I like to get a HUGE turkey for Thanksgiving.  My husband likes turkey and I love having leftovers.  (Leftovers = Less Time in the Kitchen) We eat leftover turkey sandwiches and I use leftover turkey in other recipes as well.

While I love Thanksgiving leftovers, I sometimes have trouble thinking of what to do with turkey leftovers.  We eat a lot of plain turkey, but sometimes I want something different.  You can only eat so many turkey sandwiches!

See Also:  Turkey Zucchini Casserole

With little ones in the house, I try to make meals that we will all enjoy.  This turkey ranch mac and cheese is a meal that the kids will eat, but the adults will like too!  It’s also a bonus that it’s warm comfort food for a cold day.

What’s awesome?  The turkey could easily be substituted for chicken and you could easily have chicken ranch mac and cheese!  It would be a great way to use the rest of a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store!

Turkey Ranch Mac and Cheese Ingredients

• 3 cups of uncooked elbow macaroni pasta
• 5 Tbsp of butter (divided into 3 Tbsp and 2 Tbsp)
• 2 Tbsp of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp sale
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 3 cups of milk (divided into 2 cups and 1 cup)
• 1  1/2 cups of cheddar cheese (shredded)
• 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese (grated)
• 1/2 cup of Swiss cheese (shredded)
• 2 cups of cooked turkey (shredded or diced)
• 3/4 cups of ranch salad dressing
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• 8 slices of bacon (cooked and curmbled)

Turkey Ranch Mac and Cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  While the oven is preheating, boil elbow pasta for 5 minutes.  It won’t be done, but don’t worry about it.  Drain the pasta and set it aside.

In a large pot, melt the butter.  Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper.  Slowly add in half of the milk.  If you go to fast, the milk will scald.

Once the milk is combined with the butter and flour, add in the cheeses.

Add the pasta to the cheese mixture.  Then, add the ranch dressing, the rest of the milk, and turkey.  Transfer the mixture to a greased baking dish.

In a small pot, melt the rest of the butter and add in the breadcrumbs.  Top the pasta mixture with the breadcrumbs and crumbled bacon.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

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Turkey Ranch Mac-n-Cheese

This Turkey Ranch Mac-n-Cheese is a great way to use up leftover turkey from Thanksgiving!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

• 3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni pasta
• 5 Tbsp butter divided into 3 Tbsp and 2 Tbsp
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 3 cups milk divided into 2 cups and 1 cup
• 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese shredded
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated
• ½ cup Swiss cheese shredded
• 2 cups cooked turkey shredded or diced
• ¾ cups ranch salad dressing
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• 8 slices bacon cooked and crumbled

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large pot, boil the elbow macaroni pasta for 5 minutes. Then drain and return the pasta to the pot. Set aside.
3. In a large saucepan, melt 3 Tbsp of butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, salt, pepper, and slowly add 2 cups of milk. Once combined, stir in all the cheeses – cheddar, Parmesan, Swiss.
4. Add the turkey, ranch dressing, cheese mixture, and remaining cup of milk to the pot of macaroni pasta. Mix well and transfer to a large greased baking dish.
5. Melt the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter. In a medium bowl, mix the bread crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle it over the macaroni and top with the crumbled bacon.
6. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.
7. Let cool and enjoy!