This hearty and flavorful Turkey and Butternut Squash Stew recipe is a great way to use Thanksgiving leftovers! Read on for details about this tasty side dish, or click here to jump down to the recipe.
I don’t host for Thanksgiving, so don’t have quite as many leftovers to contend with as you might. But I usually leave my folks armed with a couple of pretty well-packed containers of turkey and sides, so I do have some experience. I got in the Thanksgiving spirit earlier this month and roasted a turkey. That gave me turkey bones as well as meat to work with, so making a stew was a must! The result was this tasty Turkey and Butternut Squash Stew perfect for sharing for this #SundaySupper focused on Thanksgiving leftovers. Before I get into my recipe, let me say thanks to Jennie at the Messy Baker Blog for hosting us!
Potatoes might be more common in a stew of this sort, but I had a lot of squash on hand from our fall farmshare. So I put a whole butternut squash to work in this stew with tasty results! If you had some leftover pureed squash from the Thanksgiving table, you could add that into the stew, and then add a couple of chopped potatoes for texture. This recipe is flexible–experiment with what you have on hand!
If you left someone else’s house with turkey meat, you can make the stew with some store-bought stock–skip on down to the stew recipe below! But homemade stock adds so much flavor! I describe the process for making stock with leftover chicken here, and the process is pretty similar with turkey.
For the stock in this turkey and butternut squash stew, I used a slowcooker which made the process quite easy. I removed the leftover meat form the turkey, leaving bits on the bone here and there. I broke up the carcass a bit, and filled my crockpot with the leg and wing bones. I roasted the turkey with a flavorful garlic butter, along with some parsnips and carrots. I tossed the remaining veggies into the crockpot to add flavor to the stock. Then, simply cover the turkey bones with water, and set the crockpot on low for at least 12 hours. I got this going on a Sunday night, and let the stock simmer in the crockpot for a full 24 hours, making the stew when I got home from work. The house smelled so awesome when I got home that night!
I finished the stock by dumping the crockpot contents through a strainer into a large pan. I pick through the turkey bones to get more meat I can add to the stock, which wound up being quite a bit, as you can see. Homemade stock ready to go for some turkey and butternut squash stew!
Wine Pairing for Turkey and Butternut Squash Stew
I’m inclined to go with Pinot Noir for turkey, and the butternut squash seals the deal! I recently shared my 10 Pinot Noir Picks for Thanksgiving, in case you didn’t wind up with any leftover wine and need to choose a new bottle to go with the leftover stew.
Turkey and Butternut Squash Stew
This hearty and flavorful stew is a great way to use leftover turkey!
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and chopped
- 1 cup green peas, frozen OK
- 4 cups or more cooked turkey, cut or shred into bit sized pieces
- 7 cups turkey or chicken stock (if you have less than 7 cups stock, add water to bring you to 7 cups of liquid).
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan.
- Add the onions to the pan and sauté for about 5 minutes, until they begin to soften.
- Add the carrots, butternut squash, and garlic, and sauté for about two more minutes.
- Add the stock to the pan, bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer on medium low.
- After the veggies simmer for about 10 minutes, stir in the turkey and peas.
- Let the stew simmer uncovered at least 30 more minutes until the veggies are good and tender. A full hour of total cooking time is ideal to really let the flavor build up.
- Stir occasionally as the stew simmers, and break up a few pieces of the squash as you do to distribute the flavor throughout the liquid.
- Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve in a bowl along with crusty bread. Enjoy!
Breakfast:
Cranberry Sauce Muffins by The Foodie Army Wife
Leftover Stuffing Breakfast Strata by Ruffles & Truffles
Sweet Potato Casserole Muffins by Magnolia Days
Turkey & Chorizo Breakfast Hash by Brunch with Joy
Italian Mashed Potato Pancakes by The Weekend Gourmet
Cranberry Sauce’d Corn Bread Muffins by Rhubarb and Honey
Main Dish:
Leftover Pie by Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
Thanksgiving Leftover Waffles by Foxes Love Lemons
Stuffing Hash by The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
Turkey Pizza by Meal Diva
Turkey & Caramelized Onion Risotto by kimchi MOM
Turkey with Creamy Mushroom Marsala Sauce by Casa de Crews
Moroccan Turkey Stew by What Smells So Good?
Peruvian Cilantro & Turkey Soup by The Little Ferraro Kitchen
Turkey & Butternut Squash Stew by Cooking Chat
Turkey Kreplach Soup by Panning the Globe
Turkey & Stuffing Crepes by Peaceful Cooking
Cranberry Apple Pecan Chicken Salad by NeighborFood
Herbed Turkey over Cornbread Waffles with Cranberry Sauce by girlichef
Creamy Peanut Gochujang Pasta by Wallflour Girl
Cranberry Sweet Potato Soup by Take A Bite Out of Boca
Turkey Enchilada Pasta Bake by Curious Cuisiniere
Turkey Orzo Risotto by Family Foodie
Turkey Croquettes by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
Side Dishes:
Cheesy Mashed Potato Croquettes by Noshing with the Nolands
Whipped Carrots with Sriracha Butter by Healthy Delicious
Cranberry-Balsamic Glazed Cauliflower Wings by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
Parmesan Mashed Cauliflower and Potatoes by Momma’s Meals
Cheesy Jalapeño Potato Cakes by Bobbi’s Cozy Kitchen
Sandwiches:
Cranberry & Turkey Sandwich by The Redhead Baker
Monte Cristo Sandwich by Nik Snacks
Hot Brown Turkey Sandwiches by The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch
Sprouted Grain Turkey, Cranberry & Brie Panini by Amee’s Savory Dish
Turkey Cranberry Flatbread by Peanut Butter and Peppers
Condiments & Sauces:
Cranberry Vinaigrette by Nosh My Way
Leftover White Wine Syrup by Food Lust People Love
DIY Yellow Mustard by The Texan New Yorker
Dessert:
Banana Cheesecake with Pecan Graham Cracker Crust by Desserts Required
Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Gluten-Free Lemon Cake by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Spiced Cranberry Sauce Buckle by The Wimpy Vegetarian
Cocktails & Drinks:
Cranberry Orange Crush by The Messy Baker
Cranberry Bellini by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
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This looks absolutely delicious. I really love butternut squash so I am happy to see this rather than potatoes in your stew! (I’m not such a huge fan of potatoes – I know, shocker!).
Thanks Shelby! I love potatoes, but do like to mix it up with other things like the butternut.
This looks amaaazzzzing! I love the idea of the butternut squash in the soup – thanks! ~ Lisa
This is one gorgeous bowl of soup. I can’t wait to try this recipe. Pinned.
Thanks for stopping by Jennie…and for hosting this great SundaySupper!
That is one yummy looking soup!
Great looking bowl of soup. Sure wish it was in front of me now!!
★★★★★
Now that looks like perfection in a bowl! What a terrific variation of turkey soup!
What a gorgeous stew. I love butternut squash, it’s definitely one of my favorite ingredients to use this time of year! PS- good choice pairing with a Pinot Noir 🙂
Yes, the Pinot really completes this one!
I love how you can totally change this up depending on what you have leftover. Though I am a huge butternut squash fan!
Yes, it’s great to have a basic recipe that can be varied easily!
What a beautiful stew! I could go for a big bowl right now!
That is one beautiful bowl of stew David!!
★★★★
I love the butternut squash in this stew! Sounds so good!!
★★★★★
I love this recipe! The flavor combinations look so comforting. And what a gorgeous photo!
Two birds with one stone! (Well, really only one bird and one squash–but still…) I love this pairing. It just screams autumn and Thanksgiving awesomeness to me!
Turkey soup in our house was hit or miss. It usually was a turkey and rice soup and if we forgot to refrigerate it after it cooled it got tossed. So, 50% of the time, we got to eat it.. The instructions to the recipe are just that. LOL THIS would definitely be saved for later! YUM!
Thanks for stopping by, Christie. We definitely ate every bit of this soup!
This looks so comforting! I always save and freeze the turkey bones with the intent to make stock, but unfortunately I never follow through.
Although I love butternut squash and have some sitting in my fridge…perhaps this will be on the menu this week! Thanks for sharing and have a great Thanksgiving!
Hi Amy–bones in freezer sound familiar! If I don’t make the stock right away it rarely happens, I’m afraid.
Loving everything about this!
I love the colors in this soup! A great flavor profile, David!
Your photos are so beautiful!! I love butternut squash too, this looks so delicious!
Thanks Julie! We have definitely been working on getting our photos to look as good as the food tastes, so appreciate the feedback 🙂