This recipe comes from the October 2011 issue of Everyday Food magazine. It was fairly simple to make, and my family really enjoyed it. Even though it took 1 hour to complete, more than half of that time was unattended (it was either in the oven or cooling). It had all the delicious flavors of a Thanksgiving dinner, but it wasn’t heavy at all. I really think this would be a great way to use up leftover turkey from Thanksgiving–something I’ll have to try in the future.
Here is the breakdown of the cost of ingredients in the Turkey-Cranberry Bake:
| Ingredients | Cost of Quantity Used |
| olive oil | $0.21 |
| turkey, ground | $4.29 |
| sage, dried | $0.93 |
| flour, all-purpose | $0.01 |
| chicken broth | $1.11 |
| celery | $0.32 |
| bread, sandwich | $0.16 |
| cranberries, dried | $0.89 |
| eggs | $0.14 |
| butter, unsalted | $0.09 |
| onion | $0.40 |
| Total Cost = | $8.53 |
As you can see, this can feed a family of 4 for $10 or less. There’s even a little leftover for a vegetable side dish–I think some steamed broccoli would be perfect with this.
Turkey-Cranberry Bake (adapted from Everyday Food magazine)
- 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- salt & pepper
- 1 yellow onion, diced medium
- 1 1/2 celery stalks, diced medium
- 5 slices white bread, cut into large cubes (4 cups)
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Brown the turkey in a large skillet using 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add sage and flour and mix thoroughly. Stir in 3/4 cup broth and cook for approximately 2 minutes (until mixture thickens). Pour turkey mixture into an 8-inch baking pan.
- Wipe out the skillet. Saute onion and celery in 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil until softened (approximately 10 minutes). Season with salt & pepper. Turn off heat. Stir in bread, cranberries, and 1 cup broth. Pour eggs over bread mixture and gently combine. Scoop over turkey mixture. Sprinkle butter pieces over the top.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Broil for 5 minutes (or until top is golden brown). Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
This looks great! I loveeee Thanksgiving food. A sandwich shop near me has a sandwich called “the pilgrim,” with stuffing, turkey, cranberry sauce and mayo on it. It’s to die for, but this looks like a fantastic and much cheaper alternative.
Thanks! I really enjoyed how this was as delicious as a Thanksgiving dinner, but I didn’t feel stuffed after eating it.
I love the idea of doing cheap eats. This is a great one to start out on. I love all the Thanksgiving flavors and they look great all cooked together like that.
This looks delicious and is a very creative recipe, I love this.