Recipes to Reinvent Thanksgiving Leftovers

Are you looking for delicious recipes to reinvent Thanksgiving Leftovers?! From Breakfast to Dinner, from turkey to mashed potatoes to cranberry sauce, these recipes will make your Thanksgiving Leftovers shine!

I love Thanksgiving.

But I truly think I love Thanksgiving Leftovers the MOST.

And I am not talking about just heating up a plate of leftover turkey and sweet potato casserole, although delicious, I  am talking about making something new with those leftovers.

Recipes Using Thanksgiving Leftovers

Every year I when I sit down to plan my Thanksgiving Meal, I ALWAYS get more excited thinking about the leftovers.

While I love the huge feast, I only want to eat it ONCE!!!

But friends, the thought of taking leftovers and turning them into something delicious with minimal effort–now that is what I am talking about!

What to Make with Leftover Turkey

Even though I always make the most flavorful turkey, I feel like everyone just cares about the side dishes, or I way over estimate size of turkey needed and am left with TONS of leftover. But when I have so many ways to use up the leftover Turkey, that is NOT always such a bad thing!

Thanksgiving Pizza 

Copycat Panera Roasted Turkey with Apple and Cheddar Sandwich 

This is my ULTIMATE Thanksgiving leftover recipe. Roasted turkey, sharp cheddar and thin apple slices are piled on top of Cranberry Walnut Bread for the BEST turkey sandwich you have.

Southwest Turkey Soup 

I love this soup because it cooks while you shop on Black Friday and has a completely different flavor profile than your Thanksgiving dinner–which sometimes is a welcomed change.

 

Chicken Recipes that work Perfectly with Leftover Turkey

In case one of my leftover turkey recipes don’t catch your eye, use chopped turkey in place of the chicken for the following recipes.

• Creamy Chicken and Rice I mean, a creamy cheese sauce….need I say more. This is fabulous with leftover turkey.
• Southwestern Chicken Quesadilla Cobb Salad This is such a fresh, light take on leftovers. It is a welcome change for sure.
• Amish ChickenThis recipe is a bit like a turkey tetrazzini, with a creamy Parmesan sauce.
• Chicken Pot Pie I love to make Turkey Pot Pie by using the leftover turkey and then chopping up the veggie tray for the vegetables in this dish and finally add in the leftover gravy to the sauce. Lip smacking good, comfort food!
• White Chicken Chili Hearty, easy, and wholesome. This soup is a fabulous dish to warm up to and is a great gluten free, dairy free (if you don’t top with cheese) dish.
• Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup This is an EASY soup to make—just use leftover turkey in place of chicken.

What to Make with Leftover Sweet Potato Casserole

My family’s favorite recipe for Thanksgiving is  Sweet Potato Casserole. And it happens to be one of our favorites to use in leftovers as well.

And in case you don’t have leftover sweet potatoes, these recipes will work with leftover pumpkin pie or leftover pumpkin cheesecake as well.

Sweet Potato Waffles This is a simple Gluten-Free Waffle recipe that has crazy sweet potato flavor. It should NOT be reserved just for leftovers. And is delicious topped with leftover cranberry sauce or homemade applesauce  as well.

 

Sweet Potato Pancakes  Sweet potatoes are tucked into tender whole wheat pancakes and topped with chunky apples. YUM!

Sweet Potato Oatmeal Take a few shortcuts in this baked oatmeal by using sweet potato casserole in place of pureed sweet potatoes.

Sweet Potato Smoothie Blend up some leftover casserole with coconut milk for a delicious spiced smoothie.

Leftover Mashed Potatoes Recipes

Mashed potatoes is the one dish I always OVERESTIMATE on.

Pierogi LasagnaI look forward to using up leftover mashed potatoes to make Pierogi Lasagna. This Lasagna is an incredibly comforting way to use up all your leftover mashed potatoes and turn them into the star of dinner!

Thanksgiving Egg Rolls Now this dish uses it all–Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy! And hands down is one of the most fun recipes to use up those Thanksgiving Leftovers.

What to Make with Leftover Butternut Squash

Twice Baked Parmesan Buttenut Squash is one of my all time favorite Thanksgiving dishes. If there happens to be any leftover, it is a great way to sneak in some veggies into kid friendly dishes.

• Hidden Veggie Quesadilla
• Mac and Cheese Muffins with Hidden Veggies
• Southwestern Veggie Tostadas

What to make with Leftover Cranberry Sauce

We rarely have leftover Cranberry Orange Sauce at our house because it is my son’s all time FAVORITE.

But when we do have leftovers, I love to use it as the base of BBQ sauce, to dip Egg Rolls in, or to top pancakes.

• Cranberry Chipotle Barbecue Pizza Make a sweet and savory base for a Thanksgiving Pizza.
• Gluten Free Sweet Potato Waffles Top waffles with cranberry sauce.
• Thanksgiving Egg Rolls Use Cranberry Sauce as a dipping sauce.
• Thanksgiving Quesadilla Leftover turkey and cranberry sauce are paired with sharp cheese in a quick and easy quesadilla.

What to Make with Leftover Stuffing

Stuffing is another dish I always overestimate the amount needed. So I have learned to get creative with leftover stuffing.

• Stuffing Croutons
  • Crumble cubes of stuffing and place on baking sheet.
  • Broil or bake at 400 degrees until dried out and toasted.
  • Add to salad.
• Thanksgiving Egg Rolls
• Use stuffing in place of bread in Swedish Meatballs.
  • Use 2/3 cup stuffing in place of 2 slices bread for meatballs. Proceed with recipe as stated.

 

Be sure to check out: Turkey and Barley Soup from The Food Charlatan. Thanksgiving Leftover Stromboli from The Betsy Life or Half Baked Harvest’s Turkey with Cranberry Brie Mashed Potato Waffle Melts .

So what is YOUR favorite way to use up leftovers? Which one of these recipes excites you most?