Leftover turkey. It's one of the best things about Thanksgiving, am I right? After all that effort you put into preparing a huge Thanksgiving feast, you can take it easy the next week feeding your family leftover turkey in the form of quick sandwiches and soup. Heck, I'm sure a reheated replica of your Thanksgiving feast even gets served up in the week following Thanksgiving, and who could blame you?

I completely understand the need for easy meals using leftovers of that turkey you worked so hard on, so I have an easy recipe to share with you today: Cajun Sweet Potatoes stuffed with leftover turkey. They're nutritious and super satisfying as well as gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free and easily made Paleo and Whole30 compliant. But even though they're healthy, they're not boring. These leftover Turkey Stuffed Cajun Sweet Potatoes have layers of flavor so bold that they're crazy delicious!

Health Benefits & Nutrition Info

That's right, I'm declaring these leftover Turkey Stuffed Cajun Sweet Potatoes crazy delicious. But I'm here to show you that nutritious food can be crazy delicious, remember? So let's take a minute to talk about all of the nutrients in this recipe:

Sweet potatoes provide a ton of nutrients, antioxidants and fiber. One cup, which is approximately the amount per serving in this recipe, provides more than 200% of your recommended daily value of vitamin A in the form of carotenoids as well as lots of B vitamins and vitamin C. Sweet potatoes are also a great source of the minerals manganese, copper and potassium, as well as antioxidants and almost 7 grams of fiber. With all of these nutrients it's no wonder that research has connected sweet potatoes with health benefits like healthy eyes, improved blood sugar regulation and less inflammation. (source)

Mushrooms also provide B vitamins as well as the minerals copper, selenium and potassium. It's the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and immune enhancing capabilities of mushrooms that are the most impressive, though. Mushrooms contain unique proteins and carbohydrates that exert antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immune enhancing effects in the body. It's because of this that mushrooms have been studied for all sorts of things, even their potential to fight cancer. (source)

Turkey. Let's not forget about the turkey, which has a lot to offer, as well. Turkey is not just an excellent source of protein, it also contains B vitamins and the minerals selenium and zinc (source). All of that protein will help you feel full and satisfied, aid in regulating your blood sugar levels and give your body the protein it needs.

Let's stop and talk about bacon for a minute because yes, this recipe includes bacon. I realize some of you will be concerned about the bacon, but I'd like you to keep two things in mind:

1. Bacon fat is almost half monounsaturated fat (you know, the fat that you are told is good for you). Another 10 percent is polyunsaturated (another fat that is supposed to be good, or at least neutral). Only 40 percent of the fat in bacon is saturated. (source) Plus, it's delicious.
2. You remember all of those carotenoids in sweet potatoes that your body can turn into vitamin A? Well they're fat soluble, meaning you need to consume fat with them in order for your body to absorb them (source). So the bacon fat in this recipe serves a purpose. Besides providing lots of amazing flavor, it helps your body absorb the nutrients it needs.

These Leftover Turkey Stuffed Cajun Sweet Potatoes are packed with nutrients. They're also gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free and easily made Paleo and Whole30 compliant, which means that you can feel great about eating them. Did I mention that they're also easy to make?

Helpful Hints, Ingredients & Products

Oh yes, these Leftover Turkey Stuffed Cajun Sweet Potatoes are easy to make, but I've shared the tips below to make it even easier for you.

Amazon links to products are included below as part of my helpful hints. Some of them are affiliate links, which means that I may receive a small commission if you purchase a product through one of my links. Thank you for supporting Taste Abounds!

• If you have whole, cooked sweet potatoes leftover from Thanksgiving, great! They would be perfect for this recipe. If not, you can easily cook whole sweet potatoes in your slow cooker or oven (click the link for whichever method you prefer to be directed to another site for instructions). You can even buy sweet potatoes at a lot of grocery stores that are pre-wrapped and ready to microwave!
• Bacon with clean ingredients can be purchased at your local health food store, but if you are looking for Paleo and Whole30 compliant bacon, I recommend either U.S. Wellness Meats (an online retailer) or Wellshire Farms (available at Whole Foods).
• You can choose whichever mayo you like for this recipe, but if you want to keep it Paleo, try Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Mayo. Whole30? Primal Kitchen Mayo is the only one I've come across that's Whole30 compliant, or you could make your own.
• You can use any type of unsweetened and unflavored non-dairy milk in this recipe (or regular milk, if you don't need this dish to be dairy-free), but I used unsweetened, plain coconut milk from a carton. I'm sure cashew milk or rice milk would be good, too. Just be sure you choose one with ingredients that adhere to your diet, if you're following one (i.e. Paleo, Whole30).

Check out the video below to see how to make these Turkey Stuffed Cajun Sweet Potatoes, and then keep scrolling down for the recipe.

Leftover Turkey Stuffed Cajun Sweet Potatoes

Gluten-free | Grain-free | Dairy-free | Egg-free | Paleo | Whole30

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes 

Makes 2 large stuffed sweet potatoes

Ingredients:

-   2 large sweet potatoes, cooked whole in the microwave, oven or crock pot
-   1 cup leftover turkey, chopped
-   6 oz bacon (about 6 slices), chopped
-   2 cups mushrooms, sliced (button or crimini/baby bella)
-   1/2 cup mayo
-   1/4 cup non-dairy milk, plain and unsweetened
-   2 tsp Cajun seasoning
-   1/4 cup scallions/green onions for garnish, sliced thinly

Directions:

Heat a skillet to medium heat.

Chop the bacon crosswise into half inch pieces. Add to the hot skillet and cook, stirring occasionally (about 10 minutes).

While the bacon is cooking, slice the mushrooms and chop the turkey. When the bacon is browned, remove it from the pan using a slotted spoon. Set aside.

Add the sliced mushrooms to the pan with the bacon grease. Sautee the mushrooms until they are softened (about 10 minutes). Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the chopped turkey to the hot pan and remaining bacon grease and cook until the turkey is warm and has a little color (about 5 minutes). Remove from pan and set aside.

Cut the cooked sweet potatoes down the middle and fluff the inside with a fork. Top with your desired amount of sauce, mushrooms, turkey, bacon and scallions. I could bathe in this Cajun cream sauce and I like my sweet potato stuffed full of toppings, so I split everything in two and fill them up. It's delicious!

I hope you find this recipe to be an enjoyable, easy and creative way to use your leftover turkey. Please let me know what you think in the comments below! 



Disclosure: this post includes affiliate links for convenience. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.