Turkey tacos recipe with cranberry salsa! Another great way to use up Thanksgiving turkey leftovers.
One of my favorite things to make with leftover turkey is turkey tacos!
Usually I have some leftover cranberry relish (I always make too much) to go with the tacos in lieu of salsa, but this time I thought I would make some fresh cranberry salsa from scratch, which turned out surprisingly good.
Cranberries just pair so well with turkey, even regular cranberry sauce is going to taste as satisfying with a turkey taco as tomato salsa. Just add a little chopped fresh jalapeño.
Turkey Tacos with Cranberry Salsa Recipe
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: 10 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
If you want a super quick way of making the tacos, you can do them in the microwave. Just soften the tortillas first by cooking two tortillas at a time in a single layer on a paper towel, on high heat for 20 seconds per tortilla. Add the shredded cheese and turkey, fold over the tortillas, and heat them again on high for another 15 seconds each, or until the cheese melts.
Ingredients
Turkey Tacos
- 8-12 corn tortillas
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese, or mild cheddar
- Cooked turkey meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
- Lettuce, thinly sliced
- Fresh cilantro for garnish
Cranberry Salsa
- 1 1/2 cups of fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1/2 an apple, peeled and cored
- Chopped serrano or jalapeno chili to taste (about a half a chili, but taste for desired heat)
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons chopped peeled ginger
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon of lime or lemon juice
- Dash of salt
Method
1 Prepare cranberry salsa: Put the cranberries, apple, chile, sugar, ginger, cilantro, and lime or lemon juice in a food processor and pulse until coarsely shredded, about 10 short pulses.
Let sit 15 minutes for the cranberries to macerate. You can also use cranberry relish, just add chopped chiles and cilantro.
2 Heat the tortillas: Heat a large frying pan on medium high heat. Unless you are using freshly made homemade tortillas, you will need to soften them first.
Place a small amount (1/2 a teaspoon) of oil in the pan and spread to coat the bottom of the pan.
Place a tortilla in the pan and let it heat up until bubbles start to form. Then flip it over.
3 Add cheese and turkey to tortillas: Sprinkle grated cheese on half of the tortilla, and top with chopped cooked turkey. Fold the empty half of the tortilla over the side with cheese and turkey (like an omelette).
Cook until the cheese begins to melt, then flip the taco over so that the tortilla browns on the other side as well. Continue to cook the tacos in this manner.
To serve, open up the tacos and put some chopped lettuce and plenty of cranberry salsa over the cheese and turkey. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves.
