Do you love Thanksgiving dinner, but want fresh ideas for Thanksgiving leftover recipes that go beyond pot pie and tetrazzini? We found a rafter of turkey ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinner that make frugal and delicious use of all the food in your fridge.
Breakfast dishes
- Thanksgiving Weekend Strata from Whole Foods Market is a savory bread pudding that repurposes turkey and stuffing as a do-ahead breakfast dish.
- Turkey Chilaquiles from Bon Appétit is a quintessential Mexican breakfast dish to add to your repertoire of Thanksgiving leftover recipes.
- Turkey Hash from epicurious.com is very easy to prepare and adaptable to leftovers you have on hand.
Appetizers
- Annie’s Turkey Salad from allrecipes.com is simple to make and serve as a cracker or sandwich spread.
- Potato Skins can be made if you bake (instead of boil) potatoes for mashing. Plus, it’s easier than peeling and boiling. To bake potatoes for mashing, scrub potatoes, wrap in foil to keep them moist and bake in a moderate oven 40-50 minutes or until very tender when pierced with a sharp knife. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the insides; freeze the shells to use later for skins. Prepare mashed potatoes as you usually do, putting them through a ricer or beating in a mixer with warm milk and butter until smooth. Or, get them ready a day ahead, with this recipe for Baked Mashed Potatoes with Parmesan Cheese and Bread Crumbs
- Turkey Cracklings are a crispy accent for Shredded Kale Salad or crumbled over soup.
- Second Day Fried Stuffing Bites with Cranberry Sauce Pesto by Sunny Anderson at Food Network makes an awesome football Sunday snack.
- Turkey Empanadas from Bon Appétit stuffs turkey dinner dishes inside premade pie crust and bakes them into memorable morsels to serve with leftover cranberry sauce.
Soups
- Black Bean ‘n’ Pumpkin Chili Recipe from Taste of Home Magazine is an easy, adaptable, and family-approved chili variation that makes artful use of Thanksgiving dinner ingredients.
- Chipotle Turkey Pozole from Simply Recipes uses the turkey carcass to make a flavorful broth and a large pot of soup that can feed a holiday crowd.
- Spicy Turkey Soup with Yogurt, Chickpeas, and Mint Recipe from Simply Recipes is a great soup to make when you have grown tired of other Thanksgiving leftover recipes. Plus, it’s super easy to make.
- Turkey Ramen from epicurious.com artfully blends southern and Asian flavors in a delicious soup.
- Turkey Vegetable Soup with Stuffing Dumplings by Wes Martin at Food Network is a classic, hearty soup that makes excellent use of turkey and stuffing leftovers, and frugal use of the bones to make a homemade broth.
Sandwiches
- Grilled Turkey, Brie, and Apple Butter Sandwich with Arugula by Tyler Florence is an updated twist on the ever-popular post holiday turkey sandwich.
- Turkey Focaccia Club Recipe from Taste of Home Magazine updates the classic turkey and cranberry sauce sandwich combo with pecans, bacon, and cheese.
Dinner Entrées
- Turkey Bolognese by Giada De Laurentiis on Food Network turns leftover turkey into a family-pleasing spaghetti sauce.
- Next Day Turkey Primavera Recipe from Taste of Home Magazine is a great way to repurpose leftover turkey in a creamy pasta dish loaded with vegetables.
- Easy Turkey Curry is another great idea when you want a dish with a different flavor profile than Thanksgiving dinner.
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23 delicious uses for Thanksgiving leftovers
More from the Leftovers series:
They aren’t left behind; they’re simply left over.
