When You Have Leftover Turkey, Make Turkey Coconut Curry!
This recipe sprung to life when we roasted 3 turkeys in the Test Kitchen in as many weeks and had lots of extra cooked turkey around. Not that anyone complained! There are so many ways one can use cooked chicken or turkey for FODMAP meals (salads, enchiladas, soups and stews, etc.).
This Turkey Coconut Curry became a fave around here because it is so easy and so tasty.
I found the inspiration for this Turkey Coconut Curry at the nytimes.com and read through the ingredients and comments. It was very FODMAPable and we had all the pantry items at hand; I also took note of the comments suggesting that more of the sauce component would be preferable.
Making a larger batch wasn’t going to take any more time, so we upped that, too. You can serve this with rice or potatoes. We steamed red potatoes and stirred them in before ladling into bowls for the picture.
You Have Coconut Milk and Canned Tomatoes in the Pantry, Right?
Let’s chat for a moment about standard pantry items. We want to help you have the easiest, most delicious time while navigating the world of FODMAPs. As you know by now, making food from scratch at home is not only economical but it offers more control over the quality of ingredients and the outcome.
We can flavor to our own personal level! Having some basic pantry, shelf-stable items on hand will make cooking that much easier. We always have coconut milk, both full fat and light, in the Test Kitchen and a variety of tomato products.
Canned diced tomatoes, as featured in this recipe, are particular faves. We highly encourage you to follow suit; then recipes like this will come together lightening fast.
Turkey Coconut Curry
This quick Turkey Coconut Curry takes advantage of leftover cooked turkey (or chicken) and pantry staples like canned coconut milk and diced tomatoes. Ginger, scallions, cumin, coriander and turmeric add color and flavor.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) Garlic-Infused Oil, made with vegetable oil, or purchased equivalent
- 1 1/2 cups (96 g) chopped scallions, green parts only, divided
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger root grated and peeled
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne or to taste
- 1, 14.5-ounce (411 g) can diced or petite diced tomatoes with juice, such as Muir Glen
- 1, 13 to 14 ounce (370 g to 400 g) can light or “lite” coconut milk, such as Thai Kitchen
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 5 ounces (140 g) fresh baby spinach, washed and dried
- 4 cups (about 1 pound; 455 g) roughly chopped leftover turkey, white or dark meat or a combination
- 1/4 cup (4 g) chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
Preparation:
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Heat oil in a medium sized pot over low-medium heat until shimmering. Add 1 cup (64 g) of the scallion greens and sauté for about 3 minutes or until soft, but not browned. Add ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne and continue to cook, stirring often, for another minute or until ginger softens and spices are fragrant.
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Stir in the tomatoes with all of their juice and the coconut milk. Turn heat up to medium and bring to a boil, stirring to combine well. Adjust heat and simmer vigorously for about 5 minutes to thicken slightly and to blend flavors. Stir in the spinach and allow to cook for about 1 minute or until the spinach wilts. Stir in turkey and season with salt and pepper. Adjust heat if necessary to bring back to a simmer and cook until turkey is heated through, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed. Dish can be made ahead up to this point, cooled and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Reheat before serving. Serve with hot rice or steamed/boiled red potatoes in bowl. Garnish with remaining scallions and cilantro and serve immediately.
Dédé’s Quick Recipe Tips Video
Notes:
Tips
- Make sure that your dried spices are fresh or the flavor of the curry will not be optimal. We recommend replacing dried herbs and spices every 6 months and storing in airtight containers in a cool, dark location. Not over the stove!
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more. For a more detailed explanation, please read our article Understanding The Nutrition Panel Within Our Recipes.
Can regular full-fat coconut milk be used? Or is that too high in FODMAP’s?
Full fat canned coconut milk is low FODMAP in 1/4 cup (60 ml) amounts. You could try it and the serving sizes could stay the same. It will just be a much richer dish. Let us know if you try!
This was delicious. I ran out of turkey so I used rotisserie chicken. I also used 1/2 chopped leek leaves and 1/2 scallions since I didn’t have enough scallions. This was easy and very yummy. I will definitely make this again. Thanks, Dede. I love your recipes.
Hi Julie! Great tweaks you made there. Thank you for encouraging others by writing and we are so happy you are part of our community.
Basic recipe was great. I cooked it in a Dutch oven. Added fennel and a bay leaf and cooked it on low for about an hour to blend the flavors. It needed a bit of salt to taste. At the end, I had some fresh pineapple and added that. A wonderful combo of flavors!
Hi Marijane, that sounds delicious! Just a note: remember that when you tweak a recipe you do need to recalculate FODMAP load. In this case you introduced additional fructans via the pineapple. But it sounds like you did well with it!