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I usually make the turkey for Thanksgiving. It leaves my fridge stocked for days even after generously distributing leftovers to my guests. Turkey enchiladas, turkey pot pie, or turkey quesadillas. All are great, but this year, my taste buds are looking for something different. I’m making a yummy Jalapeño Pesto Turkey Sandwich.
You can add jalapeño to just almost anything and turn it into something out of this world. Jalapeños add tons of flavor to food, not necessarily spice. If you add just a little itty bitty bit, you can elevate almost any dish. If you don’t want to make your own pesto because you cooked all day on Thanksgiving, buy store bought pesto. Finely chop some jalapeño. Stir, and it’s ready to go.
Bacon. I know some of you don’t have leftover bacon. I know I don’t. (Maggie smiling sheepishly). Sure, you can leave it out, but we’re talking bacon here. It makes this Jalapeño Pesto Turkey Sandwich all the more amazing. The one thing you don’t want to skip is melting the cheese. I used Swiss cheese, but you can always use Provolone or Mozarrella. Ooooeey Goooeey cheese. Who can say no to THAT?! I can guarantee you’re going to love this Jalapeño Pesto Turkey Sandwich. You’ll start making turkey just to make this sandwich. 😀
Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipe: Jalapeño Pesto Turkey Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
- 3/4 cup shredded Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese
- 1 Jalapeño pepper stem removed
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- For the Sandwich:
- 8 slices of bread
- Leftover Thanksgiving turkey
- 8 slices of Swiss cheese
- 8 slices of Bacon
Instructions
- Pulse walnuts and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped.
- Add basil, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and Jalapeño.
- Pulse until combined.
- Stream olive oil into basil mixture while food processor is still running until it's a smooth consistency.
- Season with salt and black pepper.
- Preheat broiler.
- To assemble the sandwich:
- On a cookie sheet, add pesto to the top slice of bread.
- On the bottom slice, add turkey, bacon, and Swiss cheese.
- Place inside the broiler until cheese is melted. 2 minutes.
- Put the top slice of bread on the bottom slice to make the sandwich.
- Slice and serve.
Nutrition
This will be a nice change for the turkey leftovers. I usually just make a plain turkey sandwich with the leftovers. I am going to try this. Looks so yummy!
Plain turkey sandwiches are good too. Yum!
That sounds delicious! My problem is my family cannot stand jalapenos. I suppose I could leave them out, we ALL love pesto. What could I use instead of a food processor?
Oh yeah, you can totally leave it out. It’ll still be delicious!
You had my attention at Jalapenos. I love anything spicy and this looks not only easy to make but so yummy. I will make this with my daughter as we share a love of spicy healthy foods.
That’s awesome. I love it when mom and daughters cook together. 🙂
I am definitely going to try this out this year after our Turkey leftovers;) I love anything with jalepeno!
I hope you do. I add Jalapeños on almost everything. Yes, even desserts!
Oh my this post should come with a “Your gonna drool warning!” looks SO good! Thanks for sharing.
LOL. I’ll remember that for my next post. 🙂
Just reading your post has my tummy growling! I love the addition of Jalapenos to a sandwich.
I’m sorry about the tummy growling. Next time, I’ll add a WARNING to the top of the post. 🙂
Yum! I love Thanksgiving leftovers!
I know. I look forward to the leftovers each year! 🙂
We love jalapenos so I will have to give these a try!
I hope you do. This sandwich is delicious! 🙂