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Creative Ways to Use Thanksgiving Dinner Leftovers

Creative Ways to Use Thanksgiving Dinner Leftovers

The holidays are meant to be spent surrounded by family, friends, laughter, gifts, traditions and lots of food. Whether you are gathering this year or not,  food is always a big part of the holidays. From turkey, to ham, to a vegetarian main dish to pot roast – food is everywhere during this time of the year. Now, what to do with all the Thanksgiving dinner leftovers? Today , we’ll be talking about creative ways to use your Thanksgiving leftovers.

 

Thanksgiving leftovers for breakfast

During Thanksgiving dinner, you  probably had some stuffing leftovers. We do not usually have any stuffing left over, but when we do, we all get extremely excited.

Stuffing for breakfast

Our family loves this Prosciutto Cornbread Stuffing recipe and it has never lasted enough for the next day. But, if you happen to have some stuffing in the refrigerator, grab it and turn it into a delicious breakfast. Make some eggs, your choice, and place over warm stuffing and enjoy with a warm cup of coffee. This is one of the most comforting breakfasts you will enjoy this year.  It is warm and creamy with some texture from the stuffing.  A  kid’s favorite too.

Vegetables for breakfast

Vegetables are one of those typical Thanksgiving dinner items that many have leftovers of.   Who knew, jajaja. Leftover vegetables make a great hash for breakfast. An over easy egg gives that extra juice the vegetables will need to turn them from boring to amazing in no time. Scramble eggs will do too, for those that prefer their eggs scrambled like my kids. Our vegetables mostly consist of sweet potatoes, regular baby potatoes, carrots, and peppers.

Thanksgiving leftovers as an appetizer, lunch or dinner

Turkey for lunch or dinner

One of the things we love to make with leftover turkey after Thanksgiving is shred it as best as possible, grab a handful of chips, toss on some of the shredded turkey, sprinkle cheese and heat it up until the cheese has melted. Add in a dollop of sour cream and enjoy!

Just as you would do with the recipe idea shared earlier with the chips, but instead, replaced with fries. Kids love fries, shredded turkey and melted cheese. This recipe ideas makes a wonderful lunch or dinner and can feed a crown.

Turkey for appetizers

For a more adult friendly appetizer, grab the same recipe and share with drinks during date night or with a few friends or family members.

Some of you will have family over during the Holidays and if there is something, we know about the holidays is that everyone is always hungry. Keep a few easy ideas of meals to make with leftovers and you’ll be fine. 

 

Thanksgiving leftovers for dessert

Cranberry sauce is another of those delicious ingredients you will find on any Thanksgiving dinner table.

Cranberry sauce over ice cream

Cranberry sauce is sweet and delicious making it a great topping for dessert the next day. Pour over a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream, toss in some toppings of your choice – like nuts or mini chocolate chips and enjoy. Another winner for the kids.

Cranberry sauce for creamy shakes

Want to take your dessert up a notch? Mix cranberry sauce with vanilla ice cream before turning on your blender and make a delicious and creamy shake. Keep a close eye on it and see it magically turn color. For those that love a beautiful pink color, you will love this creamy shake.

Give those Thanksgiving dinner leftovers a new life with some of these fun ideas and see your family smile again. They will love every one of them. Plus, these leftovers take very little time and effort to put together. From breakfast, to lunch, dinner and dessert you are completely covered. No need to fret when you see all that leftover from Thanksgiving dinner this year. In fact, you will love having some leftovers. I know – we do. Nothing beats not having to come up with new meals for a few more days.

We always recommend using air-tight containers to store your Thanksgiving leftovers and any leftovers you end up having throughout the year. This will keep everything fresh for longer.

For those still looking for easy Thanksgiving side dishes; we have you covered! Enjoy the holidays, enjoy time with family, and make lots of new memories.

About The Author

Wanda Lopez

Wanda Lopez a blogger at heart and shares her insight on all things food, recipes, home décor, travel and more at mysweetzepol.com. She’s a passionate content editor and contributor for household brands such as Kraft, Publix, Ford, Best Buy and more--all while balancing work, motherhood and all things in between. An educator and avid photographer, she is in love with design, food and the outdoors.

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