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Put your leftover turkey (or chicken!) to work in this easy Turkey ala King recipe. It’s comfort food at its finest: tender chunks of roasted turkey, peas, carrots, celery, all simmered in a white wine cream sauce, and it’s absolutely delicious.
Turkey ala King is meant to be cozy and delicious, but there are plenty of ways for it go wrong: watery, bland sauce, flavorless turkey, or a “kitchen sink” combination of vegetables that makes no sense.
This is a simple, straight-forward recipe with clean flavors that let the turkey shine. We thoughtfully season the recipe as we go to avoid blandness, and we use chicken broth (or turkey broth) and sherry or white wine for a flavorful sauce. The vegetables are carefully chosen, too, but there is room to negotiate to include your own personal favorites. Many recipes include mushrooms, but I left them out here to make it more family-friendly.
I prefer to serve this recipe with biscuits instead of messing with pie crust and a baking dish. It’s so easy to just make in a skillet. This family favorite is also one of the best ways to use up leftover Thanksgiving turkey, and it’s ready to eat in 30 minutes or less.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Sherry: Or substitute a light-bodied dry white (such as sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio) that you enjoy drinking. Use more broth instead of wine, if you prefer.
- Chicken broth: Make your own chicken broth or use store-bought. Or substitute turkey broth, if you have it.
- Turkey: Leftover roasted turkey or substitute cooked chicken.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil until shimmering. Add onion, carrot, and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add wine and cook until thickened, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, about 1 minute. Stir in the broth.
- Stir in cream and cook until the sauce is very thick, about 5 minutes. Stir in turkey, peas, and lemon juice. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until turkey is heated through, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat, season to taste with salt and pepper, and garnish with parsley if desired. Serve on toasted bread or biscuits.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 6 cups of Turkey ala King, enough for 6 servings of 1 cup each.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The recipe comes together in almost no time, but if you need to make it ahead of time, add the peas when you reheat the dish, to keep them bright.
- Freezing: The cream sauce freezes well. Let the recipe cool, then portion, label, and date. Before reheating, let the dish thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Slow cooker: In a 3-quart slow cooker, stir together cream, wine, chicken broth, flour, and 1 teaspoon salt until smooth. Stir in turkey, celery, carrots, and onion. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours or LOW for 7 to 8 hours. Stir in peas and lemon juice, then cook 30 minutes longer or until heated through. Garnish with parsley.
- More veggies: You can play with the vegetables in your Turkey a la King, but be thoughtful. Mushrooms, green beans, and red bell pepper all add complimentary flavors (and some color!) but don’t go overboard. You could also try broccoli or green bell pepper, but not all of these at once.
- Serving suggestions: Turkey ala King has a delicious, creamy sauce that is just begging to be served with something. Try buttered egg noodles, garlic toast, baked rice, mashed potatoes, homemade biscuits, or baked puff pastry shells. For lighter options, zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash, or cauliflower rice are good choices.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are many origin stories for this recipe, but the original version was probably Chicken a la King, not turkey. It may have originated in lower Manhattan at Delmonico’s restaurant. Or, it might have been created at Claridge’s Hotel in London. There are other potential locations too; nobody knows for sure. My own personal version of the dish came from my grandpa; he made this skillet version all the time when I was growing up.
Classic versions of Chicken a la King and Turkey a la King contain mushrooms, but it’s okay to leave them out. I don’t use them in this version because it makes it more palatable for children.
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Turkey à la King
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 carrot peeled and finely chopped
- 1 celery rib finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sherry or dry white wine (see note 1)
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (see note 2)
- 2 cups cooked turkey cut into 1-inch pieces (see note 3)
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley minced, for garnish (optional)
- Biscuits for serving
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil until shimmering. Add onion, carrot, and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add wine and cook until thickened, scraping up any browned bits, about 1 minute. Stir in the broth and cream. Cook until the sauce is very thick, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in turkey, peas, and lemon juice. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until turkey is heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, season to taste with salt and pepper, and garnish with parsley if desired. Serve on toasted bread or biscuits.
Notes
- Sherry: Or substitute a light-bodied dry white (such as sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio) that you enjoy drinking. Use more broth instead of the wine, if you prefer.
- Chicken broth: Make your own chicken broth or use store-bought. Or substitute turkey broth, if you have it.
- Turkey: Leftover roasted turkey or substitute cooked chicken.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 6 cups of Turkey ala King, enough for 6 servings of 1 cup each.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Using the cream substitute add way too much liquid, from the butter, to make this thick. More flour is needed if using milk substitute. There are much better versions of basically turkey and veggies in a bechamel sauce.
Hi Yolanda, I’m so sorry the substitute didn’t work out for you! Thank you for the feedback, I’m adding it to my list to test. I’m so sorry again – Meggan
I tried this recipe with leftover turkey.It was so tasty! I agree about not putting more wine for liquid too. My husband really liked it! I will be making this again.
This was so good