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This turkey Monte Cristo is made with cranberry sauce, arugula, leftover turkey, and Swiss cheese. Perfectly grilled and delicious! This is the perfect sandwich for using up all those Thanksgiving leftovers!
I always feel like the day after Thanksgiving is a giant hodgepodge of meals.
You sit there thinking “how can I use up all this turkey?”
Of course, there are the typical ways to use it up – turkey soup, turkey wild rice chili or maybe even go full on Friends and make a leftover turkey sandwich with moist maker. The possibilities are endless.
And slightly exhausting.
I mean I love turkey but I’m not exactly about eating turkey every. single. meal. after Thanksgiving.
Do you know what I mean?
So this year I decided to try a little something different with my Thanksgiving leftovers.
I froze half and instead of doing the typical mayonnaise and turkey sandwich, I’m going full of Monte Cristo style.
PLUS I can use my homemade ginger laced cranberry orange sauce on the sandwich to bring the perfect balance of sweet and savory.
Then I piled on some Swiss cheese, arugula, and lots of leftover sliced turkey, obviously.
After all that sandwich building I dipped it in an egg mixture and fried it right up! Then I sprinkled it with powdered sugar.
It’s basically a savory French toast sandwich.
It’s 100% delicious and 100% worth it.
Because I’m working with Udi’s Gluten-free for this post I opted to use gluten-free bread BUT you can use whatever bread you happen to have on hand.
Some great options are whole wheat, potato bread, leftover rolls, or even sliced sandwich bread.
More leftover turkey recipes
- Instant Pot Turkey Noodle Soup
- Turkey and Cheese BLT Sandwich
- Puff Pastry Turkey Pot Pie
- Baked Turkey Bacon Onion Sandwiches
Turkey Monte Cristo
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 slices white sandwich bread
- 4 tablespoons whole berry cranberry sauce
- 2 slices Swiss cheese
- 1-1/2 cups leftover turkey slices or chunks
- 2 small handfuls arugula
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a shallow dish whisk together egg and milk. Season with kosher salt and pepper and set aside.
- Lay out 2 slices of bread and top in this order – 1 tablespoon of cranberry sauce, 1 slice of Swiss cheese, an equal amount of leftover turkey, and 1 handful of arugula.
- Cover the other slices of bread with 1 tablespoon each of cranberry sauce and top the sandwich.
- In a large skillet or griddle set over medium heat add 2 tablespoons butter. Let the butter melt and get hot.
- Once the butter is hot dip the sandwich (both sides) into the egg mixture and add the sandwiches to the prepared skillet.
- Cook until the bottom is golden brown and flip. If the skillet needs more butter add a little more butter to the skillet.
- When you remove the sandwich from the skillet the cheese should be melted (and the inside of the sandwich will be hot) and the outside will be golden brown.
- Serve hot with extra cranberry sauce and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m going to have turkey left overs just like that!
Ah ha, now I know why you were in line for Swiss cheese. These look awesome. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a proper Monte Cristo, but now I’m totally going to try. Happy Thanksgiving, friend!
Of all the Thanksgiving leftover ideas I think this is my favorite Brandy! You just can’t beat a good ol’ Monte Cristo!
Im literally obsessed with this. Best leftovers post idea EVER!
I love monte cristo sandwiches, this one looks so delicious!!
This looks like my kind of leftovers! I love these flavors.
My husband LOVES Monte Cristos! I need to make him this one Friday! Your pictures are amazing!
Dear Brandy, These look delightful! What a fantastic idea for those holiday leftovers…I love making sandwiches the day after. Have a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving! xoxo, Catherine
you had me until…powdered sugar.
gak!
The powdered sugar is a pretty common topping for the Monte Cristo but it’s delicious without it as well!
oh sweet mary – I may have fallen just a bit in love 🙂
What a fun way to use Thanksgiving leftovers in a new way!! I can’t wait to share this recipe with some of my friends.
Have a wonderfully relaxing weekend!