Now that Thanksgiving is over, it’s time to start thinking about Christmas. But before we do that, we have to figure out what to do with all that leftover turkey that’s sitting in the refrigerator. When I told my husband I needed to make a recipe using all the leftover turkey, we came up with Leftover BBQ Turkey Bacon and Cheddar Cheese Panini.

{Try saying that three times fast.}

With only seven (six if you don’t like pickles) ingredients, we created a delicious sandwich using leftover turkey from Thanksgiving Day.

Seriously, y’all, this Leftover BBQ Turkey Bacon and Cheddar Cheese Panini using leftover turkey is delicious. All the flavors go really well with each other and it’s a super simple and fast dish to make. I’m a fan of easy recipes and this one can definitely be classified as easy! My husband and I tag-teamed it and we ate within 25 minutes. The longest part of making this panini was the bacon!

Leftover BBQ Turkey Bacon and Cheddar Cheese Panini

Leftover BBQ Turkey Bacon and Cheddar Cheese Panini

Yield: 2

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

A tasty way to use up the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving.

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Ingredients

• 4 pieces thickly sliced bread
• 1 1/2 cups shredded leftover turkey
• 1/2 cup Kraft Honey Hickory Smoke BBQ Sauce
• 4 slices bacon
• 4 slices Kraft Natural Slim Cut Sharp Cheddar Cheese Slices
• Butter or Olive Oil Spray (for bread)
• 4 oval sliced pickles (optional)

Note:

• You will need a panini press for this recipe.

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with foil and place bacon on lined baking sheet. Place in oven, turn oven on to 400 degrees and set timer for 17 minutes. (Make sure bacon goes in to a cold oven.)

While the bacon is cooking, combine turkey and bbq sauce in small skillet on low heat. You just want to heat the turkey up and make sure it is coated generously with bbq sauce.

When the bacon is done, carefully remove from oven and place bacon onto a paper towel lined plate to remove some of the grease. Turn on panini press.

If you'd like you can butter one side of each piece of bread or you can do like we did and spray it with olive oil spray.

Once the panini press is heated, place two slices of bread, buttered side down on panini grill plate. Top each piece of bread with one slice of cheese. Top each sandwich with half of the bbq and turkey mixture. Next add two slices of bacon to each sandwich and finish with another piece of cheese. Add the last two slices of bread, buttered side up. Gently close the panini press and cook 3-4 minutes, or until it is a golden brown color with those pretty grill marks.

If you already have some cooked bacon, you could make this and have it ready to eat within 10 minutes. Talk about fast food, right?

I love being able to have quick meals ready on the table for family, especially during and after the holidays.

What’s your favorite recipe to make using leftover turkey?