48 Delicious Ways To Use Up Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey
Give those leftovers a seriously delicious glow-up.
Post-Thanksgiving, we bet you've got a fridge full of leftover turkey and a bit of panic about how soon the end of the year is approaching. Don't let those leftovers go to waste as you brace yourself for the impending winter holidays. Long gone are the days of eating just turkey sandwiches (though we do have a pretty perfect Thanksgiving sandwich recipe, TBH). No, now you can try our recipes for turkey enchiladas, turkey carcass soup, turkey salad, and even a Thanksgiving Crunchwrap. We won't be surprised if you wish you had even more roasted turkey so you could make every single one of these 48 leftover Thanksgiving turkey recipes.
First things first, did you know you could mimic the texture of cooked ground turkey by using a food processor to get your roasted turkey shredded super finely? We love using those smaller, tender bits of turkey for our spicy turkey chili, our taco stuffed sweet potatoes, and our spaghetti with turkey ragú. Have more large pieces or cubes? They're perfect for our turkey tetrazzini, our turkey pot pie, and our turkey casserole. Looking for something a little lighter? Our copycat CPK Italian chopped salad or our leftover Thanksgiving salad are for you.
If you're like us (and get really into feasting at Thanksgiving), we've got plenty of versatile recipes to use up all the rest of your leftovers too, from mashed potatoes to cranberry sauce. Check out our Thanksgiving leftover tacos, our Thanksgiving leftover casserole, our Thanksgiving crunchwrap, or our Thanksgiving crescent ring for inspiration, but really—the sky's the limit!
Looking for more post-holiday ideas? Check out our ideas for leftover ham and leftover potatoes, plus our favorite healthy fall recipes and slow cooker soups too.
Thanksgiving Leftovers Casserole
This cozy casserole just might be our new go-to way to enjoy the holiday leftovers. It's warm and cozy, requires minimal effort, and you get to enjoy all your Thanksgiving favorites all in one bite—what more could you want?
Thanksgiving Potato Skins
Preparing these potato skins is simple, and since you've already done the bulk of the Thanksgiving cooking—or received a generous takeout container of leftovers—all you need for this recipe is a few additional pantry staples: potatoes and cheddar cheese.
Get the Thanksgiving Potato Skins recipe.
Friendsgiving Nachos
Friendsgiving nachos are the ultimate way to enjoy Thanksgiving leftovers (with minimal effort). It’s all the elements of Thanksgiving—turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce—PLUS cheese served on top of a bed of crunchy nacho chips.
Get the Friendsgiving Nachos recipe.
Cranberry Brie Turkey Melts
Since Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday that screams cheese, we’ve made it our mission to focus on incorporating it into our leftovers, like in this sandwich that features rustic slices of artisan bread, tangy cranberry sauce, creamy buttery brie, and a mound of garlicky leftover turkey. 😍
Get the Cranberry Brie Turkey Melts recipe.
Thanksgiving Leftover Tacos
People love a Thanksgiving sandwich, but there’s something about using a tortilla (see our Thanksgiving Crunchwrap) that takes Turkey Day leftovers to a whole new level. Especially when you top that with turkey that has been made brand-new in a pseudo-mole sauce spiked with gravy, chipotle chiles, and dark chocolate.
Get the Thanksgiving Leftover Tacos recipe.
Thanksgiving Egg Rolls
Leftovers have never been so exciting now that you can stuff all those potatoes, turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce in a crispy, crunchy egg roll wrapper. Serve these with gravy for one of the most ingenious uses for leftovers EVER.
Get the Thanksgiving Egg Rolls recipe.
Turkey Salad
Take what’s left of that massive deep-fried or oven-roasted turkey and make turkey salad. Just like its chicken counterpart, it's great piled on a sandwich, eaten with crackers... sky's the limit!
Get the Turkey Salad recipe.
Turkey Carcass Soup
The best cure for overeating on Thanksgiving day? This simple and delish soup. The most important element is a turkey carcass, but don't worry if it isn't picked clean—just slice off as much turkey as you can, and let the rest simmer with the soup.
Get the Turkey Carcass Soup recipe.
Thanksgiving Ring
Thanksgiving leftovers aren't regular leftovers, they're *cool* leftovers. Stuffed inside a crescent roll (well, basically a giant crescent roll) they're EVERYTHING.
Get the Thanksgiving Ring recipe.
Perfect Thanksgiving Sandwich
Rule #1 for the day after Thanksgiving: NO COOKING. Seriously, with all of that leftover pickle-brined turkey and creamy mashed potatoes, it would be a crime not to make this sandwich.
Get the Perfect Thanksgiving Sandwich recipe.
CPK Italian Chopped Salad
An exuberant jumble of lettuce, chickpeas, turkey, salami, tomatoes, and cheese, all tossed in a Italian mustard-herb vinaigrette, this copycat CPK salad might actually tempt us to put down the pizza in favor of the greens.
Get the CPK Italian Chopped Salad recipe.
Thanksgiving Crunchwrap
Tired of the same ol' leftover Thanksgiving sandwich? This crunchwrap is the perfect way to shake things up. Don't have all the leftover ingredients? No worries! Just use what you've got. Everything short of pumpkin pie will work just fine. 😎
Get the Thanksgiving Crunchwrap recipe.
Turkey Casserole
After Thanksgiving is all said and done, we usually end up with more turkey leftover than any Thanksgiving sandwich can handle. Turkey casserole is a great way to use up some leftover turkey as well as any lingering veggies. The buttery crumb top really makes it.
Get the Turkey Casserole recipe.
Thanksgiving Leftover Salad
We'll always love a leftover sandwich, but sometimes after the big day, we could use something a little lighter. Enter: this perfect salad. Leftover stuffing gets turned into irresistible croutons, and a vinaigrette is made from any remaining cranberry sauce. Feel free to add any leftover veggies from Thanksgiving too.
Get the Thanksgiving Leftover Salad recipe.
Monte Cristo Sandwich
A Monte Cristo sandwich is filled with Swiss cheese, ham, turkey, and Dijon mustard. It's then dipped in a French toast batter, shallow-fried, and served dusted with confectioners' sugar and a side of jam. Basically, it has all of the classic American diner flavors: sweet, salty, cheesy, and indulgent.
Southern Collard Greens
Chef Millie Peartree's recipe for Southern collard greens uses smoked turkey neck instead of ham hock to great effect. Hot tip: if you want your greens more brothy, just add more water and make sure you adjust for seasoning.
Get the Southern Collard Greens recipe.
Turkey Tetrazzini
This easy casserole is more than just a way to use up leftover Thanksgiving turkey—this is an extra-savory, creamy pasta dish that's crave-able all year long. In it, baked spaghetti is studded with turkey, mushrooms, and cheese for an easy weeknight meal everyone is sure to love.
Get the Turkey Tetrazzini recipe.
Turkey Chili
There is absolutely no reason why a turkey chili needs to be second to a more classic beef chili. This easy chili is full of warm spices and double the amount of beans for a thick, meaty chili that’s every bit as filling, especially with the easy swap of leftover turkey in lieu of ground turkey.
Get the Turkey Chili recipe.
Classic Chef Salad
A chef salad typically comes with three kinds of meat, two cheeses, hard-boiled eggs, and lots of veggies, but really these toppings are just a jumping-off point. Add in avocado, bell peppers, or any other veggies you want to use up!
Get the Classic Chef Salad recipe.
Turkey à la King
Turkey à la King tastes just like chicken pot pie filling without the pie crust, making it super-simple to put together. Serve it over split biscuits, rice, cornbread, puff pastry, or even crêpes.
Get the Turkey à la King recipe.
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