5 Totally Creative Ways to Use Thanksgiving Leftovers

Nov 16, 2017

Is there anything better than Thanksgiving leftovers? Before we even pop that turkey in the oven, we are plotting all the deliciousness we can concoct with the leftovers. Turkey sandwiches, open-faced turkey sandwiches, and more turkey sandwiches… hey! Wait a minute! We love turkey but it is easy to tire of those sandwiches after a few days. And what about those other leftovers?

If you are tired of eating mashed potatoes and stuffing for days (and weeks!) after Thanksgiving, here are some new ways to dress up those Thanksgiving staples and breathe new delicious life into leftovers you will want gobble right up.

1 Mashed potato pizza

We love mashed potatoes, but when faced with piles and piles of them, they lose their luster. Try smearing some on a pre-baked slab of pizza dough and top with cheese. Bacon does great on this too for a potato pizza you will love.

2 Potato pancakes

Mashed potatoes can also become potato pancakes. Simply heat up oil in your skillet and spoon in the mashed potatoes. Serve them with applesauce or leftover pie filling, or sour cream too. Yum!

Read also – 10 Paleo-Friendly Thanksgiving Recipes

3 Add a cranberry swirl

When it comes to cranberry sauce, it makes a lovely addition to your oatmeal for breakfast. Got Greek yogurt? Mix it in with that too. Or if you are feeling that carbs vibe, spread cream cheese on your bagel or toast and add a spoonful of cranberry sauce.

4 Make everything more savory with that gravy

What do you do with gravy when you are tired of having it on open-faced turkey sandwiches or leftover mashed potatoes? You can stir it into soups for a more savory flavor. Or make risotto taste even better.

Add it to mac and cheese, which works great if you actually made mac and cheese for the big feast and have it leftover. It will totally liven it up. Oh, and if you have fries, try dipping them into the gravy. Now that’s heaven!

5 And finally, the turkey

Can’t think of anything good to do with that turkey beyond sandwiches? You can turn it into something completely new by chopping it up with carrots and scallions, then wrapping it into wonton wrappers (you can find them pre-made in the refrigerated section at your supermarket).

Fry them up and serve for an Asian twist. Another great thing you can do is make turkey soup, or even use the remnants of the turkey to create a bone broth. Just dump all the odds and ends into the crockpot and let it do all the work for you. You can freeze it for later, use for making soups, stews, or add more depth to any dish.

Read also – 8 Vital Reasons Not to Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving

Do not forget that if you really just want to go out to eat or just feel like ordering a pizza, wrapping up those leftovers and freezing them will come in handy when you want an easy meal in a few more weeks. What will you do with your leftovers?