Here you’ll find a growing collection of delicious Thanksgiving Leftover recipes!
Besides family and pie, leftovers are my favorite thing about Thanksgiving.
This year you may find yourself with more leftovers than you would typically. And I’m here to help. Over the years, I’ve repurposed leftovers by turning them into new recipes. From sandwiches to soups to pot pies. This is a growing list and will be updated every year as need be.
Breakfast:
The best way to wake up after a holiday is with a bowl of Cranberry Orange Steel Cut Oats! Orange zest and juice is mixed into creamy steel cut oats and topped with leftover cranberry sauce, vanilla yogurt and chopped toasted pecans. Yields 4 in about 35 minutes.
Casseroles:
Put your Thanksgiving leftovers to use with this Leftover Turkey Shepherd’s Pie! A casserole of homemade turkey and vegetable filling is topped with stuffing, mashed potatoes and cheese. Yields 6 to 8 generous servings.
Desserts:
Cranberry Küchen is a simple, delicious dessert that’s also a great way to use up leftover cranberry sauce. A sugar cookie-like crust topped with cranberry filling and a sour cream topping. For this recipe you’ll need 2-1/2 cups cranberry sauce or 1 full recipe! Yields 1 (9×13) and will yield 12 to 16 pieces depending on how you cut it.
Sandwiches:
Who knew leftovers could be this delicious? In this Turkey Cranberry Croissant Panini; buttery flaky croissants are smeared with homemade cranberry sauce and filled with tender slices of thanksgiving turkey, crispy bacon, peppery arugula and gooey brie cheese before being griddled and pressed in a panini press. Yields 4 sandwiches in about 20 minutes.
Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner Melts are a simple and delicious way to enjoy leftovers. Thick slices of toasted Texas toast topped with all the Thanksgiving holiday fixings plus melted cheese and smothered with gravy.
This Roasted Turkey Cranberry Salad is a light and delicious way to use up leftover turkey. Turkey, dried cranberries, celery and onions are tossed with toasted pecans and a light greek yogurt dressing. Serves 6 in 15 minutes.
Skillet Meals:
Transform Thanksgiving leftovers by making this easy Turkey Skillet Pot Pie. In this recipe; carrots, celery and onion are cooked until tender, and mixed with leftover turkey and diced potatoes in a creamy gravy. Topped with a flaky puff pastry, makes this turkey pot pie the ultimate comfort food.
A lunchroom favorite turned into a cozy comfort food! Turkey Slop is shredded leftover turkey in a luscious homemade pan gravy ladled over creamy mashed potatoes. This is a delicious way to use leftover Thanksgiving turkey!
Soups:
The weekend calls for a hearty, warm bowl of Leftover Turkey Noodle Soup! If time allows, plan ahead to make the homemade turkey stock and then you won’t believe how easy the rest of this soup is to throw together. Yields 8+ in about 35 minutes.
This creamy yet cream-less Turkey Pot Pie Soup will make good use out of your leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Simple and flavorful, a one-pot soup to warm your soul. Serves 6 in about 45 minutes.
Put your leftover turkey to good use in this earthy and hearty, Homemade Turkey Wild Rice Soup. Fresh vegetables and herbs, cooked wild rice and leftover turkey in a creamy and luxurious soup. Comfy and cozy, perfect for a cold blustery day.
Turkey Mushroom Wild Rice Soup is a great way to use up leftover turkey. This creamy soup is loaded with leftover turkey, earthy mushrooms and tender vegetables and nutty wild rice. This recipe yields 6 (1½-cup) servings.
Turkey Lemon Wild Rice Soup is flavorful, hearty and comforting. In this soup, leftover roast turkey, fresh garlic, sage, rosemary and thyme and wild rice are in a lemony creamy broth thickened by egg. Simple and quick to prepare, this soup is absolutely incredible. Yields about 9 cups and will serve 6 generous servings.
Homemade Ingredients and Condiments:
Don’t discard your turkey bones, instead make Slow Cooker Turkey Stock! Add leftover turkey bones, vegetables, herbs and spices with water and cider vinegar into your slow cooker and let it do the work. Yields approximately 12 cups in 6 hours.
Enjoy! And if you give any of these Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
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If you’re fortunate enough to have leftover dressing, put it in your waffle maker and keep it in till it’s slightly crisp. Then use it as bread for your leftover turkey sandwiches!
great ideas wow thank you, love the skillet pot pie, all of the sandwiches and the soups, thank you!
Wow! It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who likes to experiment with the Thanksgiving/Christmas/Holiday leftovers. As a kid a kid my family mainly just made sandwiches out of what was left over, but as an adult now, I’m like where’s the fun in that? Primarily I usually either make something we call Thanksgiving/Holiday Slop or Thanksgiving/Holiday Soufflé, depending upon what is left over. If there’s a lot of my Grandmother’s Sage Cornbread Dressing leftover (which btw, is my favorite thing in the entire world about the holidays), and I reheat it in a skillet with unsalted butter and put it in bowls then separately in a large pot heat the leftover turkey, giblet & egg gravy, unsalted butter, cracked pepper, sea salt, and golden delicious potatoes until it makes a great yummy stew and pour it on top of the heated dressing. Let sit for a bit and enjoy! As for the Soufflé, you cut fluffy biscuits in half and stuff them tightly in one of those 2-3 inch tall square or rectangular glass oven safe containers depending upon how much you intend to make. Next pour half the leftover gravy and giblets atop the bottom half of the biscuits until it just barely covers them. Next apply cracked pepper and sea salt to taste. Then carefully add the biscuit tops. Apply another layer of only gravy (no giblets). Add more cracked pepper and sea salt as well as small dollops of unsalted butter. Cover with aluminum foil and place in oven for 60 mins. on 350. (Depending on oven). Remove aluminum foil. Add additional cracked pepper and salt to taste. Add more dollops of unsalted butter and return to oven WITHOUT foil in order to brown. IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure there is no sudden or loud sounds, otherwise it will collapse, it’s still good but it will nevertheless collapse. Return to over for additional 45 minutes at 365.