27 Best Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes

Enjoy your feast a second time with these Thanksgiving leftover recipes!

From turkey casseroles and sandwiches to pasta and chili, there are so many great ways to use those leftovers.

What To Do With Thanksgiving Leftovers?

The best part of Thanksgiving dinner is all those leftovers, right? 

Sitting down to an amazing Thanksgiving meal is great, but munching on leftovers in your PJs is even better. 

And there’s no limit to leftover Thanksgiving ideas.

Whether it’s a simple sandwich (I have a recipe at the bottom of the post!) or an unlikely dessert, I’m sure you’ll find something here to love.

Leftover Thanksgiving Recipes & Ideas

1. Leftover Turkey Sandwich

Let’s kick things off with the most obvious choice.

This Thanksgiving sandwich is way more than just simply stuffing two pieces of bread with a holiday turkey.

It’s cheesy, gooey, and maybe even better than the original meal.

With artichokes, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, grilled red onions, and gouda cheese, this sandwich is the stuff of Thanksgiving legends.

2. Leftover Turkey Pot Pie with Bisquick

Pot pies are one of the best comfort foods out there.

How can you go wrong with rich and creamy meat and vegetable filling baked into a flaky, buttery crust? Using Bisquick makes your life so much easier.

One bite of this bad boy is enough to make you all warm and fuzzy inside.

3. Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes

As a collective fan of mashed potatoes, our family rarely ends up with leftovers of this phenomenal side dish.

So, make sure you make enough so you have leftover mashed potatoes!

Mashed potatoes are transformed into a batter and made even tastier with scallions and cheese.

They’re pan-fried to golden perfection, resulting in this amazing breakfast dish.

4. Leftover Turkey Chili

Here’s another fantastic leftover turkey recipe. Because there’s always leftover turkey.

A mix of ground turkey, beans, tomato sauce, vegetables, and seasonings, you’d be surprised at how delectable this chili is. 

Top it off with shredded cheddar cheese, scallions, and sour cream and you’re golden.

5. Fried Mashed Potato Balls

You guys, these mashed potato balls are the appetizer that’s missing in your life. Your minds will be blown by how insanely scrumptious these balls are.

Mashed potatoes are mixed with cheese, chives, and bacon. That step alone already makes the spuds even more addictive.

Then, they are formed into balls, coated with breadcrumbs, and deep-fried to perfection. How outrageously awesome is that?

6. Leftover Cranberry Sauce Muffins

Cranberry sauce may not be the star of a Thanksgiving meal, but in these muffins, they definitely are.

These muffins have the best texture – a perfect balance of tender, moist, and crumbly. 

As for the flavor, you can trust the sweet and tangy taste of your cranberry sauce to beautifully shine through.

7. Leftover Stuffing Waffles

Turn your leftover stuffing into a waffle batter and make the most delightful, post-Thanksgiving breakfast meal.

All you need is to mix in that leftover stuffing with eggs and chicken stock and voila, you’ll have created a wonderful batter! Brilliant idea, am I right?

Here’s a tip to make all your leftover items disappear faster: serve the waffles with leftover cranberry sauce and gravy.

8. Leftover Roast Turkey Soup

Looking for a cozy and comforting soup to chase the chill away? Look no further.

This soup has chunks of turkey and vegetables in a rich and creamy broth. One spoonful will warm your body and make your heart happy.

Pro-tip: there’s no such thing as too many veggies!

9. Turkey Dumpling Stew

You’ve heard of chicken and dumplings, so why not turkey and dumplings?

Seriously, this stew is comfort food at its finest. It incorporates all those flavorful bits of turkey with fluffy dumping.

With a rich and herbal broth, it’s the perfect comfort food for those chilly November nights. Move over, chicken and dumplings.

10. Leftover Cranberry Sauce and Apple Crisp

Granny Smith apples and cranberry sauce join forces to create the perfect fall dessert. This cranberry and apple crisp is what autumn dreams are made of.

In this dessert, expect a crumbly and buttery oat topping and a crisp and fruity apple-cranberry filling. 

Served with vanilla ice cream on top, this dessert is guaranteed to disappear in a snap.

11. Turkey Cobb Salad

Need something a little lighter after that heavy meal? This turkey cobb salad is very kind to your waistline.

And it tastes like autumn on a plate with meaty chunks of turkey, apples, pecans, and cranberries.

Mix it with hearty greens, and give your stomach a break from all those heavy dishes.

12. Leftover Turkey Panini

Take out that panini press from the cupboard and whip up this leftover turkey panini!

It’s crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, which is truly a mouthwatering experience.

Inside are slices of turkey, bacon, cranberry sauce, sage, goat cheese, and melty Muenster cheese.

It’s so crazy delicious, eating feels like celebrating Thanksgiving a second time.

13. Leftover Cranberry Sauce Bars

Say hello to another dessert recipe that will knock your socks off. These cranberry sauce bars are soft, chewy, and insanely delicious.

With a chewy and buttery base and a sweet and ooey-gooey cranberry sauce filling, these bars are spectacular, to say the least.

14. Leftover Turkey Tacos

These turkey tacos are the Thanksgiving-Tex Mex mash-up you didn’t know you needed.

Perfectly seasoned shredded turkey is stuffed in soft tortillas and filled with cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, avocado slices, and sour cream.

Man, I can eat these tacos all day! 

15. Leftover Turkey Tetrazzini

Who can say no to a creamy and dreamy tetrazzini? I certainly can’t.

What makes Tetrazzini outrageously rich is its sauce made from cream of mushroom soup, milk, and tons of cheese.

This alone makes the pasta dish so addictive.

To add a more festive, Thanksgiving feel to it, toss in chunks of leftover turkey. Delicious.

16. Low Carb Cajun Leftover Turkey Gumbo

This isn’t your classic Southern gumbo. It delivers a punch of cajun spices and flavors, but it’s so much easier to make.

Especially with Thanksgiving leftovers!

It pairs leftover chicken with spicy sausage and hearty herbs and seasoning.

And the best part? This gumbo is low in carbs, so there’s no need for a post-dinner nap.

17. Cornbread Pudding

Got tons of cornbread leftovers? This is just the recipe for you.

Loaded with fresh herbs, green onions, and cheese, this pudding will absolutely blow your taste buds away.

It’s crisp on the outside with a custard-like center. 

The combination of sweet, salty, earthy, and cheesy is like a party in your mouth.

18. Leftover Turkey Salad With Cranberry Vinaigrette

Let’s take a break from all the rich and heavy dishes and focus our attention on this salad.

Sure, salads are not the most exciting appetizers, but this one definitely is.

It incorporates baby spinach leaves, turkey, crumbled goat cheese, avocado slices, pomegranate seeds, candied pecans, and a cranberry vinaigrette dressing.

This salad gets an A+ in color, flavor, and texture combinations.

19. Creamy Turkey Shepherd’s Pie

Creamy shepherd’s pie uses all parts of the Thanksgiving dinner.

The insides are delicious creamy with a meaty kick from leftover turkey and so many veggies.

But anyone who loves shepherd’s pie knows the best part is that crispy potato crust (made from leftover mashed potatoes)!

This is one of those meals that gives new meaning to the word ‘leftovers’.

20. Thanksgiving Leftovers Quesadilla

Have tortilla bread? Rather than making a turkey sandwich, why not make quesadillas instead?

It’s just as easy, but the results are much better.

These quesadillas are filled with turkey, cheese, sage, and cranberry sauce.

Salty, savory, and sweet, they have all the wonderful flavors of Thanksgiving transformed into a delicious Tex-Mex treat.

21. Leftover Thanksgiving Pizza

No matter the day, no matter the occasion, pizza is always a good idea.

This time, instead of the usual toppings, use up all those Thanksgiving leftovers! 

I’m talking stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, turkey – the works. You already know the flavors go well together, so it’ll be a guaranteed hit.

22. Thanksgiving Leftover Wontons with Cranberry Salsa

This recipe gives the classic American Thanksgiving dishes a wonderful Asian twist!

A mix of turkey, stuffing cream cheese, and gravy is stuffed in wonton wrappers and deep-fried to perfection.

If you think these wontons are way too rich, don’t worry. A dip of sweet, tart, and spicy cranberry salsa will provide a nice flavor balance.

23. Turkey Cranberry Wrap

I’m such a sucker for wraps. I think these delectable treats are underrated. If you love them as much as I do, you’ll surely enjoy these, too.

Chunks of turkey, cream cheese, lettuce, and cranberry sauce are rolled inside a soft tortilla, creating a healthy but delicious burrito-ish dish.

It’s light and refreshing, perfect after a heavy meal.

24. Kentucky Hot Brown

You haven’t seen the last of leftover turkey sandwiches! The Kentucky Hot Brown makes something completely different, and just as tasty.

It pairs leftover turkey over slices of white bread with oodles of melty cheese in a rich mornay sauce.

Top it with bacon, tomatoes, and more cheese, and say hello to your new favorite sandwich!

25. Leftover Turkey Noodle Soup

Chicken noodle soup is classic comfort food we all know and love. But during Thanksgiving season, ditch the chicken and use turkey, instead!

Trust me, this soup is just as cozy and comforting as the traditional chicken noodle soup. The only difference is, you get to make use of all that leftover meat.

26. Turkey Enchiladas

First of all, look at how colorful and bright these enchiladas are! Just by looking at them, you can already tell how scrumptious they are.

These enchiladas are not just filled with turkey, but with loads of delicious things as well.

With beans, jalapenos, shredded cheese, cotija cheese, and pepitas, these enchiladas are mega-loaded, to say the least.

27. Leftover Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

Last but not least is an extraordinary milkshake for an extraordinary you.

Made with milk, pumpkin pie, and ice cream, this milkshake is so freakin’ delicious, I could cry.

Whoever came up with the idea of using leftover pumpkin pie to make a milkshake is pure genius.