Ah, the Thanksgiving feast, that highly anticipated meal that keeps giving and giving in terms of leftovers. At first, you’re more than happy to serve up the leftovers as is, but pretty soon the leftovers are giving been there, ate that, don’t wanna have it any more. That’s when it’s time to get creative and serve up the leftovers in a way that makes them feel fresh and new. But how?
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I’ve got you! I’ve rounded up some fantastic Thanksgiving leftovers recipes and ideas that will keep everyone excited about gobbling up what’s left of the holiday feast, because let’s be fair, you can only eat the same thing in the same way so many times before you’re over it. But with a little effort and creativity, you can make your Thanksgiving leftovers have that yum appeal that makes everyone want more. ¡Buen provecho!
Build a beautiful turkey BLT.
I love a good sandwich and a sandwich with turkey, bacon, lettuce, and tomato is what I would call a good sandwich. Not gonna lie, I might add some avocado to this baby because it would make it even gooder.
Mashed potato pancakes are the bomb.
Take a couple of cups of mashed potatoes, add eggs, a bit of flour, and make yourself some scrumptious mashed potato pancakes that are just begging to be dipped in a yummy sauce of your choice.
Combine your leftovers and bake up a hotdish.
What’s a hotdish, you ask? Oh, it’s just another way to say casserole. This particular recipe is great if you served wild rice and stuffing for your Thanksgiving meal. But the beauty of casseroles is that they lend themselves easily to modifications.
These leftover turkey spring rolls take about 30 minutes to make.
This is a delicious and refreshing way to prepare your leftover turkey and you can make a dipping sauce for them out of your leftover cranberry sauce as well. They are great for lunch.
Potato skins filled with leftovers bake up real nice.
You’ll need large russet potatoes to create these delicious potato boats filled with leftover stuffing, turkey, gravy, and topped with a creamy mash and cranberry sauce.
Use the turkey carcass to make stock.
I’m going to tell you a secret. I think turkey on Thanksgiving is OK, but I think the stock you can make from the turkey carcass is amazing! Like way better than the actual turkey itself and it is so easy to make.
Turkey soup is a no-brainer.
This leftover turkey sage noodle soup only calls for nine ingredients. It uses chicken stock, but if you went through the trouble of making turkey stock, please use your homemade turkey stock instead.
Turkey nachos are great for noshing.
Make a big tray of these nachos with your leftover turkey and they are perfect for snacking on while watching football or while you decorate your Christmas tree. To be honest, they are great no matter what you are doing.
Try Valerie Bertinelli’s leftover mashed potato soup.
She makes it with chicken broth, but if you made turkey broth, use that instead. This recipe also calls for frozen corn, but you can use any leftover corn if you have some. It’s easy to make and is ready in 35 minutes.
Add leftover turkey to a Waldorf salad.
It wouldn’t hurt you to eat a salad now and again. I’m teasing, but go ahead and give this salad a try. Of course, if you love it, you don’t have to wait until you have leftover turkey. The rest of the year you can make it with chicken.
