Holidays & Entertaining Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Recipes 15 Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes Even Better Than the Holiday Meal By Andrea Beck Andrea Beck Andrea Beck served as garden editor at BHG and her work has appeared on Food & Wine, Martha Stewart, MyRecipes, and more. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process and Katlyn Moncada Katlyn Moncada Instagram Katlyn Moncada is the associate food editor at BHG.com, sharing food news and tutorials on becoming better home cooks. She is a writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience in digital media, photography, and video production. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on October 26, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Kelsey Hansen We can pretty much guarantee that you have leftovers from the bounty of Thanksgiving dinner. But there is no reason to simply reheat them in the microwave. These recipes use the last of your turkey, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes to make tasty dinners, desserts, snacks, and even breakfasts. 01 of 15 Turkey Dinner Shepherd's Pie View Recipe Andy Lyons This Thanksgiving leftover casserole will definitely further your mission to clean out your fridge. There are tons of opportunities to use up leftover turkey, veggies, and mashed potatoes as you create this hearty fall casserole. You could use a dollop of cranberry sauce in place of dried cranberries, and throw in any extra prepped veggies you have leftover like carrots, onion, and green beans. It's like Thanksgiving dinner all over again! 02 of 15 Potato Cinnamon Rolls View Recipe Karla Conrad Yep, you can make a Thanksgiving leftover breakfast for your holiday guests (that is, if you're not too stuffed the next morning). Mashed potatoes from the night before are unrecognizable once you mix them into the dough for gooey, sweet cinnamon rolls. They're actually our secret ingredient for the best-ever cinnamon rolls—adding just a cup of mashed potatoes makes the dough unbelievably moist and fluffy. 03 of 15 Tomato Bread Soup View Recipe Kelsey Hansen The secret to achieving a thick, velvety texture in this tomato soup recipe? Stuffing! That's right, your leftover stuffing from Thanksgiving simmers in a pot with tomatoes, onion, and garlic to develop flavor. Blend it all together, top with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, herbs, and enjoy. 04 of 15 Thanksgiving Leftovers Casserole View Recipe Matthew Clark You can pile all of your extras into this Thanksgiving leftovers casserole, and we mean all. We're talking bread stuffing, turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, and gravy. If you serve cooked corn on the side of your feast, you can toss some in here, too. Of course you'll need to add cranberry sauce on top, so when it's all stirred and baked, you can use up seven different leftover dishes with this one Thanksgiving-themed recipe. 05 of 15 Dairy-Free Turkey Tetrazzini View Recipe Kelsey Hansen This Thanksgiving leftovers casserole was created with the dairy intolerant in mind. The use of vegan butter and cashews achieves a creamy sauce for noodles, leftover turkey, greens, and mushrooms. The recipe also has some stuffing mix, so you can use the extra bag you grabbed or utilize the post-holiday grocery sales. 06 of 15 Spiced Potato Pastry Pockets View Recipe Kelsey Hansen Spice up leftover mashed potatoes by turning it into a filling for these samosa-like pastries. Garam masala, ginger, chile peppers, turmeric, and more add bold flavor to the Indian-inspired delights. Enjoy with your choice of mango chutney, mint chutney, or tamarind chutney. 07 of 15 Leftover Stuffing Breakfast Strata View Recipe Kelsey Hansen Instead of using day-old bread for your breakfast casserole, use leftover stuffing! Pork sausage and fresh veggies combine with a simple egg base round out the savory bread stuffing. Those leftovers are the perfect base for making weekend (or Black Friday) brunch a cinch. 08 of 15 Loaded Potato Dip View Recipe Kelsey Hansen In the chance you made too much mashed potatoes for your Thanksgiving meal, this is the leftover idea you need to try. Mix mashed potatoes with cream cheese and the usual loaded potato toppings (bacon, cheese, sour cream, and green onions), then bake until nice and bubbly. It's the perfect party dip! 09 of 15 Stuffed Baked Mushrooms View Recipe Andy Lyons These baked mushrooms are easily customized, so you can use just about any leftover Thanksgiving dish you want. Stuffing is an easy choice, but you could also spoon in a dollop of mashed potatoes or a scoop of leftover turkey. Our recipe includes tons of suggestions, so even if you hosted a less traditional Thanksgiving meal, like ham or roast chicken, we've got ideas for helping you turn them into stuffed mushrooms instead. 10 of 15 Tomatillo Turkey Chili with Spelt View Recipe Karla Conrad Turkey soup from Thanksgiving leftovers is a fall favorite of ours, since we always crave a good, hot bowl of soup or chili. Toss your leftover turkey with tomatillo salsa, cannellini beans, and spelt (an ancient grain closely related to wheat). The result is a hearty, slightly spicy turkey chili that will warm you up from the inside out. 11 of 15 Sweet Potato Brownies View Recipe Andy Lyons Want to make leftover mashed sweet potatoes disappear? This idea for Thanksgiving leftovers is just the recipe for it. Mixing your mashed potatoes with sugar, cocoa powder, and flour (plus a few other ingredients) turns them into fudgy, chocolaty brownies. While no one will ever guess those sweet potatoes were involved, these brownies still have the benefits of their vitamins and minerals, making them a little better for you than a slice of leftover Thanksgiving pie. 12 of 15 Mushroom Patties with Sour Cream and Herbs View Recipe Carson Downing Sometimes we get a little stuck on what to do with leftover bread stuffing. Not anymore with this recipe in our repertoire—you can stir that leftover stuffing in with chopped mushrooms and egg to turn it into delicious breaded mushroom patties. Really, you can serve this Thanksgiving leftover recipe any way you want, but we like adding the patties to a bed of fresh lettuce and drizzling with a sour cream sauce. 13 of 15 Chile-Lime Turkey Patties View Recipe Andy Lyons You can never have too many recipes using leftover Thanksgiving turkey on deck. This recipe jazzes up your leftovers by transforming them into a twist on traditional crab cakes. Use breadcrumbs and mayonnaise to help hold the patties together, then add a dash of red chile paste to give them some kick. 14 of 15 Cran-Turkey Enchiladas View Recipe Kim Cornelison Thanksgiving leftovers, meet Mexican meals. Your shredded leftover turkey makes the perfect enchilada filling, and you can even use leftover cranberry sauce to help jumpstart the tangy, creamy enchilada sauce. Once you add black beans, salsa, and a splash of hot pepper sauce, this leftover Thanksgiving turkey recipe is barely recognizable as the extras from your holiday dinner. 15 of 15 Layered Cranberry-Quince Mold View Recipe Andy Lyons When pumpkin pie fatigue finally sets in, use your leftover cranberry sauce to make a lighter dessert. Chopped quince adds a little freshness to this leftover Thanksgiving dessert, while cranberry sauce and gelatin help create stunning layers. Top with sugared cranberries and a mint leaf for a picture-worthy presentation. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit