What to do with Thanksgiving Leftovers

If you have leftovers this Thanksgiving, don’t settle for reheating plate after plate of mashed potatoes and progressively drying turkey breast. Instead, choose a few of these crowd-pleasing recipes and rework the same old Thanksgiving leftovers into dishes that will get those leftovers eaten in no time.

TURKEY DISHES

Cindy’s Turkey Salad
Use a whopping 5 cups of leftover turkey in this savory turkey salad recipe. Perfect for sandwiches, wraps, and as a protein on a green salad, this recipe will keep lean turkey moist and ready to eat.

Slow Cooker Quinoa Chili
Ideal for long, cold workdays, slow cooker turkey quinoa chili is packed with flavor but doesn’t hit you with a heavy calorie count. Loaded with healthy sweet potatoes and black beans with turkey and quinoa for protein, this meal will leave you feeling happy, full, and proud of your health-conscious choice.

Instant Pot Turkey Tetrazzini
Combine leftover turkey, dried tortellini, mushrooms, onions in the instant pot for rich and comforting classic tetrazzini in a fraction of the usual time.

Turkey Tamale Pie
Use shredded turkey in this seasonal take on the ever-popular tamale pie.

Turkey Carcass Soup
Don’t throw the bones away! Instant pot turkey carcass soup will yield the rich turkey broth you love without requiring you to simmer a pot on the stove for hours.

Turkey Tom Kha Gai
This recipe uses turkey and turkey broth instead of chicken or beef, but the flavor notes are otherwise faithful to the original Thai cuisine and will “make you forget you even oven roasted a turkey.”

Turkey and Stuffing Stuffed Peppers
Peppers stuffed with Thanksgiving leftovers? Yes, please. Use up leftover turkey and get several servings of your daily veg with these delicious stuffing-stuffed peppers.

Turkey Spring Rolls with Cranberry Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce
You’ll probably want to enlist help wrapping your spring rolls, but otherwise, this clever recipe is simple as long as you’re comfortable deep frying.

Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
This shepherd’s pie uses leftover mashed potatoes, carrots, and turkey. Ideal for younger (read: picky) eaters and those who love the simplicity of the classics, this comforting shepherd’s pie will please most.

Turkey Nachos
These turkey nachos with veggies and hot sauce are perfect for post-Thanksgiving football afternoons and rushed family dinner nights.

Mashed Potato Waffle Melts
These decadent mashed potato waffles are only the start of these outrageous sandwiches. Break out the eggs, avocado, brie, cranberry sauce, bacon, and leftover turkey and get ready to say, “We’re making these again next year.”

Slow Cooker Turkey Pumpkin Chili
This slow cooker turkey is lighter, definitely qualifying as fully healthy, yet it’s still comforting and warming. Serve with cornbread or leftover dinner rolls, whichever you have left.

Turkey Pot Pie with Phyllo Crust
This creamy pot pie recipe packs leftover lean turkey breast, carrots, peas, and pearl onions together under a crispy, flaky phyllo dough crust.

Turkey Hash
Pairing leftover turkey with onion, red potatoes, and red bell pepper, this holiday take on the classic hash is perfect for breakfast when you get back from your Black Friday shopping.

HAM RECIPES

Hawaiian Fried Rice
Stir-fry leftover ham with bell pepper, onion, rice, pineapple, soy sauce, and a drizzle of sesame oil for a taste of Hawaii right where you are.

Grilled Cubano
Your ham is probably going to be oven-baked, not boiled, but don’t let that stop you from preparing this beloved Cuban sandwich.

Ham and Cheese Hash Brown Waffles
Ham and cheese sandwiched between layers of hash browns and grilled in a waffle iron for the perfect combo of textures and flavors to make you feel like your favorite diner is serving at your house this morning.

Oven Baked Jambalaya
This warm and spicy jambalaya will use up any extra ham, but you can also sub turkey for chicken for a doubly-effective use of leftovers.

BRISKET DISHES

Editor’s note: while we have heard of leftover brisket, we’ve never seen it happen, therefore we are keeping this section purposefully brief.