recipes

53 Ideas for Your Thanksgiving Leftovers

Your stuffing wants a glow-up.
Three broccolistuffed calzones halved and set on a platter with a bowl of marinara for dipping.
Photo by Chelsie Craig

To be honest, many of us look forward to Thanksgiving leftovers more than the holiday itself. The cozy weekend after Turkey Day is a chance to snack on all your favorites, and if you do it right, your Black Friday bites may outshine the original spread. So while you can certainly just heat up a rerun plate of roast turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole (and all your other Thanksgiving sides), we’re on Team Transformation. Try a few of these recipes for Thanksgiving leftovers and you’ll see why. This list isn’t just leftover turkey sandwiches—though we have a lot of ideas for those. Below you’ll find crispy potato croquettes, cranberry cocktails, great ways to use up leftover stuffing, and dinners that satisfy the urgent need for crunchy, fresh vegetables.

  • Winter Panzanella with Stuffing Croutons recipe
    Elizabeth Cecil
    1/53

    Winter Panzanella With Stuffing Croutons

    The best recipes for Thanksgiving leftovers consider how to get all the textures working again. Since stuffing gets soggy overnight in the fridge, you’ll bake torn pieces of the classic casserole to get crispy, savory croutons that can enhance any and all salads.

    View Recipe
  • Christopher Testani
    2/53

    Mashed Potato Croquettes

    We thought mashed potatoes’ stock plummeted on day two—until we had these crispy, creamy croquettes. They’re proof that potatoes might be better the second time around.

    View Recipe
  • Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott
    7/53

    Gravy Mayo

    Cranberry sauce is great and all, but gravy mayonnaise is the ultimate leftovers sandwich condiment.

    View Recipe
  • Christopher Testani
    8/53

    Stuffing Hash

    Of all the many casseroles on your Thanksgiving table, stuffing is most ready to jump into breakfast—and improve your whole day.

    View Recipe
  • Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Pearl Jones
    9/53

    Okonomiyaki-Style Brussels Sprouts

    You’ll skip the savory pancake batter here and simply dress leftover roasted brussels sprouts from your Thanksgiving feast with a sweet-acidic-salty-gingery sauce, a rich drizzle of mayo, and fluttery bonito flakes.

    View Recipe
  • Christopher Testani
    10/53

    Cabbage and Turkey Salad

    Did your best Thanksgiving meal ever leave you craving only crunchy vegetables and fragrant herbs? This recipe for leftover turkey revives the shredded meat with a spicy peanut dressing, fresh mint, and cilantro.

    View Recipe
  • Photo by Chelsie Craig, styling by Judy Mancini
    13/53

    Eggs Benedict for a Crowd

    If the whole family is staying for the weekend, a festive brunch is in order. Top slices of your holiday ham with luscious hollandaise and make-ahead poached eggs.

    View Recipe
  • Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott
    14/53

    Thanksgiving Stock

    Make a huuuge batch of turkey stock after the turkey is carved. It freezes well and will enhance every soup recipe it touches.

    View Recipe
  • Elizabeth Cecil
    15/53

    Mashed Potato Skordalia

    Turn your leftover mash into this riff on Greek skordalia to serve as a dip when folks get snacky, or thin out with lemon juice and olive oil to use as a sauce for fish.

    View Recipe
  • Photo by Chelsie Craig
    16/53

    Calzones

    This easy calzone recipe can be used as a template—sub out the roasted broccoli for any roasted veggies that you have left over from Thanksgiving, then add in bits of meat or cheese from the charcuterie board and nubbins of turkey if you want.

    View Recipe
  • Photograph by Isa Zapata.  Food Styling by Cyd McDowell.  Prop Styling by Paige Hicks.
    17/53

    Turkey Etcetrazzini

    This creamy, mushroom pasta dish will go further than your standard turkey tetrazzini, helping your leftover green beans and brussels sprouts shine alongside the shredded leftover meat.

    View Recipe
  • 18/53

    Cranberry Cobbler

    Wound up with half a bag of cranberries without any home? Shake up this drink to ease the post-holiday cleanup. You could also sub in cooked cranberry sauce for a quicker cocktail.

    View Recipe
  • Lennart Weibull
    21/53

    Turkey Ramen

    Remember that turkey stock you (hopefully) made? Now all you need to do is add some leftover turkey, a jammy egg, some vegetables, noodles, and a little kimchi for kick.

    View Recipe
  • Photo by Laura Murray, food styling by Judy Mancini
    22/53

    Butternut Squash and Leek Bread Pudding

    Overestimated how much bread you’d need for Thanksgiving? That’s actually good news, because you can toss it with cooked squash, grated cheese, and an eggy custard to make this savory bread pudding. (Okay, yes, this is stuffing by a different name—but this one has cheese!)

    View Recipe
  • Photo by Emma Fishman, food styling by D'mytrek Brown
    29/53

    Turkey Pozole Verde

    A soup deserving of that precious turkey stock. Spiced with serrano chiles and brightened with tomatillos, this is the dinner equivalent of cozy slippers and a fuzzy throw blanket.

    View Recipe
  • Elizabeth Cecil
    30/53

    Turkey Shawarma With Crunchy Vegetables

    You could fill a pita pocket with anything you want, but we’re partial to this take on shawarma.

    View Recipe
  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne, Prop Styling by Gerri K. Williams
    31/53

    Thanksgiving Leftovers Turkey Club

    Dig around your fridge for any unused salad greens and add them to this triple-decker post-Thanksgiving sandwich.

    View Recipe
  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Emilie Fosnocht, prop styling by Emma Ringness
    32/53

    Creamy Pumpkin Pasta

    If you’re not going to make another pumpkin pie this year, you should definitely use that lingering can of pumpkin purée for pasta night.

    View Recipe
  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Emilie Fosnocht, prop styling by Emma Ringness
    39/53

    Cranberry-Orange Chutney

    Spice up leftover cranberry sauce with cloves, cinnamon, and fresh orange juice, then serve with a wedge of Brie or Camembert cheese and olives.

    View Recipe
  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Jennifer Ophir
    40/53

    Croque Monsieur

    Like a hot ham and cheese sandwich, but slathered with cream sauce and baked until delightfully gooey. This one deserves the fancy mustard for dipping.

    View Recipe
  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food styling by Micah Morton
    43/53

    Turkey Enchiladas

    Skip the part where this recipe has you cooking chicken and sub in your turkey leftovers in these mole enchiladas.

    View Recipe
  • Gentl & Hyers
    44/53

    Stuffing Fried Rice

    Sometimes your heart wants you to double up on carbs. Listen to it. You can prep some extra vegetables on Thanksgiving if you think of it and make this even easier.

    View Recipe
  • Chelsie Craig
    45/53

    Sausage, Squash, and Cornbread Gratin

    You don’t have to quit the casseroles just because Thanksgiving’s over. Extra cornbread becomes the delightfully crunchy topping on this gratin. Got already cooked squash? Use it here too.

    View Recipe
  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Emilie Fosnocht, prop styling by Emma Ringness
    46/53

    Stuffing-Crusted Fish

    Hoping to empty the pantry a bit? Take that extra box of stuffing mix and use it as a crunchy, buttery crust for fillets of halibut or sea bass.

    View Recipe
  • Peden & Munk
    47/53

    Butternut Squash Bruschetta

    Farmer’s cheese or ricotta makes a creamy bed for leftover squash dressed with agrodolce and pomegranate seeds.

    View Recipe
  • Photo by Heidi's Bridge, Styled by Monica Pierini
    48/53

    BA's Best Bread Pudding

    Don’t dump that bread basket—transform whatever rolls are left into this cinnamon-scented bread pudding.

    View Recipe
  • Christopher Testani
    49/53

    Turkey Posole

    This warming, slightly spicy soup only gets better as it sits in the fridge, so it’s worthwhile to make a big pot.

    View Recipe
  • Alex Lau
    50/53

    Real Pumpkin Spice Latte

    Here’s the way to use real squash in that seasonal latte. Very strong coffee here is fine if you don’t have an espresso machine. (Though today might be the day to get a deal on an espresso machine.)

    View Recipe
  • Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Cyd McDowell, Prop Styling by Paige Hicks
    53/53

    Ultra Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes

    These pancakes call for pumpkin purée, but you could rejigger them to use mashed squash or sweet potato if you still have Thanksgiving leftovers. Just watch the add-ins if your extras were sweetened and spiced.

    View Recipe
Joe joined the Bon Appétit team in 2022 after climbing the editorial ranks for a few years at Condé Nast’s other food publication, Epicurious. As the senior SEO editor, he works to make sure Google loves all of BA’s cooking stories just as much as you do. Look for his... Read more
Senior SEO Editor, Cooking
Explore Bon AppétitThanksgivingBlack Friday