Not sure what to do with all your leftover turkey? Baked turkey croquettes are the perfect way to use up your leftover holiday turkey!
Baked Turkey Croquettes
Thanksgiving leftovers get repurposed with these delicious baked turkey croquettes, a favorite of mine. Leftover turkey gets mixed with mashed potatoes and herbs, breaded and baked in the oven. I love them with leftover gravy and some veggies on the side. And if you still have more turkey leftover, try this Turkey and Sweet Potato Frittata or Turkey Noodle Soup!
My Mom always made turkey croquettes with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Only difference was she deep-fried hers. I was hoping to make them lighter, so I decided to try baking them in the oven instead. And and the results? Amazing. We didn’t even miss the fried ones.
The key to success is to spray them generously with oil before baking so the crumbs get golden. After I top them with some turkey gravy or chicken gravy and serve it with a vegetable on the side. Dinner is done!
These also make great appetizers. You could substitute chicken breast for turkey if you wish to make them anytime of the year. Enjoy!
What is a croquette?
Potato croquetttes are small finger foods, usually fried and rolled in breadcrumbs. They’re made of mashed potatoes, veggies and eggs mixed with any meat like ham, chicken, veal, turkey, beef, shellfish, fish, etc. Often times perfect for any leftover meat and served at holiday parties.
Try These Leftover Thanksgiving Recipes:
- Turkey and Sweet Potato Frittata
- Leftover Turkey Tacos with Brussels Sprout Slaw
- Leftover Turkey Harvest Cobb Salad
- Turkey Noodle Soup
- Leftover Turkey Cuban Sandwiches
Baked Turkey Croquettes
Ingredients
- 12 oz cooked turkey breast, chopped fine (a food processor or chopper is great for this)
- 3 medium potatoes, peeled, cooked and mashed
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
- salt and fresh pepper
- 1/2 cup seasoned whole wheat bread crumbs
- 1 egg, whisked
- olive oil spray
- leftover turkey gravy for serving, optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mash potatoes with 1/4 cup broth, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Saute garlic, and onions in oil over low heat. Add parsley, salt and pepper and cook until soft, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add turkey, and remaining broth, mix well and shut heat off.
- Add turkey to mashed potatoes and using your clean hands mix well. Taste for salt and adjust if needed.
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Measure 1/4 cup of mixture then form into croquettes. Place on waxed paper. Repeat with remaining mixture.
- Dip each croquette in egg mixture, then breadcrumbs and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet for easy cleanup. Spray generously with olive oil (about 1 tbsp worth). Bake in the oven about 15 minutes, or until golden.
- Optional, serve with leftover turkey gravy.
Just made these! I will definitely make them again. I did have to tweak a bit. They only thing I had on hand was Plain Panko so I used that and added some italian seasoning to the crumbs. I also added some cheese as others had mentioned. Excellent!!
Made these with left over turkey from Thanksgiving and we liked them better then the original turkey. We love these. I want to try to freeze half of them and hope they are just as good heated up in the oven later on. A favorite.
These are really good. My mother used to make them with leftover dressing instead of potatoes. They were always baked. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
this is a very good recipe. i added a cup of shredded cheese, coriander and thyme. baked for 20 minutes. i got 10 nice sized patties using a 1/3 c measuring cup
Can these be done in airfryer? if so what temp and time? tjamls/
Hi, This recipe sounds exactly what I have been looking for. I like the idea that they are not deep fried. My question is can I freeze these and if so should they be frozen before or after baking.
Thank you,
Did you try to make ahead? I’m wondering the same thing about baking before or after. Would love to hear what you ended up doing. Thanks!
Did this actually come out as 18 for anyone (6 servings of 3 croquettes)? I got 13 using a 1/4c as a measure…
i got ten using a 1/3 c measure. i did add a cup of shredded cheese to the mixture.Â
I was so excited to make these, unfortunately, they were horribly bland. 4 of us ate them and no one was happy with the outcome.
i added coriander and thyme to the mixture. made sure the potatoes were well seasoned. added montreal steak seasoning to the bread crumbs. added a cup of shredded cheese.Â
Gina!  You have come through, again!  Your’s is my go-to collection of recipes and most often referenced site!  Looking for a way to use up the Easter turkey breast and this is a definite keeper!  I decided to use the suggested baked potato on another review; this worked great as it was not as moist as traditional mashed potatoes.  And added a pinch of sage and used dried parsley.  These were easy to form, and so easy to bake to a perfect turn in the air fryer!  Served with turkey gravy and steamed broccoli.  Hubs was impressed as croquettes are not a favorite of his!  I halved the recipe and still got 12 out of it; just guessed at the amount of potatoes and cut an extra 2 oz of turkey.  Yeah!  Second supper this week!  I’m not big on leftovers more than once. So this is just perfect!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
If you freeze them, what do you think the best way to reheat them would be?
I’d reheat in the oven or air fryer.
The top of this recipe states 1 WW point under the purple plan, however it states 5 points for three at the bottom of the recipe.
Can you please clarify.
Hi Martha, I just double checked and it is showing 1 for purple at the top and bottom of the recipe.
I’ve been making chicken or turkey croquettes for years. Our favorite is with added curry powder. Curried croquettes-yummy! I’ve always fried them, so I’m happy to have this oven-baked alternative.
This is a delicious way to have a turkey dinner! When I visited Spain, tapas were a staple food. At the first tapas bar that I went to, the croquette was my first experience. Even though I did not like it at first, they began to grow on me. One thing that I might add to this recipe is to make sure to keep the gravy on the side as when it is left on for too long, the croquettes get soggy, losing their delicious crunch.
Has anyone added any veggies? I’m thinking about putting some peas or broccoli in.Â
this recipe was good. I will say that the first night I made this it was a pile of mashed potatoes that I couldn’t form into balls at all. I put in fridge and the next night i was able to form into balls and cook. I used Premade mash potatoes and heated them up ahead of time. I think that might have been the problem? I would def recommend letting cool before cooking and to made homemade as In recipe. Served with the stuffing muffins which were yummy!