This toasted turkey bagel is a great way to use up the festive leftovers or get you in the holiday mood.
Each bagel is filled with peppered mayo, herby stuffing, juicy roast turkey, creamy Wensleydale cheese and sweet cranberry sauce.
As you can imagine, they're super tasty!
I used mayonnaise with a twist of pepper, which has the pepper right in the bottle, but you could always use regular mayo and stir in a good pinch of black pepper.
Here's how to make this festive turkey bagel with stuffing.
Ingredients
- 240 g (8.5 oz) cooked turkey slices
- 500 ml (1.1 pint) hot chicken stock
- 200 g (7.1 oz) cooked sage & onion stuffing
- 2 bagels
- 4 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 60 g (2.1 oz) Wensleydale cheese
- 1 tbsp cranberry sauce
Equipment
- Small baking tray
- Grill press
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan).
Put the turkey slices in a small ovenproof dish.
Cover with hot chicken stock.
Slice the leftover stuffing, if necessary and place on a greased oven tray.
Bake both together for 10 minutes while you prepare the bagels.
Cut both in half.
Put your mayo in a small bowl and add the black pepper.
Stir together until well combined.
Spread onto all four bagel halves.
Pile the hot stuffing onto two of the bagel halves.
Drain the turkey (you can save the stock for gravy or soup) and pile on top of the stuffing.
Add slices of Wensleydale cheese.
Top with cranberry sauce.
Top with the remaining two bagel halves.
To finish, you toast your bagels. You either put them back in the oven for 10 minutes, cook them in a griddle pan for 5 minutes per side, or pop them in a grill press until the cheese melts.
Slice in half and enjoy!
What's your favourite way to enjoy festive leftovers?
Pointers, tricks and troubleshooting tips for the perfect toasted turkey bagel
Are toasted turkey bagels easy to make?
This is a super simple recipe to help reduce food waste and make the most of your leftovers after Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Reheating the turkey in chicken stock is a great way to make sure the turkey is beautiful and succulent in your bagel.
Will I need any special equipment for this recipe?
You should be able to find everything you need in the average kitchen. A chopping board and knife to prepare the bagels and fillings, and a few small oven dishes to reheat the turkey and stuffing.
If you have a grill press or sandwich press that would be ideal to toast your bagels. You can achieve great results simply by heating them through in the oven, or using a griddle pan on the hob if you don’t have a sandwich press, see notes below on how best to toast your bagels without a press.
Where can I buy bagels?
If you’re fortunate enough to live near a bakery that sells bagels get fresh ones if you can. If not, most supermarkets sell bagels in the bakery section so grab a bag and get stuffing with your yummy leftovers.
How can I tell if cooked turkey has gone off?
You need to make sure the turkey has been cooked and stored properly to start with.
If you have one, use a probe thermometer to check the internal temperature of the turkey has reached a least 70C/160F when you first cook it. And once cooked make sure to cool the turkey and get it into the fridge as quickly as possible.
Freshly cooked turkey will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. When you come to use your turkey make sure it smells and looks ok. Gone off turkey will smell sour or rotten and may look dull or discoloured and may have gone slimy, these are all signs the turkey is no longer safe to use.
Is a toasted turkey bagel suitable for vegetarians?
For this recipe I’m using turkey so it would not be suitable for a vegetarian, you can of course make this vegetarian either by leaving out the turkey or using any leftover vegetarian roast you might have in the fridge.
Is a toasted turkey bagel suitable for vegans?
This recipe contains both dairy cheese and turkey so would not be suitable for a vegan.
If you’ve made vegan Christmas lunch, your leftovers will be vegan and you can adapt this recipe to suit what you have leftover. Layer up with vegan cheese, and check the bagels are vegan too.
Is a toasted turkey bagel gluten-free?
This recipe is made using wheat-based bagels and stuffing that also may contain gluten so as it is this would not be suitable for someone who needs to avoid gluten in their diet.
That said you can easily switch for gluten-free bagels and make sure to use a stuffing that is gluten-free too.
Is a toasted turkey bagel keto-friendly?
This recipe is too high in carbohydrates to be considered ketogenic.
Is a toasted turkey bagel safe to eat while pregnant?
When serving leftovers to a pregnant woman, or anyone in an at-risk group, like the elderly, very young, or immunocompromised it's really important to make sure the leftovers have been stored correctly and the food is reheated thoroughly before serving.
What goes well with a toasted turkey bagel?
If you have any veg or roast potatoes leftover these can be heated up in the oven when you warm the turkey and stuffing to be enjoyed on the side.
Can I make this recipe without Wensleydale cheese?
If you don’t have Wensleydale you can use a different cheese, brie goes perfectly with cranberry and melts well or even something like blue cheese would be really tasty if used sparingly as not to overpower the other flavours.
I haven’t got stuffing, can I use roast potatoes or sprouts?
This recipe is a great way to use up whatever leftovers you have and you can play around with the flavours to suit whatever's in the fridge really.
Slice up potato or sprouts so they fit into the bagel, you can warm them through in the oven in the same way as the stuffing.
Can I add extra veg to this recipe?
This bagel is already generously stuffed, if you want to use up any leftover veggies you have I would recommend simply reheating and serving them on the side.
How should I store a toasted turkey bagel, how long will it keep?
As this recipe is made using leftovers it needs to be eaten up after serving and can’t really be kept for later on.
How long does cooked turkey keep?
Once cooked it's important to get the turkey cooled and into the fridge as soon as possible.
If you have a lot left over it might be an idea to portion some out and freeze it now too as it will only keep in the fridge for a maximum of 4 days. You can keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Can I leave this recipe out on the counter?
No, these bagels need to be served and eaten just after making and shouldn’t be left out on the side. This will increase the risk of bacterial spread and foodborne illness, especially as they are made using leftovers.
Can I make these toasted turkey bagels ahead?
As this recipe is made using leftovers you are making most of the recipe ahead. The bagels will need to be cooked and served fresh, leftovers shouldn’t be reheated multiple times.
Can I keep this recipe in the refrigerator or freeze it for later?
No, as these bagels are made with leftovers they need to be finished off or discarded after this meal. If you have leftover plain bagels these can be kept in the freezer and will keep for a month or two.
Can I make these toasted turkey bagels in a different quantity?
If you want to make more or less of these bagels, simply head down to the recipe card below. There you’ll find the recipe is set to make 4 half bagels, enough for lunch for 4 as they are fully loaded with all those tasty leftovers.
Click on the number of servings and a little slider will pop up that you can move up or down to get the number you’d like to make. The ingredients will update automatically so you're ready to go.
How can I make sure this recipe is perfectly cooked?
It’s important to heat the turkey and stuffing in the oven before building up your bagels, this ensures all the ingredients reach a high enough temperature to reduce the risk of bacteria being present on the food.
Once you’ve layered up all the fillings into your bagels simply put them into your sandwich press and cook until crisp and toasted, and the cheese has melted.
How do I toast my bagels without a sandwich press or sandwich grill?
There are a couple of options you can use if you don’t have a sandwich press, as the oven is on to warm the turkey this may be the best option.
You want to try and recreate what's happening in a sandwich press, so we need pressure as well as heat.
Place your bagels on a layer of greaseproof paper, and then put another piece of greaseproof paper on top. You could also loosely wrap in tin foil if you find the greaseproof paper too slippy. Now you need something heavy like a heavy-bottomed oven dish to put on top and act like the press. Carefully put your bagel stack into the oven and heat through for about 10-15 minutes until the bagels are toasted and the cheese has melted.
You can also do something similar to this in a grill pan on the hob, using a small heavy bottomed saucepan for your press. Turn the bagels after 5 minutes to toast on both sides, you can do this over a low to medium heat so the bagels don’t burn.
How can I add/change the flavours in this dish?
You can change the fillings to suit whatever leftovers you have. How about using bread sauce instead of mayo. Wensleydale and cranberry cheese will get the cheese and cranberry element covered in on! Use leftover parsnips if you don’t have any stuffing and nut roast or vegan roast if you’ve had a vegan Christmas instead of the turkey.
Print this toasted turkey bagel recipe
Hit PRINT below to save this recipe for later.
Toasted Turkey Bagel Recipe
Ingredients
- 240 g (8.5 oz) cooked turkey slices
- 500 ml (1.1 pint) hot chicken stock
- 200 g (7.1 oz) cooked sage & onion stuffing
- 2 bagels
- 4 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 60 g (2.1 oz) Wensleydale cheese
- 1 tbsp cranberry sauce
Equipment
- Small baking tray
- Grill press
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan).
- Put the turkey dishes in a small ovenproof dish. Cover with chicken stock.
- Slice the leftover stuffing, if necessary and place on a greased oven tray.
- Bake both the turkey and the stuffing for 10 minutes while you prepare the bagels.
- Cut both bagels in half.
- Put your mayo in a small bowl and add the black pepper. Stir together until well combined.
- Spread the mayo onto all four bagel halves.
- Pile the hot stuffing onto two of the bagel halves.
- Drain the turkey (you can save the stock for gravy) and pile on top of the stuffing.
- Add slices of Wensleydale cheese.
- Top with cranberry sauce.
- Top with the remaining two bagel halves.
- To finish, you toast your bagels. You either put them back in the oven for 10 minutes, cook them in a griddle pan for 5 minutes per side, or pop them in a grill press until the cheese melts.
- Slice in half and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Pin these toasted turkey bagels
More savoury Christmas recipes to try
Have you got my book?
'This is a great kids cookery book. Emily is a star' - Simon Rimmer
'The book I'd like to force into any mother's kitchen' - Prue Leith
"A fab book with a plan." - Jane Devonshire, 2016 Masterchef UK winner
'Emily has managed to combine her mummy knowledge and passion for food to make a truly helpful and brilliant cookbook' - Priya Tew, RD, BSc (Hons), Msc
Get Your Kids to Eat Anything is an achievable 'how to' for parents in the battle to overcome picky eating and 'make new the norm'. Emily Leary's unique 5-phase programme looks at the issue of 'fussy eating' in a holistic way that links imagination with food, and which situates parents alongside - not in opposition to - their children.
.