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Creative Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes


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Even when we don’t host a big group for Thanksgiving, I still go all out and prepare a big turkey with several side dishes.

My philosophy is that if I’m going to spend two days cooking, I want to be able to take a few days off afterwards and enjoy some leftovers. The problem I run into every year is that sometime around dinner of day two, I’m tired of having a repeat of the same meal.

You see, in sheer laziness, I layer all of the leftovers into a casserole dish, bake it, and continue eating from it until it’s gone or I’m so sick of eating the same thing I shove it to the back of the fridge where it is forgotten until we smell something strange every time we open the fridge door.

This year I decided to go in search of some more creative leftover recipes so that I could still make use of the extra food that’s already prepared without getting bored with the flavors.

Thanks to the ingenuity of several different cooks, I found a great variety of recipes that transform traditional Thanksgiving fare into exotic and delicious new dishes. Here are my favorites.

A collage of seven different dishes with title text reading Creative Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes

Creative Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes

Leftover Turkey Tamale Casserole from Host the Toast

White Turkey Lasagna with Mushrooms from Crumb

Turkey Shepherd’s Pie with Garlic-Parmesan Cauliflower Topping from Kalyn’s Kitchen

Turkey Cranberry Monte Cristo Sandwiches from the Noble Pig

Mashed Potato Spring Rolls from Momofukufor2

Stuffing Stuffed Mushrooms from the Daily Meal

Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Waffles from Comfortably Domestic

Cranberry Chutney Yogurt Parfait from Foodtastic Mom

19 thoughts on “Creative Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes”

  1. While those look good I make sure I buy just enough to eat one more time. I hate leftovers and hardly ever eat something two days in a row.

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  2. Hi Corinne –

    We were on our way home from Grandma’s and stopped for lunch and their special was a turkey sandwich. We were like… REALLY?!?!?!

    These are great creative ways to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner over and over again. Hugs, Holly

    Reply
  3. Mashed potato spring rolls sound really interesting. I will have to take some time and look through all of these again. I feel the same way as you do with the leftovers. It is better to be a little creative.

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  4. We don’t usually do anything with our leftovers. We just eat it that way. Well the adults do, the kids don’t eat leftovers.These are some great ideas.

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  5. Mashed potato spring rolls sound interesting! I was just thinking about something similar this morning as I was deciding on how to eat turkey for lunch and dinner.

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  6. I honestly thought I would get to come up with some leftover recipes, but there is not much left over and everyone is already fighting over what is left.

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  7. Very creative! this is definitively very useful,I am sharing around. We don’t know what to do with all the leftovers, and your suggestions are way better that reheating

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  8. Perfect timing for me, we’ve got a LOT of leftovers, as I’m sure many do and I was so wondering what to make out of them that would be original and tasty too. 😉

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  9. These are great ideas. I am thankful I don’t have to deal with leftovers, we have a potluck style Thanksgiving dinner and most of the food disappears.

    Reply

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