Turkey Fried Rice with Brussels Sprouts

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Need a new way to use up leftover roast turkey? Turkey Fried Rice with Brussels sprouts was made with leftovers in mind! Perfect for after Christmas, Thanksgiving or a Sunday Roast, this quick and easy stir fry is great with chicken too. 

Leftover Roast Turkey

Festive food is great, but it can get a little boring. Especially when there is just so much of it. I hate food waste, so I am always thinking of new and exciting ways to use up my leftovers.

This speedy fried rice style stir fry uses up typical Christmas dinner leftovers. And the beauty of it is you can easily change up the ingredients depending on what you have. I have made a handy list further down with each main ingredient and helpful swaps. 

If you need more ideas on using up leftover roast turkey I put together a whole collection of Leftover Turkey Recipes.

Ingredient Notes

I have included approximate grams measurements for the ingredients in the recipe card below, but the beauty of this recipe is that it does not need to be exact.

Roast Turkey

Use breast or leg meat. I like to shred mine with two forks but you can cut into cubes. Use chicken instead – leftovers from a roast or use a rotisserie chicken. You could even use cubes of fresh chicken or turkey breast – thinly slice and cook off in the pan then remove before following the recipe. 

Brussels Sprouts

A typical side to roast dinner, I find that Brussels Sprouts come in such huge bags there are always plenty leftover. I use raw sprouts in the recipe but cooked also works – just reduce the cooking time. Instead of sprouts you could use another green vegetable – cabbage works well, or try broccoli or kale. If you still have excess sprouts then try my Brussels Sprouts Carbonara.

Cooked Rice

Day old cooked rice does work best, but fresh is fine if that is all you have. Let it cool if you can, but also don’t stress if you can’t. Or use the handy packets of microwave rice – you do not need to cook them just add two packets directly into the pan with a splash of water. Instead of rice you can also serve this stir fry with noodles. 

Peas

It’s not fried rice without peas in my opinion, but they can easily be swapped out. I always have frozen peas on hand for stir fry but you could try sweetcorn or diced carrot.

 Cooked Ham

Another festive staple, you can use ham from a roast or sliced ham from a packet (the kind you would put in sandwiches – trust me, it works here). If you don’t have ham, try bacon or even chorizo instead. Sausage also works, and can be added raw or cooked. Why not try using some sliced up leftover Pigs in Blankets. Make sure to adjust cooking time for any raw meat – add at the beginning before the onions and make sure it is cooked through. 

Seasoning

For turkey fried rice I keep it super simple with seasoning – Chinese Five Spice, soy sauce, white pepper and sesame oil. You can add a splash of oyster sauce, a pinch of MSG or a drizzle of chilli oil.

Optional Extras

Add any extra veg you like – fried rice is really forgiving. You can also use cooked vegetables. My family has a roast vegetable medley with our festive meal which includes parsnips, carrots, red onion and bell pepper and the leftovers work really well for fried rice. Try adding mushrooms, courgette, or even cauliflower. 

Turkey Stir Fry

This turkey stir fry is not intended to be an authentic Chinese fried rice. It is supposed to be an easy throw together dinner using leftovers for those odd ‘betwixmas‘ evenings at home between festivities.

So please do not stress too much about following the recipe perfectly. Treat it as a guide, and adjust the quantities to suit what you have. 

Serving Suggestions

Add Chilli – if you like some spice, add sliced chilli with the onion, or throw in some chilli flakes. You could also add chilli oil when serving. 

Add Toasted Nuts – another common surplus ingredient during the Festive period. If you have excess peanuts or cashews that were intended party snacks, toast them in a dry pan then add to the stir fry for extra crunch.

Add Egg – fried rice does usually contain scrambled egg. I have not added it this particular  recipe, but you absolutely can if you like. Before stirring in the rice, scoot all the ingredients over so you have a bit of space in the pan. Crack in a couple of eggs and stir quickly to scramble, then stir into the rest of the ingredients. 

If you have got leftover salmon then absolutely try my Salmon Fried Rice! It is really similar to this recipe but does contain egg. And my Smoked Sausage Stir Fry can be adapted to use leftover cooked sausage or Pigs in Blankets.

Fried Rice Leftovers

Fried Rice is best served as soon as it is cooked. I don’t recommend reheating or freezing leftover fried rice as the turkey and rice has already been cooked then reheated. Make just enough for the amount of people serving.

To save time, if you want turkey fried rice two days in a row, prep double the ingredients and save half covered in the fridge for the next day.

You can freeze leftover cooked turkey (as long as it has only been cooked once).

More Recipes You Can Use Leftover Turkey In:

You can substitute leftover roast turkey into most recipes which call for cooked, shredded or rotisserie chicken.

• Chicken Leek Stir Fry
• Chicken Sweetcorn Gratin
• Chicken (or Turkey) Mayo Sandwich
• Chicken Minestrone
• Chicken Chorizo Stew