Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends, and of course, FOOD. The big Thanksgiving feast usually leaves us with a lot of leftovers. This year, why not get a little creative with your leftovers? In this blog post, we will discuss 10 different ways to use Thanksgiving leftovers.
One way to use leftovers is to create a Thanksgiving sandwich. Just put some stuffing, mashed potatoes, turkey, cranberry sauce, and maybe even some gravy on a piece of bread and you’ve got yourself a delicious sandwich! Another way to use leftovers is to make soup. You can either use the leftover turkey or chicken broth as the base for your soup or you can buy pre-made broth from the grocery store. Add in some chopped-up leftover turkey or chicken, vegetables, and rice or noodles and you’ve got yourself a quick and easy meal! If you have leftover mashed potatoes, you can turn them into shepherd’s pie. Top the potatoes with some cooked ground beef or lamb and some peas and carrots. Then bake it in the oven until it’s hot and bubbly. Yum!
1. Make a sandwich like no other:
Why settle for just two slices of bread and some gravy? Try a three-tier turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce sandwich.
Start by spreading cranberry sauce on one slice of bread if you want to make a three-tier turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce sandwich.
Then, add a layer of stuffing. Next, add a layer of sliced turkey. Finally, top with another slice of bread and cut into four equal pieces.
2. Thanksgiving pizza:
Top it off with your favorite toppings and you have yourself a feast in one bite!
Before you begin making your Thanksgiving pizza, set your oven to 450 F.
Then, spread a layer of cranberry sauce on a pizza crust.
Next, add a layer of stuffing. Top with turkey slices and cheese.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
3. Thanksgiving-style tacos:
Mix mashed potatoes, stuffing, and turkey in a soft taco shell. Top it with cranberry sauce for an extra kick!
To make Thanksgiving-style tacos, start by mixing together 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes, 1/4 cup of stuffing, and 1/4 cup of chopped turkey.
Then, heat a soft taco shell on a hot pan, or in the microwave for about 10 seconds.
Fill the taco shell with the potato mixture and top with cranberry sauce.
4. Mashed potato pancakes:
Fry up some mashed potatoes in the shape of pancakes and top them off with your favorite gravy or cranberry sauce.
To make mashed potato pancakes, mix together 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes, 1/4 cup of stuffing, and chopped turkey.
Add to this, 1 whole egg and about 1/4 cup of potato starch (or any starch you have on hand) and mix everything.
Depending on the thickness of this batter, you may need to add a few tablespoons of water. You want it to be of pancake batter consistency.
Season the batter with salt and pepper.
To make the pancakes, heat a skillet. When hot, add a touch of olive oil (or any neutral oil) and pour in a dollop of the batter.
Slightly flatten it to spread it evenly. When it is golden on one side, flip and cook the other side.
Serve with leftover cranberry sauce.
5. Stuffed waffles:
Mix up the traditional waffle recipe and add stuffing to your waffle batter.
For a delicious stuffed waffle, mix together 1/4 cup of stuffing mix and 1/4 cup chopped turkey.
For the waffle batter, mix together 1 egg, 1/2 cup of milk, and 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. Add 1 cup of flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the mix.
Pour in the waffle batter in your pre-heated waffle iron. In the middle, add in 1-2 spoonsful of stuffing mixture. Cover with more waffle batter.
Cook according to your waffle iron's instructions.
Serve with your favorite gravy or cranberry sauce.
6. Thanksgiving soup:
Combine everything from mashed potatoes, turkey, gravy, stuffing, and cranberry sauce in a pot for one hearty soup.
Thanksgiving soup is easy to make and can be adapted to suit any taste.
To begin, heat a large pot over medium heat. Add 1 chopped onion and sauté until softened.
Then, add 1 minced garlic clove and sauté again until softened. Add all of your leftover Thanksgiving ingredients - mashed potatoes, turkey, gravy, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. Stir well to combine.
Add chicken or vegetable broth and bring to a boil. The quantity of broth will depend on how much leftovers you have. For every 1 cup of leftovers, I usually add 1 to 1.5 cups of broth.
Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until heated through.
Serve with croutons or your favorite type of bread.
7. Leftover Lasagna:
Layer all of your leftovers together in a lasagna dish and bake until golden brown.
Preheat your oven to 400F before you start making the lasagna.
Cook lasagna noodles as per packet instructions.
Then, layer the lasagna dish starting with stuffing, then turkey, lasagna sheets, cranberry sauce. Continue this order till you reach the top of the baking dish. Top with cranberry sauce and gravy.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until heated through and internal temperature is 165F.
8. Turkey pot pie:
Top off a classic pot pie with some turkey and cranberry sauce for an extra twist.
Preheat your oven to 400F before you start making the Thanksgiving turkey pot pie.
You will need store bought pot pie dough for this one.
Use a baking dish that is oven-proof. Layer the bottom with the dough and blind-bake as per packet instructions. If there are no instructions, follow theses: Mark the dough with a fork, put a sized parchment sheet and add baking beans to the dish. Bake at 400F for 10-12 mins to par-cook the bottom layer. If you are not making a double crusted pot pie, you can skip this step and only layer the top.
While the crust is getting ready, mix together 1 cup of stuffing, 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes, and 1/4 cup of chopped turkey.
When the crust is ready. Let it cool slightly. Then, add in the turkey mixture. Cover with more pot pie dough, but cut it the size of your baking dish first.
With a pastry brush, brush over some egg wash on the top layer of the dough.
Bake for 15-20 mins or until the internal temperature is 165F.
9. Turkey quesadillas:
Combine turkey and cranberry sauce for a delicious quesadilla.
Start by heating a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
Add very little oil to the skillet and spread it around.
Place 2 large tortillas in the pan. (These measurements are for 2 large tortillas. You can adjust these based on the size of your tortillas.)
Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese on both tortillas. Then, add 1/4 cup of chopped turkey and 1 tablespoon of cranberry sauce to each tortilla.
Fold the tortillas in half and cook for about 2 minutes per side or until the tortillas are golden brown and the cheese is melted. Flip and cook till golden on both sides.
Serve with sour cream or your favorite dipping sauce.
10. Turkey nachos:
Top your favorite chips with turkey, cheese, vegetables, and some cranberry sauce for an extra kick!
Begin by heating a large skillet over medium heat.
Add 1 tablespoon of oil and place a layer of chips in the pan. Top with turkey, cheese, vegetables, and cranberry sauce. Repeat until all of the ingredients are used up.
Cook for a few minutes until some of the chips on the bottom are golden brown and the cheese is melted.
Serve with sour cream or your favorite dipping sauce.
We discussed 10 ways to use up Thanksgiving leftovers. One way to use leftovers is to create a Thanksgiving sandwich. Just put some stuffing, mashed potatoes, turkey, cranberry sauce, and maybe even some gravy on a piece of bread and you’ve got yourself a delicious sandwich! Another way to use leftovers is to make soup. You can either use the leftover turkey or chicken broth as the base for your soup or you can buy pre-made broth from the grocery store. Add in some chopped-up leftover turkey or chicken, vegetables, and rice or noodles and you’ve got yourself a quick and easy meal! If you have leftover mashed potatoes, you can turn them into shepherd’s pie. Top the potatoes with some cooked ground beef or lamb and some peas and carrots. Then bake it in the oven until it’s hot and bubbly. Yum!
Happy Thanksgiving! Be sure to subscribe to our blog, YouTube channel, and Instagram page for more recipe ideas throughout the year.
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