This Thanksgiving leftover turkey cristo is a most delicious way to eat your leftover turkey and cranberry sauce. The special sauce makes it! So grab that leftover turkey and cranberry sauce and let’s make this awesome sandwich!
You might also like this low carb creamy turkey soup recipe!

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Two things about me. I’m not a big Thanksgiving food person and I just had my first Monte Cristo sandwich this past summer. So when I was trying to think of things to make with turkey and cranberry sauce, I remembered that delicious sandwich from the summer and came up with this Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Cristo.
It was fantastic! Really it is. You have the juicy turkey, sweet but tart cranberry sauce and then I used some mayo and herbs to make a special sauce. It was like the best of Thanksgiving dinner in a sandwich.
Try smoking a turkey breast!
Just in case you want to make your own, I have an easy smoked turkey breast recipe and a make your own lunch meat post. You would be surprised how good making your own lunch meat tastes. And it’s not full of preservatives and fillers. My son LOVES turkey sandwiches so we do this often.
Leftover Turkey sandwich ingredients
Of course we are using leftover turkey and cranberry sauce. From there you also need some mayo, thyme, poultry seasoning and sauce to make the special sauce. When you spread this sauce over the bread it has all the taste of stuffing! And then there is the egg and butter to dip your sandwich in and fry up.
Sugar free cranberry sauce
I wanted to make a sugar free cranberry sauce and I came up with a recipe. This was harder than it sounds because I have never tasted cranberry sauce. I know I’m strange right? I had to wait until my husband came home everyday to see if I got it right and now I’m hooked on the stuff. Funny how your taste buds change over the years. Anyway you can use any kind you want; jellied or sauce.
If you are using that jellied kind that comes from a can, you might want to mix it up a bit so it stays in place on your sandwich.
Now for the special sauce.
It’s merely mayo with poultry spice, sage and thyme. That coupled with the grilled bread gives you the stuffing vibe. It really adds to the sandwich so don’t skip this!
Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Cristo
The Monte Cristo aspect of the sandwich is just a dip into some beaten eggs and then grilled in a pan. Make sure to use thick bread so you only get egg batter on the surface of the sandwich and not the filling.
I think I like this sandwich so much because I like turkey sandwiches in general with a sweet jam-y element like this turkey apricot cheddar sandwich I made in the summer!
So that is my turkey leftovers solution. What do you do with your Thanksgiving leftovers? Drop me a line and let me know if you have a good dish for me! Enjoy!
Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Cristo
Ingredients
- 2 thick pieces of bread
- 4 oz of turkey
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon sage
- 2 tablespoons cranberry sauce
- 2 Tablespoons of butter
- 2 eggs
Instructions
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In a small bowl mix the mayonnaise thyme, poultry seasoning and sage.
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Spread this mixture on each slice of bread.
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Add half the turkey on each slice of bread over the mayonnaise.
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Top one of the pieces with the cranberry sauce and put both pieces together.
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Try to compact the sandwich together to make it more sturdy for the egg dipping.
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Beat the eggs in a shallow bowl and then dip both sides of the sandwich with the egg.
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Add butter to a skillet and grill both sides of the sandwich.
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Note you will have enough mayo and eggs to make two sandwiches if you want.
Sean
This was amazing. Blue my expectations out of the water. I think the tarragon in particular makes this extra special.
Denise
So glad you liked it Sean!
Debbie
What a great idea for leftovers! Or any time of the year really.
Cristina at Ava's Alphabet
Yum! What a great idea to use up those Thanksgiving leftovers! Pinned and sharing. Thank you for linking up at Family Joy Blog Link-Up Party this week. We hope to see you back again starting Sunday at 12 EST.
Heather
Oh, what a delicious idea! I think my husband would love this 🙂 (found you via the SitsGirls Sharefest)
Linda
I’m a new follower. I found this luscious idea at Carlee’s Throwback Thursday. I can’t wait for leftovers to make this! Pinned and Yummed! Thanks for the idea.
Wishes for tasty dishes,
Linda
Denise
Aw thanks Linda! I hope you like it.
Gretchen Tokar
I want to try this sandwich!! I love jellied cranberry myself, Cant wait to eat this while putting up Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgivibg!!
Looks great Denise!!
Denise
Aw thanks Gretchen! That’s so nice you stopped by! I really liked it but then again I’m new to Monte Cristo type sandwiches. I hope you like it!
Julie @ Logger's Wife
This looks so good! I’m always looking for something more interesting for leftover turkey. (visiting from Thoughtful Spot blog hop)
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome
What a fantastic idea for leftovers!! Thanks for sharing on the What’s for Dinner link up and don’t forget to leave a comment at the party – Next week’s features that also leave a comment get pinned, yummed and tweeted!