Turkey A la King

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on

5 Comments

5 from 2 votes
6 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
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Turkey A La King is an easy weeknight dinner perfect for using up leftover turkey made with mushrooms, carrots, and peas in a creamy white sauce.

This Dinner Recipe is inspired by the classic dish, Chicken A La King, but made with turkey instead of chicken. The turkey tastes just as delicious in the creamy sauce and it all comes together in 30 minutes. It’s the perfect dish to use up any leftover turkey recipes.

Turkey a la King with sauce in skillet

TURKEY A LA KING

Turkey A La King is a rich, warm comfort food recipe that is sure to become a family favorite. The tender turkey is served in a rich and creamy sauce with mushrooms, carrots, peas, and a few other veggies. Then the whole dish is served over toast or Fluffy Rice. It’s one of those dinner recipes that’s absolutely perfect to enjoy on a chilly evening. The turkey is hearty, warming, and the creamy sauce makes the simple recipe absolutely delicious. 

If you have leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or another meal and are looking for a way to repurpose it, this classic dish is the way to go. It’s a one-pot, 30-minute meal with crowd-pleasing ingredients, and easy-to-follow directions!

The creamy dish that this is based on, Chicken a la King, is typically served over rice or toast just like we’ve suggested in this recipe. However, there are a lot of ways you can enjoy the turkey and creamy sauce. Lots of people love serving it over egg noodles for a rich pasta dish. You can also ladle Turkey a la King over Baked Biscuits for a more Southern-inspired dish. 

Turkey a la King Collage

MORE COMFORT FOOD RECIPES

TIPS FOR MAKING TURKEY A LA KING

  • Prep time: Start by prepping your ingredients. Slice the fresh mushrooms, celery ribs, yellow onion, and carrots into thin slices. You’ll also want to cut the cooked turkey into small cubes. 
  • Vegetable mixture: Put a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add butter to the base. Shift the pan so that the butter coats the base of the pan, then add in the mushrooms, celery, onion, and carrots. Cook the vegetables for 8-10 minutes until they are nicely softened. 
  • Cream Sauce: Add the chicken broth, flour, salt, rosemary, thyme, and milk to a mixing bowl. Whisk together until smooth. Then add the sauce over the vegetables. Cook the mixture for 10-12 minutes until thickened. 
  • Finish: Stir in the cooked turkey and peas. Continue cooking for 4-5 minutes until the meat is warmed through. Then serve over rice or toast. 
Turkey a la King over rice in bowl

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can you use wine in this creamy sauce?

To make an easy wine cream sauce to go with your turkey, use one part broth and one part white wine for the cream sauce mixture. 

How can I make the sauce extra cramy?

If you want to make the sauce extra thick and creamy, you can simply use heavy cream to replace part or all of the milk in the recipe. 

What other seasonings would work well with this recipe?

Experiment with the flavors in this dish by adding seasonings like a dash of onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, sage, or oregano. 

What other vegetables would work well with this recipe?

You can also add new ingredients to the mixed vegetables in the recipe. Try adding green pepper, bell peppers, pimiento, green beans, green onions, or cauliflower along with the vegetables already in the dish.

Turkey a la King with sauce in skillet

WHAT TO SERVE WITH TURKEY A LA KING

HOW TO STORE TURKEY A LA KING

  • Serve: Serve Turkey a La King over rice or toast while it’s still warm. If there are any leftovers, don’t leave them at room temperature for more than 2 hours. 
  • Store: Once the recipe has cooled, you can put it in an airtight container to store in the fridge for 3-5 days. 
  • Freeze: For longer storage, put the sealed dish in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight before reheating and serving. 
Turkey a la King over bread on plate

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Dinner, then Dessert

Turkey A la King

Turkey A la King is an easy weeknight dinner perfect for leftover turkey made with mushrooms, carrots, and peas in a creamy white sauce.
Yield 6 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Turkey a la King with sauce in skillet
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Ingredients
 

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 8 ounces crimini mushrooms , sliced
  • 1 stalk celery , thinly sliced
  • 1/2 yellow onion , chopped
  • 1 carrot , peeled and diced
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 cups chicken broth , plus any drippings from the turkey
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 2 cups cooked turkey breast , cut into 1 inch chunks
  • 1 cup frozen peas

Instructions

  • Add butter to a large heavy skillet on medium heat.
  • Add in mushrooms, celery, onion, and carrots, stirring well.
  • Cook for 8-10 minutes until vegetables are softened.
  • Whisk together flour, salt, rosemary, thyme, broth, and milk until smooth.
  • Add into the pot and stir well.
  • Cook for 10-12 minutes until thickened.
  • Stir in cooked turkey and peas until warmed through, about 4-5 minutes.
  • Serve over cooked rice or toast.

Nutrition

Calories: 275kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 695mg | Potassium: 667mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 2303IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 136mg | Iron: 2mg
Keyword: Turkey A La King

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Turkey a la King Collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  2. This was pretty straightforward and easy to make. I added pepper to the mix at the end. I also used salted butter (because that’s what we had) and cut the amount of salt in half. This will be used again and maybe add chicken as a substitute for the turkey.

    Reply

  3. Made this tonight. Used almond flour instead of white flour and heavy whipping cream instead of milk. Very good and creamy.

    Reply

  4. Can’t wait to try this with frozen thanksgiving leftovers. I was wondering if bacon would be good in it also. Or would that be too much for this dish? Thanks

    Reply