Leftover Turkey Pumpkin Meatballs Lettuce Wraps (Paleo, Whole30) (2024)

This leftover turkey pumpkin meatballs lettuce wrap recipe is juicy and savory, with fresh crisp vegetables and moist round meatballs drizzled in a warm bacon dressing with a touch of heat!

With Turkey Day a little over a weekawayIt’s Thanksgiving game time y’all! And with that comes knifes clapping down on cutting boards duringfood prepping, that extra trip to the grocery store because you forgot star anise, and those dang roastedthanksgiving turkey jitters. But it’ll all turn out just fine.

I always go withmy super simple roast turkey, but besides all of that hustle of the holiday, there’s all a whole lot of LEFTOVERS to figure out too!

Oh my goodness do I love a good holiday leftover meal. And I did promise y’all that I’d be sharing some of my best Thanksgiving turkey leftover ideas with y’all and so today I am fulfilling that promise with one of the best leftover turkey ideas of all time.

Please welcome to the stage, the Leftover Turkey Pumpkin Sage Meatball Lettuce Wrap + Hot Bacon Vinaigrette.

Smack your lips. Smack your lips.

Not only is this meatball lettuce wrap amazingly flavor-packed with its pumpkin, sage, and bacon hints, but it’s the perfect day-after-Thanksgiving meal to serve to guests.

Ingredients

For the leftover turkey meatballs

• ground leftover turkey
• pumpkin puree
• egg
• sage
• nutmeg
• minced garlic + garlic powder
• black pepper
• almond flour
• coconut aminos

For the hot bacon vinaigrette

• bacon, crumbled
• bacon grease from the beacon
• red wine vinegar
• dijon mustard

See recipe card for quantities.

Allof thewrap’s ingredientscan be made ahead of time, kept in the fridge inRubbermaid Brilliance glass containersuntil meal time, and then quickly created and customized for each guestin a matter of seconds when it’s time to eat.

Directions

Here, let me show you how easy and fun this can be. Oh yeah, and how delicious and juicy. And warm and savory. And crisp and crunchy.

Let’s get the prep work out of the way so youcan spend more time with those you’re entertaining.

First, you’ll need to make your baked pumpkin sage meatballs which should take you a total of 20-25 minutes.

Shoot…while your meatballs are baking you can make your hot bacon vinaigrette and clean and shred your veggies too.

After you’ve got your cooked meatballs, hot bacon vinaigrette, cleaned lettuce leaves, and shredded seasonal veggies together, simply add them to the container. Once the leak proof covers are sealed just stack them together in your fridge.

If your fridgeis anything like mine during the holiday season (#PackedToTheBrim) then I would also consider labeling the containersso that late-night munchers don’t accidentally munch too much of your lettuce wrap ingredients away.

I recommend using a dry erase marker to label your containers. The dry erase marker is easy to erase away with a paper towel andwon’t leave a residue on your containers.

When you are ready to eat, simply remove the containersfrom the fridge, reheat the hot bacon vinaigrette in the container(they’re microwave safe) as well as the meatballs (microwave for 10-second intervals until they reach yourdesired heated temp) and place serving spoons in the dishes to help with the layers of greatness!

I layer my pumpkin sage meatball lettuce wrapgreatness like so:

1. Lettuce wrap
2. Shredded veggies
3. Three Meatballs
4. Bacon bacon BACON crumbles!
5. Hot bacon vinaigrette

FAQ

More Healthy Turkey Recipes

• Asian Style Turkey Meatballs
• Sweet Potato Turkey Chili
• Low-carb Turkey Kabobs

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Leftover Turkey and Pumpkin Meatball Lettuce Wraps

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• Author: Jessica Kirk
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 24 1x

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Description

This leftover turkey pumpkin meatball lettuce wrap + hot bacon vinaigrette recipe is juicy and savory, with fresh crisp vegetables and moist round meatballs drizzled in a warm bacon dressing with a touch of heat!

Ingredients

Units Scale

FOR THE MEATBALLS:

• 1 in # ground leftover turkey, (use a food processor for best results)
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon ground sage
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon dried chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon liquid coconut aminos
• 1 tablespoon almond flour

FOR THE HOT BACON VINAIGRETTE:

• 4 slices of bacon, crumbled
• 1/4 cup bacon grease from the bacon
• 3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400*F. Lightly coat a mini muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Combine all of the meatball ingredients together with your hands and roll into 1″ balls. Place each ball in one of the mini muffin tin holes.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, carefully flip with tongs, and bake for another 10 minutes, or until golden born on the outside. Remove and let cool.
4. While the meatballs are baking, cook your bacon and make your vinaigrette by combining all of your vinaigrette ingredients together and mixing well.
5. When it’s time to eat, shred the leftover seasonal vegetables from Thanksgiving dinner, and sprinkle them inside lettuce cups, followed by 3-4 pumpkin sage meatballs, sprinkle on bacon crumbles, and lastly drizzle over the hot bacon vinaigrette. Enjoy!

Equipment

Kitchen Tongs

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muffin tin

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food processor

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Notes

• If using uncooked ground turkey, your cooking time will be longer. Cook until the internal temp of your meatballs is 165*F

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cuisine: American

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