Leftover Turkey Potato Cakes. Or use leftover chicken instead for a pure comfort food meal you’ll love! These crispy potato and turkey cakes may be even better than the meal that preceded them.

Leftover Turkey Potato Cakes
The inspiration for these Leftover Turkey Potato Cakes came from the most unusual of sources. A recipe contest….but it wasn’t a recipe in the contest.
Chef Roger Andrews, who is also a culinary instructor at the St. John’s campus of College of the North Atlantic, invited me to be a judge for the Saltscapes Magazine comfort food recipe contest. Roger and Kilted Chef Alain Bosse, who is also food editor for the magazine, served up the recipe entries to me and my fellow judges.
One of the other judges, Jonathan Richler, I knew. Jonathan is well known as a radio talk show host at VOCM here in St. John’s.
He is also becoming just as well known for being a food entrepreneur with his venture The Jewish Deli. It’s a regular vendor at The St. John’s Farmers Market and a welcome pop-up in a town sorely in need of smoked meat!

Saltscapes Magazine Recipe Contest judging panel.
The inspiration For Leftover Turkey Potato Cakes
The final judge that day was Ray Fennelly, a a photography and graphic design instructor at the college. While food is not his business, it doesn’t take long in speaking to him to discover that it is his passion.
I could have listened all day about his extensive cookbook collection and a few celebrity chefs we follow. And one or two we think might be a little mad.
Somewhere the conversation turned to comfort food and/or leftovers. I may have mentioned that leftover turkey s a bit of a specialty on Rock Recipes. It was then he suggested Turkey Cakes as post Thanksgiving or Christmas leftover idea.
These tasty leftover cakes are similar in composition to our much loved Newfoundland Fish Cakes. His idea for incorporating turkey leftovers into bit of an “everything-but-the-kitchen-sink” recipe made it a kind of a hybrid with turkey hash or Newfoundland Bubble and Squeak.
Coincidentally, Spouse and I had planned a turkey dinner that very weekend, so within a couple of days the idea took life in my kitchen.
Spouse made some simple mashed potatoes with no butter or cream added. This gives the potato cakes hold together more in the pan. Creamy smashed potatoes are great at other times, but it’s a practical impossibility to make potato cakes from them.

Leftover Turkey Potato Cakes
Around the same time, my son Noah was frying bacon for a sandwich and of course, once I smell bacon cooking the next move is inevitable.
Turkey and bacon are a great combination in a sandwich so I decided to throw some chopped, crisp cooked bacon into the mix. It’s an optional addition of course but I added it because…well…bacon, right?
Ready in no time.
In short order, the turkey cakes were fried to golden perfection and drowned in some leftover, richly reduced gravy from the day before. Some homemade cranberry sauce added a delicious final accompaniment.

Leftover Turkey Potato Cakes
The result? Pure comfort food heaven! The turkey cakes needed a gentle touch in the pan but they still held together quite well, yielding a creamy centre with bursts of smoky, salty bacon flavour.
The chunks of tender turkey were plentiful and of course the cakes were punctuated by the familiar flavour of savoury from the dressing. The rich gravy was poured on and with a dollop of the cranberry sauce onto each forkful, it was utterly delectable.

Leftover Turkey Potato Cakes
Thanks for the idea Ray; it’s one I know we will be making regularly around here and certainly sharing it with friends and family too. I hope our paths meet again so I can steal a few more nuggets from your similarly food obsessed brain.
Originally published Nov 2016.
Like this Leftover Turkey Potato Cakes recipe?
Check out our growing collection of leftover turkey recipes with links to over 20 delicious turkey leftover ideas.
It’s easy to keep up with the latest home style cooking & baking ideas from Rock Recipes. Be sure to follow Rock Recipes Facebook Page and follow us on Instagram.
Plus you’ll see daily recipe suggestions from decadent desserts to quick delicious weekday meals too.
You can also sign up for our FREE newsletter to know immediately when we add new recipes. You’ll also get weekly suggestions for great family friendly meals and desserts too!

Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.

Leftover Turkey Potato Cakes
Leftover Turkey Potato Cakes - pure comfort food heaven...and from leftovers too! These crispy potato and turkey cakes may be even better than the meal that preceded them.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt an pepper to season
- 4 cups cold mashed potato
- 2 cups diced turkey, 1/2 to 3/4 inch dice
- 1 cup leftover dressing, stuffing
- 6-8 slices of crisp cooked bacon, chopped. (optional)
- canola oil for frying
- cup flour for rolling cakes. About 3/4 .
- leftover gravy and cranberry sauce
Instructions
- Boil potatoes until fork tender, mash them well without adding butter ofr cream. Allow to cool to room temperature or colder. Warm potatoes make the cakes more difficult to form.
- Sauté the garlic and onions in the olive oil, in a small pan over medium heat. Add to a bowl with all the potatoes, turkey, dressing & bacon.
- Form onto 8 equal sized balls and then pat them to about 1 inch thickness. dip the cakes in flour to coat them, then place them on a parchment paper covered plate or tray.
- Cover the bottom of a cast iron or non-stick frying pan with canola oil. Heat on medium for a few minutes before adding the cakes a few at a time. Don't crowd the pan or it will make it more difficult to keep the cakes intact.
- Let them brown very well on one side before gently flipping them over to brown for an equal amount of time on the other side. 4-5 minutes should do it but the browner the better and the easier they will be to flip.
- Transfer to a cookie sheet if making multiple batches and hold in a 200 degree F oven until all of the cakes are fried. Serve immediately with leftover gravy and cranberry sauce.
Recommended Products
Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
4 ServingsAmount Per Serving Calories 424Saturated Fat 4gCholesterol 47mgSodium 764mgCarbohydrates 43gFiber 7gSugar 3gProtein 26g
Ethel
Friday 26th of November 2021
Each week I try to make a recipe that appeals to me (hard to make a choice ) and I try it out on my family, so far, everyone is delighted, so thank you for all the lovely recipes and please,keep them coming !!! My next one, for sure, is today's turkey left overs.
Ross Reid
Tuesday 12th of October 2021
Just made for my wife and I , we loved them they were amazing
Susanne Reid
Tuesday 12th of October 2021
Just made them for supper, WOW, they were amazing, my wife and I loved the
Linda D.
Saturday 2nd of October 2021
Do you think they would freeze well? I've a friend living alone & I thought these would make a great dinner. She manages brekkie & lunch yet by dinner is too tired to cook.
Lynn Parsons
Thursday 9th of December 2021
It’s worth a try
Sandy
Tuesday 23rd of April 2019
These were delicious, and a big hit with my boys. I can imagine they would be that much better with bacon (I did not have any on hand). My mashed potato leftovers did have butter and cream in them, but were cold so they held up fine. I flattened them on a plate, as I found it easier to compact them so they held together more firmly than trying to shape the patty in the palm of my hand. Just make sure the turkey pieces are not too big, otherwise it compromises the structure of the patty. I would absolutely make them again.