamel sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3-5 days.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It transforms Thanksgiving leftovers into a hot, comforting meal that feels like a totally new meal rather than reheated leftovers.
- The béchamel sauce adds a luxurious, creamy touch that turns a simple turkey sandwich into something special.
- The open-faced presentation makes it easy to pile with toppings and quick to assemble.
“This is an epic sandwich with such a great combination of texture and flavors! This is such a creative and delicious way to use up my Thanksgiving leftovers. Thanks for sharing!”
Table of Contents
While Tom Turkey and all his Thanksgiving cronies were chilling in the fridge Thanksgiving night, I was brainstorming a delicious sandwich in which to enjoy them the next day; definitely something beyond the usual turkey, stuffing, and mayo “gobbler.” I landed on this upgraded sandwich that has a delightful addition: béchamel sauce.
This isn’t the most original recipe idea in the world, but it is a simple and delicious way to transform Thanksgiving dishes into something more special than a plateful of microwaved leftovers!
Ingredients
- Fresh Bread: Any slice of fresh bread you like works great here. I purposely buy a loaf of bakery sourdough the day before the holiday knowing that I will make this sandwich. I want large fresh slices for toasting and assembling this sandwich. If sourdough isn’t your thing, consider pumpernickel, marble rye, or country white.
- Cheese: I recommend using any cheese that melts well, such as Pepper Jack, Brie, Camembert, or Blue Cheese.
- Leftover Roasted Turkey: Whether you have a roasted whole turkey or roasted turkey breast left over, slice it thinly, and it will be ready to enjoy in this open-faced sandwich.
- Homemade Cranberry Sauce: A touch of fabulous and tangy whole berry cranberry sauce pairs perfectly with the turkey. Use canned only if you must. You could also try using this autumn apple cranberry chutney for a twist!
- Homemade Béchamel Sauce: Béchamel sauce is quite likely the easiest of elegant fast food that the novice home chef like me can pull off in our kitchens in mere minutes! This splendid sauce typically adorns the top of a dish once it’s plated. If you love béchamel, be sure to try my four cheese stuffed shells for another dinner!
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations & Substitutions
- Try switching up the cheese and use Camembert or Brie to make this sammy not entirely average. If you can find the caramelized onion cheddar that is popular at Trader Joe’s stores nationwide, shred some into the Béchamel, instantly turning it into Mornay sauce.
- Other herbs to consider infusing with the milk for the béchamel would be bay leaf, muddled fresh sage, or muddled fresh oregano. Roasted garlic cloves also infuse the milk nicely and offer a quasi-sweet pleasing finished sauce.
- No time for Béchamel? A smear of cream cheese on the lightly toasted bread before piling on the turkey and the cheese is totally appropriate. Also, my Five Ingredient Honey Mustamaise is that “on-everything” condiment that fits the bill when plain old mayonnaise just won’t do.
How to Make Leftover Turkey Cranberry Sandwich
Scroll down for the full printable recipe or stick around for the step-by-step breakdown with photos to walk you through every delicious detail.
1
Make the Béchamel Sauce
Add some milk to a saucepan, then add some peppercorns, a branch of rosemary that’s been muddled a bit, several sprigs of parsley, a very thinly sliced shallot, and a single grind of nutmeg. Simmer for about 10 minutes over medium low heat; when the milk is steamy, its ready. Strain the solids and pour the milk back into the saucepan to keep warm. Ditch the solids.
Melt unsalted butter in a separate saucepan. Add some flour, Kosher salt, and black pepper. Use a whisk to break up the flour clumps as you cook the sticky flour ball for five full minutes. Once the sticky flour ball or roux, begins to smell nutty, it’s there.
Add the warm herb-infused milk to the roux, turn the heat to medium high, and whisk until the mixture thickens and is very, very smooth, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste, about a half teaspoon altogether. I never measure…
2
Prepare the Bread & Toppings
Combine the mustard and cranberry sauce, then set it aside. Very lightly toast the bread in the oven.
3
Assemble the Sandwiches
Spread a heaping spoonful of béchamel sauce on each piece of bread, then top each piece with 2 ounces of turkey and 1 ounce of pepper jack cheese. Slide the baking sheet into the oven long enough to melt the cheese and to lightly brown the tops.
4
Enjoy!
Serve hot out of the oven and enjoy these delicious leftover Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches!
Recipe FAQs
According to Webster’s, Béchamel “a rich white sauce made with milk infused with herbs and other flavorings.” To the novice home chef, Béchamel is soooo much more than that. It’s that creamy, gravy-like condiment that is served warm and assembled quite literally in just a few minutes with only a few ingredients on the stove top. It’s kid friendly and altogether worthy of company if you need your sandwiches to make a statement!
Yes, but for me, it’s a “why bother?” kind of question. Ten minutes to cook it from start to finish or ten minutes to reheat it; same difference. But if you are eager to get all of your cooking under your belt, make the Béchamel ahead by one day, cover with film, and refrigerate until ready to use. Reheat over low heat in a sauce pan on your stove for about ten minutes.
Start with thicker slices of hearty bread, such as sourdough, then lightly toast them in the oven. If you’re really concerned about soggy bread, use the cheese as a buffer between the bread and the sauce and meat.
Simply use a large sheet pan and place as many bread slices as you would like on top, then toast and add toppings as desired. Since these leftover turkey sandwiches are open-faced, it cuts down on the amount of bread required and makes them quick and easy to make.
Serving Suggestions
Gee, it’s a very filling sandwich, so think easy and grab some kettle chips or just some house made pickles, or even Sweet and Spicy Pickled Red Onions. I go old school and pour a big glass of cold milk and add some classy vegetable chips to my plate!
If you end up with leftover béchamel, cover it with plastic film and save it for Sunday breakfast over scrambled eggs and bacon or with my avocado toast with jammy egg.
Expert Tips
- Substitute the pepper jack cheese with any cheese that melts easily and quickly.
- Make ahead the béchamel sauce by one day. Cool completely and cover with film. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Reheat the béchamel sauce over low heat in a saucepan on your stove for about ten minutes. Leftover sauce is fabulous, spooned over scrambled eggs. Please not that the sauce cannot be frozen, as it will separate upon thawing.
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Leftover Turkey Cranberry Sandwich
Ingredients
For the Béchamel Sauce
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 quart milk
- 5 whole black peppercorns
- 3-4 sprigs parsley
- 1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 branch rosemary, fresh, slightly muddled
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground
For the Sandwich
- 8 thick slices bread, very fresh, very lightly toasted
- 1 pound leftover Thanksgiving turkey, thinly sliced
- 8 ounces Pepper Jack cheese
- ½ cup leftover cranberry sauce
- 1 tablespoon whole grain Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Adjust the racks of your oven to where one rack is 6 inches below the element, and the other is at the lowest part of the oven. Preheat broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set aside.
Making the Béchamel Sauce
- Add the milk, peppercorns, parsley, shallots, and rosemary to a medium saucepan, then bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the milk is steamy. Strain out the solids and return the infused milk to the saucepan. Reduce heat to low to keep the milk warm.
- Melt the butter in a separate saucepan, then add the flour and whisk to incorporate the flour and to break up any lumps. Cook the mixture over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until it begins to toast and smell nutty. Pour in the milk.
- Turn the heat to medium high and bring the roux to a boil, whisking constantly. The mixture will thicken to the consistency of a smooth gravy. Remove it from the heat and allow it to stand to thicken.
Assembling the Sandwiches
- Add the whole grain mustard to the cranberry sauce and stir with a wooden spoon until it is very well combined. Set aside.
- Lightly toast the bread slices on the prepared baking sheet in the bottom part of the oven for just a minute. You only want them very lightly toasted.
- Remove the baking sheet and flip the bread slices. Add a heaping spoonful of the hot Béchamel sauce to each slice and smear it around. Add the 2 ounces of turkey to each slice of bread, followed by 1 ounce of Pepper Jack atop each pile of turkey.
- Slide the baking sheet onto the top rack of the oven just long enough to melt the cheese and lightly brown the tops.
- Remove from the oven and arrange 2 halves on each of four plates. Spoon the cranberry sauce mixture over top and serve hot. Serve open-faced with kettle chips or house made pickles.
Notes
- Substitute the pepper jack cheese with any cheese that melts easily and quickly.
- Make ahead the béchamel sauce by one day. Cool completely and cover with film. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Reheat the béchamel sauce over low heat in a saucepan on your stove for about ten minutes. Leftover sauce is fabulous, spooned over scrambled eggs. Please not that the sauce cannot be frozen, as it will separate upon thawing.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is an epic sandwich with such a great combination of texture and flavors! This is such a creative and delicious way to use up my Thanksgiving leftovers. Thanks for sharing!