Garden-Inspired Recipes & Cooking

5 Thanksgiving Leftover Recipe Ideas | Recipe & Instructions

Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving dinners are highly anticipated feasts. At-home chefs bring their best and most refined recipes to Thanksgiving — requiring hours of work and preparation and enough food to feed a small army. But once the feast is over, what do you do with all the leftovers?

These Thanksgiving leftover recipe ideas are our favorite ways to enjoy the leftovers and are equally as delicious as the real feast.

Thanksgiving Shepherd’s Pie

This hands-off Shepherd’s pie is one of our favorite recipes for using up all the leftovers in the refrigerator. Turkey takes the place of the traditional lamb and gravy swaps in for the customary roux. Top it with layers of stuffing and mashed potatoes, serve with a side of cranberry sauce, and you’ve got an entirely new creation to enjoy. 

Make this Thanksgiving Shepherd’s Pie Recipe!

Mashed Potato Pizza

We always have pounds and pounds of mashed potatoes leftover after Thanksgiving dinner. Personally, I don’t usually feel like eating just mashed potatoes on the side.

Pizza, however, I always feel like.

Hence, this mashed potato pizza recipe.

It’s super simple and a big hit among the kids. Top it with your fresh basil harvests and suddenly, it’s a gourmet leftover meal!

Savory Stuffing Waffles, topped with Cranberry

These savory bites are a really great way to use up leftover stuffing (a once-a-year recipe for us). They’re really delicious for open-faced turkey sandwiches or sides to soup. My favorite is to make them small-size and use them as little appetizers!

Take a look at the recipe!

Pull out your waffle iron and heat up. Spray with olive oil. Then, put a scoop of leftover stuffing in your waffle maker. Let finish cooking and top with a scoop of mashed potatoes and a dollop of cranberry relish.

Turkey Waldorf Salad

The classic Waldorf salad gets its name from the majestic Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, where it was first served in 1896. It’s the perfect way to use thanksgiving leftovers and still eat healthy, post-feast.

Get the recipe to this healthy leftover recipe.

Combine turkey leftovers, celery, apple, grapes, and pecans with yogurt and honey. Add a little salt and pepper, and enjoy!

Turkey and Stuffing Tacos

Bring all of your favorite Thanksgiving flavors together in one bite. Coming from the south, tacos are a staple in our household, and a tortilla is a vehicle for all types of goodness. This leftovers recipe uses all of our leftovers and tastes like an intentional meal!

Check out this Southern-Inspired Leftovers Recipe.

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

The day after Thanksgiving, I’m always determined to suddenly eat a whole lot healthier. Thus, a leftovers recipe that’s actually healthy always comes in handy. This stuffed sweet potato option is absolutely delicious and is legitimately good for you!

Here is the delicious recipe!

Make sure to check out the recipes for these Thanksgiving leftover recipe ideas.

Gardenuity

Recent Posts

Introducing Bloomitures™: Living Halloween Décor That Blooms

Some Halloween decorations simply fill a space. Others bring it to life. Meet Bloomitures™—Gardenuity’s limited-edition… Read More

2 days ago

Three Designer-Inspired Ways to Decorate with the Bloomitures™ Halloween Collection

Halloween decorating does not have to mean filling every surface with cobwebs and plastic pumpkins.… Read More

2 days ago

Before the Bloom: How Amaryllis Bulbs Are Grown With Years of Care

Long before an amaryllis blooms in your home, years of growing, tending and human care… Read More

2 weeks ago

Does Amaryllis Bulb Size Matter?

Size Isn't a Quality Grade If you've ever compared two amaryllis bulbs, you may have… Read More

2 weeks ago

How to Care for a Wax-Dipped Amaryllis

No soil. No watering. Just a little light, a little patience and one extraordinary bloom.… Read More

2 weeks ago

What to Do With Your Container Garden in Late Summer

By August, container gardens often begin to look a little different than they did at… Read More

3 weeks ago