Thanksgiving Leftovers Enchilada Pie Recipe (2024)

Dismissing a recipe because it has an (optional!) ingredient you abhor is like refusing to buy a used car you like because the radio has preset stations you hate.

At our house Turkey Enchilada Pie is leftover turkey cooked with onions, garlic, chili powder, and a can or two of black beans, then layered with corn tortillas, cheddar & Monterey Jack cheese, and enchilada sauce. More of a lasagna than a pie but oh so good.

I made this the other night and we loved it. I used spinach tortillas, black beans, some leftover sliced deli cheddar, the turkey saute, and Sprouts' Organic Enchilada sauce. We liked it so much that we will have it again soon. And I can't say enough good things about the sauce. Delish doesn't cover it. Next time, I'll use the entire jar, serving some on the side because it tastes more piquant cold than hot. I'm looking forward to trying this recipe with other meats.

Sifting through all the “reviews” for tips and suggestions from people who have actually made the recipe - eliminating useless and boring commentary about ingredients and nutrition from those who feel the need to chime in with their opinions - is getting harder and harder. But I took the useful opinions of those who shared good suggestions and added sautéed greens. I find the most unusual recipes from NYT (Roy Choi’s ramen!) often turn out wonderfully. A tasty blend of flavors and textures

Just great! I made this for a 9x13 and used 1.5 times the ingredients. My Safeway had American enchilada sauces and one made from chilis with no tomato products; I combined one of each and ended up with some left over.I used a can of black beans and put a thin layer of uncooked spinach in each layer, and lots of cheese, extra onion, some garlic, a bit of extra cumin. Realize the olive oil was essential with the dry turkey meat. A fabulous use of leftover turkey! We loved this!

Stop complaining about Velveeta. It’s shelf stable and poor people like it.We called it “relief cheese” back in West Virginia, sixty years ago.And it melts well.

Made this last night using a 9 inch Pyrex pan. It was filled to the brim and needed 30 mins of convection bake. It was fabulous. I added some thinly sliced zucchini and handful of spinach, too.

This recipe worked out great and is going into my stable of annual Thanksgiving leftover recipes. I followed the note to replace the Velveeta with cheddar and jack as I didn’t have any on hand. My compliments to Dottie for cracking me up with the “self-stable block of fat” remark. I’m with you!

I used this recipe as a guide to make a chicken enchilada pie. After sautéing the onions I added leftover roast chicken. Then a can of black beans (drained) and diced tomatoes with cilantro and lime juice. I seasoned with cumin and red pepper flakes for zip. I also added some frozen corn. When everything was heated through, I layered it as suggested but I dipped my tortillas in salsa because I didn’t have any enchilada sauce. I used shredded cheddar (no Velveeta!) and baked. Delicious!

Yes! Made this the day after Thanksgiving and it was a big hit. Had green enchilada sauce (hatch chilis)--not red--and it was delicious. Didn't use Velveeta--didn't have any--and used cheddar instead. Added leftover steamed green beans with sautéed almonds--- sounds possibly strange but was great. Also added Melissa Clarke's leftover mashed potato casserole, a classic in our home now.

Leftover turkey and corn pudding, plus a random can of black beans. I also used flour tortillas because it’s what we had. Delicious. I think you could basically put anything in this and it would be yummy gooey easy perfection.

I’ve made this recipe three times. My thoughts: It does not need the Velveeta, 1.5 c shredded cheese mix was enough. The black beans are an easy add that works well with whatever else you have; I liked braised greens best. The TJ’s red enchilada sauce recommended below was very good, not as hot as the canned sauce with a much deeper flavor. I used the entire 16 oz jar as it was thicker than the canned enchilada sauce. Now that I am out of turkey I’ll move on to other shredded meats.

If cooking for kids or anyone who finds enchilada sauce a little too spicy (we love trader joe's but it's a little hot for the kids) here's a trick I learned in New Mexico: mix the enchilada sauce with a can of cream of mushroom soup, then use it as the recipe suggests. Adds a little body and umami.

When I first made a version of this 35 years ago my 12-year-old dubbed it 'tortilla flatness". I think of it as tex-mex lasagna.

Yum! Used amazing leftover turkey (from sous vide effort) and frozen mixed veggies. Everyone loved it

I used shredded pork in place of turkey, black beans for the veges and extra cheddar in place of velveeta. Yummy!

So tasty, and versatile!!

This is AMAZING. Used sautéed spinach and black beans. Unbelievably good comfort food leftovers. Thank you!

This enchilada casserole has become an annual tradition. I find I need two cans of enchilada sauce and more tortillas!

Continuing, this is a forgiving recipes--so, you can use as a guide! My kids and grandkids love this! I also have filling for tacos from my big batch of ingredients.

Well, I have been making a version of this Enchilada pie for years, sometimes with ground beef and at Thanksgiving time with my Traeger left over turkey and black beans. I decided to jazz it up with: my instant pot black beans cooked with onion, cumin, and oregano. Then, I added some left over sweet potatoes (vegan) from Jessica's Kitchen blog; mexican cheese; frozen mole sauce from Feasting At Home Blog; and mild diced green chilis. I had enough to make 1 large pie and 3 individual pies to Well

I love Velveeta but I can’t get it where I live. What would be a good substitute?

East, tasty recipe to make great use of random, neglected leftovers. I used tortillas from the freezer and made sauce from what was left in a bottle of salsa, some leftover tomato paste, and enough brine from bottled olives to make a good constistency.

This was delicious. I increased the cheese to 2 cups of cheddar/jack blend and left out the velveeta.

I was truly shocked by how good this was. I used turkey, mashed potatoes and added some corn. I didn’t have Velveeta and just used shredded cheddar. This will be a go-to for using up thanksgiving leftovers from now on. Gave them a second (or maybe third) life!

This was delicious. I had some leftover homemade guajillo-based tamale sauce and added some ground ancho and cumin to make it more like store-bought enchilada sauce. I am sure store bought would have been fantastic, but I was in leftover mode. We had actually eaten all of the Thanksgiving veggies, so I mixed equal parts of canned, drained black beans, frozen grilled corn (cut off the cob) and tossed them with some more cumin. Did everything else just like the recipe.

This is really good. Made as directed except had some leftover flour tortillas instead of corn. Used some corn, squash and had a can of black beans. It felt like we should have used a slightly bigger than 9” pie pan, it was really full. Will have leftovers of the leftovers but that’s good. Would definitely make again. Might add spicier ingredients next time.

We all loved this recipe! Beautiful presentation and super easy. Black beans weren’t in the pantry so I’ll be sure and get them next time, but used all Tgiving leftovers (even 2 tablespoons of gravy) with some fresh chopped spinach, salsa fresca, and fresh bell peppers. I wonder how long this will last??

Thought I had tortillas but wrong! Used cut up whole grain lavash! Veg were our cumin roasted sweet potatoes and chick peas. Used leek and carrot compote for the onions. Used almond jalapeño cheese and 6 ounces was plenty! Used mix dark and white meat!

Margaux,This is the second thanksgiving I’ve made this the day after. Thee layering of the leftovers is such a great idea. Then when you eat it you get different flavor notes as you get to different layers. This is such a great easy recipe.