Leftover Turkey Samosas

These leftover turkey samosas stuffed with cheese and cranberry sauce is the ultimate leftover turkey recipe. Let’s face it, anything wrapped in crisp pastry and fried until golden is a winner and these golden brown samosas are no different.

We will all soon have leftover turkey lying around waiting to be turned into something delicious. Of course a sandwich is a good idea but if you want to take it up a notch, these samosas are EXACTLY what you should be making after Thanksgiving or Christmas. The shredded turkey and a few spoonfuls of leftover cranberry sauce are combined with cheese and seasonings before being folded into samosa pastry.

You can use phyllo dough too (which means you can bake them instead of frying, if you prefer) or egg roll wrappers/spring roll pastry will work just as well. Simply make rolls instead of triangles. Serve with sweet chilli sauce and crispy fried sage leaves for the ultimate post-Turkey day treat.

Ingredients needed

• Leftover turkey. This recipe works well with cooked chicken too.
• Leftover cranberry sauce. Optional but adds great flavor to the finished samosas.
• Cheese. I used mature cheddar/sharp cheddar but use any good melting cheese of your choice.
• Dried sage. Other herbs like thyme, rosemary or oregano will work too.
• Onion powder. 
• Garlic powder. 
• Salt and black pepper.
• Samosa pastry. I use store-bought samosa pastry but if you can’t find it, use egg roll wrappers, spring roll pastry or phyllo dough cut into long strips instead.

How to make leftover turkey samosas

Shred any leftover turkey you have (this recipe requires around 4 cups) then add to a large bowl and add a few tablespoons of cranberry sauce and a generous amount of grated or shredded cheese. Add the seasonings then mix well. Place the samosa pastry infront of you, lengthwise, and add a spoonful of the filling to the bottom left corner. Fold the left bottom corner over the pastry diagonally, in a triangle shape, then fold the pastry up and over again. Repeat until you’ve used the entire strip of pastry. (If you’ve never made samosas or Spanakopita before, watch this Youtube video which shows the process.  Use a little flour paste (3 tablespoons flour mixed with 2 tablespoons water) to seal the edges.

Heat enough neutral cooking oil (like canola oil, vegetable oil) to deep fry the samosas in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the samosas in batches and fry for 4-5 minutes until golden brown on both sides. Carefully remove from the oil with a slotted spoon then drain on paper towels before serving.

Can I bake these?

You could bake the samosas but the pastry won’t go as crisp and golden if baked. Use phyllo pastry instead if you’d prefer baking instead of frying. Layer 2-3 layers of phyllo pastry with melted butter then fill and fold into triangles.

Leftover turkey recipes

1. Easy Leftover Butter Turkey Curry
2. Leftover turkey pot pie
3. Turkey BLT Club sandwich