Low-Carb Turkey Casserole
This Low-Carb Turkey Casserole is such a delicious option for leftover turkey, but it’s equally delicious if you make it with chicken. And this casserole is popular all year, so lots of people must be making it with chicken!
PIN Low-Carb Leftover Turkey Casserole to try it later!
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I’m going to my sister Pam’s house this year, so I might not even get any leftover turkey. But if I did I’d definitely be making this Low-Carb Turkey Casserole on the day after Thanksgiving! Out of all my Recipes for Leftover Turkey this is the leftover turkey recipe I’ve made the most!
I’m proud of this recipe and with good reason because I tried multiple times with Kara to come up with a tasty casserole that used Cauliflower Rice (affiliate link) instead of rice, and the first three times we ended up with a casserole that tasted okay but was really watery. For this keeper version we skipped the turkey stock and used a thick sauce of sour cream, mayo, Dijon, Parmesan, Mozzarella, and spices, and it held the mixture together with just enough cheesy creaminess to make it good!
Of course you don’t have any leftover turkey yet, but you can definitely make this tasty casserole with chicken any time of year. This is a pretty brown dish, so my apologies that the step-by-step photos are all so colorless, but please: Make. This. Recipe. You will not regret it!
What ingredients do you need?
- chopped cauliflower
- Cremini mushrooms
- cooked leftover turkey or chicken
- onion
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- Dried Thyme (affiliate link)
- Poultry Seasoning (affiliate link)
- salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
- coarsely grated Mozzarella
- sour cream
- mayo
- Dijon mustard
- coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
Can you use frozen cauliflower rice for this recipe?
I haven’t made this with frozen cauliflower rice. And although I think it will probably work here, I prefer freshly chopped and cooked cauliflower in a recipe that is going to bake for this long. (If anyone tries frozen cauliflower rice and thinks it works great, let us know in the comments.)
What if you don’t have leftover turkey for this turkey casserole?
This casserole can definitely be made with rotisserie chicken or other leftover cooked chicken!
Want more low-carb recipes for using leftover turkey?
Check out Low-Carb Recipes for Leftover Turkey for more tasty recipes like this one.
How to Make Low-Carb Turkey Casserole:
(Scroll down for complete printable recipe with nutritional information.)
- Chop up the cauliflower and then pulse in a food processor or grate with a hand grater to make the small pieces of cauliflower. (More photos of how to do that on the recipe for cauliflower rice if you need them.
- If you want to substitute frozen cauliflower rice I’d use about 3 cups, but I do think the fresh cauliflower might hold up better in this.
- Wash and dry mushrooms and cut into thick half-slices.
- Cut up the leftover turkey (or chicken) into bite-sized pieces.
- Mix together the sour cream, mayo, Dijon, dried thyme, Poultry Seasoning, 1 cup of Mozzarella cheese, and the Parmesan to make the thick sauce.
- Cook the mushrooms until they’re a little browned; then make a layer of mushrooms in the casserole dish.
- Then cook the onions until they’re starting to brown and make a layer of onions in the dish.
- Add a little more oil and saute the cauliflower rice until it’s starting to soften and slightly brown, adding the other teaspoon each of dried thyme and Poultry Seasoning to the rice for the last few minutes of cooking time. (Frozen cauliflower rice will cook a little more quickly.)
- Add the rice to the dish with the onions and mushrooms.
- Then add the diced turkey (or chicken), and gently stir so the ingredients are mixed.
- Spread the sauce mixture over the top of the casserole; then use a plastic spoon to gently mix it so the ingredients are fairly well combined with the sauce.
- Top the casserole with the rest of the Grated Mozzarella.
- Bake at 375F/190C until it’s bubbling and nicely browned, about 40 minutes.
- Let the casserole cool about 5 minutes and then cut into 8 pieces and serve. This can also be kept in the fridge and reheated later.
Low-Carb Chicken Casseroles you can make with Leftover Turkey:
- Layered Mexican Casserole with Chicken and Cauliflower Rice
- Chicken Alfredo Mock Lasagna Casserole
- Chicken Broccoli Curry Casserole with Cauliflower Rice
- Low-Carb Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Slow Cooker Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Low-Carb Turkey Casserole
This delicious Low-Carb Turkey Casserole has mushrooms, Mozzarella, and cauliflower rice can be made with turkey or chicken.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 6 cups chopped cauliflower (see notes)
- 1 pound Crimini mushrooms, washed and sliced
- 4 cups cooked leftover turkey or chicken
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 T olive oil, divided (more or less depending on your pan)
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 tsp. dried Poultry Seasoning
- salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup coarsely grated Mozzarella (or more)
Sauce Ingredients
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 2 T Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp. dried Poultry seasoning
- 1 cup grated Mozzarella
- 1/4 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Spray a large glass or crockery casserole dish with olive oil or non-stick spray. (I used a dish that was 10″ x 13″ but any size that’s close to that will work.)
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C.
- Chop up enough cauliflower to make 6 cups of small cauliflower pieces. Then use a food processor with a steel blade to pulse the cauliflower until it’s finely chopped, slightly larger then kernels of rice. (See the recipe for cauliflower rice for more about how to do this. You can also chop the cauliflower by grating it on the side of a box grater.)
- Use frozen cauliflower rice if you prefer, about 3 cups.
- Wash the mushrooms and cut into thick half slices.
- Dice the leftover turkey (or chicken) into bite-sized pieces.
- Mix together the sour cream, mayo, Dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp each dried thyme and Poultry seasoning, 1 cup grated Mozzarella, and 1/4 cup Parmesan to make the thick sauce mixture.
- Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan and saute the mushrooms over medium-high heat until they release their liquid, all liquid evaporates, and mushrooms are starting to brown.
- Put mushrooms in the bottom of the casserole dish.
- Add about 2 tsp. more olive oil and saute the onions over medium-high heat until they are softened and starting to brown.
- Put onions over the mushrooms in the casserole dish.
- Heat another 2 tsp. of olive oil and add the finely-chopped cauliflower.
- Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the cauliflower is starting to soften and barely brown, about 3-4 minutes (or slightly less for frozen cauliflower rice).
- Add the 1 teaspoon each of dried thyme and Poultry Seasoning and cook about 1 minute more.
- Season the cauliflower rice with a little salt and fresh-ground black pepper; then put it into the casserole dish over the mushrooms and onions.
- Put the diced turkey into the casserole dish over the veggies and use a plastic spoon to combine the ingredients right in the dish. (You can do this in a bowl if you prefer, but we were trying to get away without dirtying another dish!)
- Spread the sauce mixture over the top and then use the spoon to gently combine the ingredients with the sauce, until the ingredients are well mixed into the sauce.
- Wipe off the sides of the casserole dish with a paper towel if needed.
- Sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese and bake uncovered until the casserole is starting to bubble and the top is nicely browned, about 40 minutes.
- Let cool about 5 minutes; then cut into 8 servings and eat while hot.
Notes
You can also use about 3 cups frozen cauliflower rice for this recipe. I used Crimini (Baby Bella) mushrooms.
This kept amazingly well in the fridge for days, and can easily be reheated in the microwave or in a pan on top of the stove. I’m guessing it freezes well, but I ate all my leftovers before I could freeze any.
Recipe created by Kalyn and Kara.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 472Total Fat 33gSaturated Fat 11gUnsaturated Fat 20gCholesterol 131mgSodium 597mgCarbohydrates 8.6gFiber 3gSugar 5gProtein 33g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Low-Carb Turkey Casserole would be suitable for low-carb and Keto eating plans. I would probably eat it for any phase of the original South Beach Diet, but I used full-fat sour cream, mayo, and Mozzarella for this and South Beach would recommend using reduced-fat dairy products.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Casserole Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
93 Comments on “Low-Carb Turkey Casserole”
Sorry but this was really bland. Maybe because I used frozen cauliflower rice. But I had all of the spices. The only thing that made it bearable was eating it with leftover cranberry sauce. And why cook each ingredient separately (mushrooms, onions, cauliflower) and layer them when you are just going to mix them all together in the end?
Sorry it was not a hit for you, but as you can see from the comments there are many people who have enjoyed the recipe.
I have this casserole in the oven now. If I tried to cook the cauliflower rice, mushrooms, and onions all together in the same pan, it would have taken ages to soften everything and it all would have steamed instead of sautéing in the oil. If you’re concerned about blandness, that’s the last thing you want to do to ingredients like this. Cooking (and seasoning) each item individually is the best way to develop flavor, especially in the mushrooms, which are best when browned to a nice caramel color during sautéing.
Thanks for having the patience to explain that Erica, you are completely right! I hope you enjoy it!
I made this recipe with wild turkey breast and frozen cauliflower. It was delishous and I will make it again.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking time to let me know.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It’s very good. I am trying to figure out why it is a little sweet, however.
Glad you are enjoying it! I am not seeing any ingredients that I’d call “sweet” and there are only 3 grams of sugar in a serving, which is pretty low. So I don’t know why it’s tasting sweet to you.
Have made this using sausages, it’s delicious and filling!
I love that idea Anna, thanks for letting me know!
Interesting adaptation for the recipe. Personally I am not striving for zero carbs, but to each his/her own, and I love hearing that this worked out for you!
Loved this casserole. Used ground chicken breast. So happy I found your site.
Thanks Margaret! So glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious! Added a couple stalks of celery and half a bag of frozen french style green beans. Will be sure to make this one again and look forward to trying other recipes from this site. Thank you for sharing.
So glad to hear you enjoyed it! I am intrigued by the idea of adding some green beans; will have to try that!
Just found this site while looking for recipes using ground turkey. The only thing that will be changed ( I usually don’t this on the 1st try of a “new” recipe ) is to use broccoli instead of mushrooms. Can’t hardly wait to make this.
Will give a rating & another comment after my adult son & I try this out.
Sandra
Hope you enjoy.
Great tasting recipe!! My family loved it. I don’t always measure ingredients and this recipe is perfect for the appx approach. I also have a hand ricer for cauliflower that works well for this recipe. Only ingredient I added was spinach as I had some to use up. Will for sure be adding it to my recipe repertoire.
This was delicious! Since I do not have a food processor, it took for-ev-er to chop up the cauliflower. That was not fun. But the end result was worth it. Delicious, filling, and very healthy. I did need to substitute Greek yogurt for the mayo, and I don’t think there’s a real difference in the final taste. I will be making this again – with the yogurt. Thank you so much for sharing this. I’ll be recommending it to others.
HI Jennifer! So glad you enjoyed it!
I love cooking like that (without a lot of measuring). So glad you enjoyed it!
Linda, if you check you’ll see I am now starting the long job of calculating nutritional information and this recipe has it.
This was amazing. Thank you for sharing!
So glad you enjoyed!
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I guess I am confused because in a previous comment you posted this info:
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 335
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 21.1g 27%
Saturated Fat 7.6g 38%
Cholesterol 78mg 26%
Sodium 281mg 12%
Total Carbohydrate 9.1g 3%
Dietary Fiber 2.9g 10%
Total Sugars 3.4g
Protein 29g
Vitamin D 204mcg 1021%
Calcium 132mg 10%
Iron 3mg 15%
Potassium 605mg 13%
That said, everyone makes their own food choices. I appreciate you saying that in your comment.
Looks delicious! Can you used fresh bagged riced cauliflower for this?
Thank you
Yes, I’m sure that will work great. I think I actually came up with this recipe before pre-chopped cauliflower rice was available!
Kalyn….What is the total carbohydrate value for your receipe entititled …”Low carb Turkey Casserole with Mushrooms, Mozzarella, and Califlower rice? It was absolutely delicious ..I would also like for you to recommend any Keto diet receipes.
Thank you….I await your reply.
[Edit – Nov. 2019] The recipe now has nutritional information included.
Check the category for Keto recipes.
This is delicious. I use frozen cauliflower rice because it’s easier. I also stir fried 3 ribs of celery into the veggie mixture. other than that I followed the recipe pretty closely. I have now made it 3x. It tastes a lot like thanksgiving stuffing mixed with turkey. I absolutely love stuffing, so going low carb I really missed it. This has given me something to look forward to. And IMHO it tastes better the next day. The flavors meld nicely and it is just better. My husband and I devour this, so thank you for sharing the recipe.
Hi Laura. So glad to hear you have enjoyed it so much!
Not that hard or time consuming to do it for ONE RECIPE. Very hard and time-consuming to do it for 2,000+ recipes.
Since I switched my blog to WordPress I have spent over a year (with three assistants) inputting recipes by hand into the recipe plug-in format that is preferred by Google. Although I would eventually like to calculate nutritional information I can’t possibly start that until this project is finished.
I know that once I do it on one recipe, people will expect to see it on every recipe, which I can’t possibly do. Thanks for understanding.
And I am happy to have people post it in the comments as you have done, although I’ve found it can be tricky to calculate it correctly. Your info seems good to me though, thanks!
[EDIT November 2019. I have now started the long process of adding nutritional information to the recipes. Thanks to everyone who has been patient.]
There must be an app for that by now…weight watchers has one.
We are loving this recipe! I’ve made it several times and love how flexible it is: I’ve used different varieties of mushrooms, pulled pork instead of turkey, and spaghetti squash instead of riced cauliflower. It’s become my go-to for leftover meat! Thanks for sharing it!
I love hearing how you have experimented with it! Glad you have enjoyed the recipe!
This far exceeded my expectations! It was truly delicious! Thanks for a great recipe!
Thanks Renee, so glad you liked it!
This was the best left over recipe ever!!
So happy you enjoyed it!
My family loved this! I used ground turkey rather than chicken or turkey breast! I also
added a little garlic powder. It was delicious!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Just made this tonight using ground turkey and frozen riced cauliflower. It turned out super delicious! I sautéed the frozen cauliflower and then drained it in a collander to get any extra water out. I also omitted the mushrooms and used zucchini and carrots that I had to use up. I sautéed all of the veggies together until soft and then browned the meat. I also didn’t have much mozzarella on hand so I also used a mild cheddar. Love this recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it; fun hearing how you adapted the recipe for what you had on hand!
We just had this for dinner. I used the meat from a rotissarie chicken and it was delicious!! Both my husband and I had seconds!! This recipe will be moved from my “Eye Catching Recipes” to my “Tried and True Favorites”!!!
Carol, so happy to hear it was a winner for you!
Can I make in the morning, leave in frig and cook at dinnertime?
I haven’t done it that way. I can’t think of any reason why it won’t work, but I obviously can’t say for sure. I would definitely let the casserole come to room temperature before you bake it, otherwise the top will probably get too brown before the center is cooked. And I’d love to hear back about how it works.
It worked just fine. Made it several hours ahead except for adding the sauce. Brought to room temp for about an hour, mixed sauce in and cooked. Delicious!
Recipe looks good but we do not like mushrooms. Any suggestion for substitutes for the mushrooms?
There are a few other comments who said they left out the mushrooms. Since I love mushrooms, I don’t know how to tell which veggies would appeal to you but you could use any vegetable that you enjoy.
Glad to hear that, thanks for reporting back!
Any idea what the macros/nutrition numbers would be? It’s in the oven as we speak and smells DELISH!
Nutritional information has now been added [November 2019]
This was excellent! I didnt use any mushrooms. Used ground turkey. I used frozen minced cauliflower that I let sit in the fridge all day and the dish was not watery. Used plain yogurt instead of sour cream. SO GOOOOOOD!
This is ABSOLUTELY the best recipe I have gotten off Pinterest! Hubby and I could have ate the whole casserole in one sitting! However, we did agree that for the two of us, the recipe really made enough for four meals! Next time, I will just make the recipe and place in two 8×8-inch baking dishes and cook them at the same time. One square pan will make four servings. I plan on taking this for a church potluck the first of February. Bet it will be the dish of the day!!
So glad you liked it! Great idea to make two dishes of it.
This is soooo good!!! Will definitely be added to the dinner rotation!
So glad you enjoyed it!
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Made this pretty much as is with chicken. All I had for Parmesan was the green bottle, so I used that. Never been a fan of mayo, but I bought some just to make this. It is SO. freakin. yummy!
I might add some broccoli and/or slivers of carrot next time for some color because it is really tan and brown but the texture is perfect and the flavors…wow!
A single serving is plenty with a salad because it is pretty rich. Two hours later, my blood sugar is 71, so I’m happy!! I’m buying a 13 x 9 just for this recipe!
Thank you SO MUCH for this recipe, Kalyn!
So glad to hear you liked it and I do like the idea of adding some broccoli!
Have you tried this with frozen cauliflower rice. I recently bought some from Sam’s club but haven’t used it yet. Not sure it it will work out or not or best to use fresh cauliflower. Thanks
I haven’t tried that. My only concern is that it might be watery. If you have time to thaw the cauliflower rice in a colander, that would help. OR if you saute the cauliflower over pretty high heat (high enough to evaporate the liquid) that might work. I am guessing it will be okay; would love to hear what you think if you try it!
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I made this last night for dinner. I did tweak it based on what I had on hand. I used 1 lb of ground turkey and only had 8 oz of mushrooms. Also…no mozzarella so used monterey jack. Despite the fiddling, it was delicious! I'm psyched for leftovers for lunch!
Love hearing how you adapted it, and so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Just found this recipe. Planning on a bag of frozen cauliflower rice and 20 oz. pkg. of ground turkey. Hope this works.
I think the ground turkey will be fine. Not sure about frozen cauliflower rice since I haven't made it that way (I worry about too much water) but I'd love to hear how it works!
I just cooked a turkey the other night, I have plenty of leftovers, I already made a huge batch of soup, used cabbage instead of noodles, delish. I was wondering if this would freeze well? Just leave the cheese off til I was ready to cook it?
I don't think it will freeze well before it's cooked because of the raw cauliflower and dairy products. But you could freeze the cooked casserole in individual pieces or even in the large dish.
I made this and it came out great! I made a few substitutions that worked out well. Instead of poultry seasoning, I used fresh oregano, rosemary, and sage from my garden, along with freshly ground nutmeg. I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and cheddar instead of mozzarella. The recipe was a little time consuming, but we loved the result. It is definitely a keeper. Thank you!
So glad you liked it!
Made this for dinner tonight, hubby and daughter loved it ! Only had Miracle Whip(Salad dressing) so used it instead of Mayo and did not add spices to cauliflower other than salt and pepper and it was awesome! Will definitely make this again, ty so much for sharing your recipe 🙂
So glad you enjoyed it; thanks for letting me know!
This was delicious – my husband woke up this morning talking about. I did make some minor changes – I added a chopped red pepper with the onion and, not being a fan poultry seasoning, I added a heaping teaspoon of curry powder to the sauce and to the final mix along with a handful of baby kale, spinach and chard (trying to get rid of some greens in the fridge). The texture was great, the flavor was awesome and it was so easy. Thanks for a great recipe. I only had reg mayo -do you think low fat would change the texture of the sauce?
Glad you liked it. I think regular or low-fat mayo will work.
Looks very good. I am going to make this today with chicken. My wife is diabetic and loves cauliflower. I think she will like this thanks for your low carb recipes.
You're welcome, hope you both will enjoy it!
I used ground turkey in making this tonight and it came out fantastic – almost like a low carb Shepherd's Pie! I don't normally go for leftovers, but I'm actually looking forward to enjoying this dish again over the next couple of days. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you liked it, and good to know it worked well with ground turkey too!
Can you use ground turkey?
I made this casserole the other night and it was FABULOUS! I love cauliflower and recently got into the "rice" of it. The texture was perfect! Not runny or dry….but perfect! You nailed that, Kalyn! I love your recipes and use a lot of them. Always check your site first when looking for a recipe. The only thing I will do different next time I make this is to plan on mixing everything in a big bowl from the start. Trying to mix it in the casserole dish had ingredients landing all over the place, so I guess I'm not that talented! 🙂 I finally gave up and scraped it out of the casserole dish and into a big bowl, mixed it and put it back in the dish. Hubby does the dishes when I cook anyways, so if I mess up an extra bowl it's not a big deal. 😉 Thanks again! Great recipe!
Sheila, so glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for being so loyal to my blog too. Good job on getting those dishes done; great plan.
Making it right now and deglazed the pan with a little bit of sherry, I took a bite before popping in the oven and it tasted pretty yummy.
Hope you enjoy it!
I made this dish this evening and it was delicious! Thank you so much for creating such delicious low-carb recipes…
So glad you enjoyed it; thanks for letting me know!
This looks so good – looking forward to trying it. I am thinking about using greek yogurt for the sour cream…did you by any chance try that? I never even keep sour cream anymore…always sub the yogurt (even made a cheesecake..for Thanksgiving..it's in the freezer …and used yogurt for the sour cream). I do use Cabot's 2 % greek yogurt – not the fat free variety. Ellen Renee
I haven't tried it with Greek yogurt, but I'm guessing it would work.
This looks great. I don't know if I can wait for my Thanksgiving leftovers to try it!
Thanks Doren! I try not to gush on and on about the recipes, but this is really so good. And one of my family members has already tried it with chicken.