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These Leftover Turkey Wontons are fried wontons dipped in our famous whiskey glaze! Use ground turkey or leftover turkey for this recipe!
We love crazy delicious fried appetizers like these dumplings! Also check out our simple Fried Artichoke Hearts with a delicious dipping sauce, or these comforting Fried Poutine Wontons with a gravy dipper!
A Leftover Turkey Recipe For Dinner Or Appetizers
The original recipe for these Leftover Turkey Wontonscalls for ground turkey, but we’ve made them many times with leftover turkey or chicken!
I’m actually going to go out and say that I prefer this recipe made with leftover shredded chicken or turkey, so if you have some definitely use it! Both ways are super tasty, it depends on what you have in your refrigerator!
What Is In This Dumpling Filling?
Here we’re showing the recipe made with ground turkey, so swap out your leftover turkey or chicken in this photo here and we’ll fill in the rest! Crumbled bacon, scallions and a few seasonings make up the base of this wonton filling.
Cream cheese gets mixed into the filling at the end to bring it all together and just a swirl of real maple syrup to bring all those Thanksgiving flavors out!
Can You Make This Fried Wonton Recipe Ahead Of Time?
There are actually two ways you can make this appetizer recipe ahead of time. First of all, you can make them through completely, fry them and let the wontons drain and cool on paper towels. Then you can store them in your refrigerator and heat them up later in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
Alternatively, you can fill the wontons as shown in the picture below, refrigerate them and then fry them just before you need to serve them.
These Leftover Turkey Wontons will only take about 2 minutes to get crisp in the oil so the frying doesn’t take very long at all. Also, there’s no need to beak out a deep fryer!
Just fill a deep, heavy bottomed pot halfway with oil and fry the wontons in batches until they are golden and crispy. If you need to keep these wontons warm for a few minutes (up to 30 minutes will be fine) you can keep them on a baking sheet in a 250-300 degree oven, uncovered.
If you really don’t want to do that deep fry, break out your air fryer! Spray the wontons with an oil based cooking spray and cook for about 5 minutes until crispy!
What Other Dipping Sauce Can I Use For These Fried Dumplings?
This whiskey glaze recipe comes together really quickly. There are a few ingredients, so when you look at the recipe it might seem like a bit much…but all you do is get everything in a pot and simmer the glaze until it thickens.
But if you don’t want to make the whiskey glaze for these dumplings, I feel you. Here are some other store bought options!
- Teriyaki Glaze (not teriyaki sauce, but the glaze – it’s thicker)
- Honey Mustard Sauce
- Any Flavor BBQ Sauce
- Stir Fry Sauce (or try our easy recipe!)
- Sweet Chili Sauce
- Marinara Sauce
Can You Freeze These Turkey Wontons?
You can! If you made too many, or just want to make this recipe and freeze for later it’s really easy to do. Put the cooled, fried wontons in a freezer bag in a single layer and freeze until firm You can do this on a sheet pan too if that fits in your freezer.
The idea is to freeze them individually so they don’t stick together and then once they are frozen you can stack them up.
To reheat, add the wontons to a sprayed baking sheet in a single layer and heat in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until the center is warmed through.
PIN IT!
Looking For More Leftover Turkey Recipes?
- Fried Ribs with Whiskey Glaze
- Bacon Cheeseburger Quesadillas
- Fried Mashed Potato Balls
- Pan Fried Tacos
Leftover Turkey Wontons
- Author: Dan
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 45 wontons 1x
Print Recipe
These fried wontons are filled with turkey, cheese and bacon! Dip these fried dumplings into our famous whiskey glaze!
Scale
Ingredients
- 12 oz. package square wonton wrappers
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground turkey (or leftover turkey or chicken)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 cup scallions, chopped
- 6 strips bacon, cooked, cooled and chopped into small pieces (you can substitute 1 cup of bacon bits)
- 2 tablespoons real maple syrup
- 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 egg beaten with 2 teaspoons of water (egg wash)
- Canola or vegetable oil for frying
- For the Whiskey Glaze:
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced or pushed through a garlic press
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 cup pineapple juice
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
- 1/2 cup whiskey
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you like the glaze)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1 1/2 tablespoons of water
Instructions
- Start making the whiskey glaze by addingthe oil to a pot along with the minced garlic.
- Cook over medium heat for 30 seconds while stirring, then add the rest of the ingredients to the pot (except the cornstarch and water) Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer for 10 minutes.
- Pour the cornstarch mixture into the glaze and whisk to combine, then bring the glaze back to a boil to thicken and remove from the heat.
- To make the wonton filling, add the oil to a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the turkey and brown, breaking up with a spoon into small pieces. (*See Note If Using Cooked Turkey or Chicken) Once the turkey has cooked, add the scallions, stir and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, bacon, maple syrup and cream cheese. Stir to combine and melt the cream cheese into the filling and then remove from the heat.
- Lay out the wonton wrappers on a board, then fill each wrapper with 2 teaspoons of the filling. Brush the edges of the wonton wrapper with the egg wash and fold in half to form a triangle. Make sure the edges are sealed very well so that the filling doesn’t leak out when you fry them. Repeat with the remaining wontons.
- Heat a deep pot of oil (halfway filled) to 350 degrees.
- Once the oil is hot, add a few dumplings at a time, depending on the size of your pot, and fry for two minutes until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel lined baking sheet to drain while you fry the rest of the dumplings.
- Serve the dumplings warm with the whisky glaze on the side.
Recipe Notes
If using leftover cooked turkey or chicken, start with the scallions and the seasonings then add in the cooked turkey.
You can also spray these wontons with cooking spray and make them in your air fryer!
- Category: Appetizers
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: American
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