Turkey and Broccoli Bake

When you have some leftover turkey (chicken works too!) but you have had enough of heavy, greasy Christmas meals, this is a brilliant leftover dish - where everything bakes together for some warm, cheesy deliciousness.

There is lots of room to make this your own.

You can keep it low carb with just the meat and broccoli (you can also add other veg you have leftover, like carrot, sprouts etc!), or you can add a bit of cooked rice if you want a fuller meal. It’s delicious topped with some chopped almonds, but again you can cut this out if you want to lower the calorie count. Either way, this delicious bake is something I always come back to.

Turkey and Broccoli bake (with cheese sauce)

Makes one large dish, for 2-3 people.

Time: Prep 20 mins | Cook time 20 mins

• About 400 grams of cooked turkey or chicken

• 1 large broccoli head (and add any other leftover veg you have; carrot, swede, sprouts, parsnips etc)

• 1 small onion

• 1/2 cup to 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese

• 1/2 cup of milk

• 2 tbsp butter

• Seasoning: pinch of salt and pepper, any other spices/herbs you like

• Optional additions: mushrooms, almonds to top, cooked rice - or anything else you want to add!

Instructions

Preheat your oven to about 200ºC (390ºF).

If your turkey or chicken is uncooked, cut it into small pieces and fry it in a pan until it’s just cooked through. You can err on the side of uncooked here as it will go in the oven after. Put it in a bowl and let it rest.

In the same pan as you cooked the meat, gently heat up the butter and add sliced onion. Cook this on medium heat for at least 5 minutes and make sure the onion goes soft. (If you are adding mushroom, do it now and let that cook with the onion for a little bit). Add the milk and cheese, bit by bit, and season as you wish. Make sure the mix is nice and thick, but still runny.

Gently cook the broccoli and other veg (remember that broccoli takes very little time to cook so start with the harder vegetables like carrots first) until they are slightly softer, but still have some resistance.

In an ovenproof dish, add in all the broccoli and other veg, then top it with the turkey/chicken, and pour the cheese sauce all over it.

You can top with even more grated cheese if you like!

Roughly chop up some raw almonds and sprinkle over the top.

Cook in the oven for at least 20 minutes until the cheese is nice and golden. Enjoy!

Did you make the turkey and broccoli bake? What did you add? Share on Instagram and tag @TheFromScratchBody and hashtag #TheFromScratchBody so I don’t miss it!