This best turkey divan recipe uses leftover turkey or chicken, creamy, flavorful, with bright pops of broccoli and topped with either a crispy, buttery cracker topping or leftover stuffing. Made from scratch, with no cream soups, plus easy ways to make gluten-free!
4cupsbroccoli floretsfresh or frozen (thawed and drained)
1cupcrushed butter crackers | or leftover stuffingswap out Gluten Free if desired or try GF Panko
½cupFrench Fried Onionsoptional
1 ½teaspoonskosher saltplus more to taste
fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F and butter or spray a 2 quart baking dish.
Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a medium-large saucepan over medium-high heat and sauté onions and garlic, stirring until soft and slightly browned, about 5 minutes.
Add flour, stirring constantly, for about a minute. Stir in mustard and slowly pour in milk and chicken broth while whisking constantly until smooth.
Bring to simmer and whisk until thickened, about 5-7 minutes over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and stir in cheese, sour cream (or yogurt), cayenne pepper whisking until fully melted and combined, season with salt and pepper.
Add diced leftover turkey (or chicken) and broccoli, stirring to combine. Spread mixture into prepared pan(s) and take a taste, season with additional salt and pepper if needed.
Mix crushed crackers with remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter and top the casserole, sprinkle French fried crispy onions on top if desired. Or replace crackers with leftover stuffing.
Cover dish with foil and bake at 375F for about 40 minutes, remove foil and bake another 25 minutes until golden and bubbly.
If desired, sprinkle with chopped parsley or chives before serving.
Notes
Substitution Ideas
Try adding 1 teaspoon curry powder and a squeeze from a half of a lemon or
Add ½-1 tablespoon of your favorite Smoked or Sweet Paprika or
Toss in ½ - 1 tablespoon of your favorite Cajun Spice Blend or
1 teaspoon cumin and 1 - 2 teaspoons chili or chipotle power
Try using bite sized pieces of asparagus, green beans or even peas
Got leftover broccoli, asparagus or green bean casserole? Most likely they were also baked in a creamy, cheesy sauce; so add away!
As you can see from the pictures, I made two casseroles (split one recipe into two smaller dishes), the first I topped with the traditional buttery cracker topping and the second with leftover stuffing, we loved them both, but the stuffing one was dreamy!
Use gluten free Panko bread crumbs instead of crackers.
Trying to keep it lighter? Omit the crackers and stuffing and if a crunch is desired, top with French Fried Onions or nothing at all.
Traditionally this dish was made with Gruyere and Parmesan cheese, split the amount of cheese and add both.
Try using Ementhaler or Swiss cheese
Swap out Gruyere for Sharp White Cheddar cheese
FREEZING TURKEY DIVANCasseroles are the best to freeze and eat another day. I split this into two smaller 8x8 square baking dishes, topping one with buttery crackers and the other with leftover stuffing. You can bake ahead of time, cool completely and covering well, freeze. To reheat, simply place foil covered in 325 degree oven for 30-40 minutes until warm and bubbly, you may want to uncover the last 20 minutes to crisp the topping. May also be frozen unbaked, I suggest placing the topping in a freezer baggie and wrap with the cooled, unbaked casserole with instructions. Thaw in refrigerator overnight and bake as directed.