22 Leftover Turkey Recipes Worth Saving After Thanksgiving
Leftover turkey recipes to make after Thanksgiving, from turkey pot pie and noodle soup to quesadillas, enchiladas, pasta, curry, and more.
Thanksgiving dinner has a way of sticking around long after the plates have been cleared. There’s the container of cranberry sauce in the fridge, a little stuffing that somehow survived, mashed potatoes waiting for their second appearance, and, of course, the turkey.
And while a turkey sandwich is a perfectly respectable place to start, it doesn’t have to be the whole story.
Leftover turkey is surprisingly easy to take in a completely different direction. Fold it into bubbling enchiladas, tuck it beneath a pastry crust, crisp it up with potatoes, turn it into curry, or let it disappear into a bowl of soup. The best part is seeing how different the same turkey can taste the next day.
These are the leftover turkey recipes I’d keep handy for the days after Thanksgiving, when the holiday meal is finished but the refrigerator still has plenty to say.
Leftover Turkey Recipes
1. Leftover Turkey Sandwich
The turkey sandwich becomes a completely different animal once cranberry sauce and stuffing get involved. Add sharp cheese and toasted bread, and the combination starts to make more sense than the original Thanksgiving plate ever did.
2. Leftover Turkey Pot Pie
Leftover turkey was practically destined for pot pie. The meat gets tucked into a creamy filling with vegetables, then buried under pastry until the edges turn crisp and golden.
3. Turkey Noodle Soup
The turkey has had its grand Thanksgiving appearance; now it gets to become soup. Shred it into a savory broth with noodles, carrots, celery, and herbs, and suddenly the refrigerator looks much more promising.
4. Leftover Turkey Cranberry Sliders
Cranberry sauce gets much more interesting when it meets melted cheese. Tuck both into soft rolls with shredded turkey, brush the tops with butter, and bake until the sandwiches are hot and the edges are toasted.
5. Turkey Quesadillas
This is where the leftover turkey leaves Thanksgiving behind. Crispy tortillas, bubbling cheese, shredded turkey, and salsa turn yesterday’s roast into something with a completely different rhythm.
6. Turkey Tetrazzini
Turkey tetrazzini has the particular charm of an old-fashioned baked pasta dish. Turkey, mushrooms, noodles, and a creamy sauce go into one dish, with a browned cheesy top waiting at the end.
7. Leftover Turkey Curry
A curry is probably the fastest way to make yesterday’s turkey unrecognizable, in a good way. Coconut milk, ginger, garlic, and warm spices completely change the flavor of the meat.
8. Turkey and Stuffing Casserole
The stuffing deserves a second act, too. Layer it with turkey, vegetables, gravy, and cheese, then bake until the top develops those crisp browned pieces that everyone seems to pick at first.
9. Turkey Cranberry Wraps
Turkey and cranberry sauce already know each other, the wrap just gives them somewhere new to go. Add greens, cheese, and a creamy dressing, then roll everything up for a sharp, sweet, savory lunch.
10. Leftover Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
Mashed potatoes were never going to stay in the refrigerator for long. Spread them over turkey and vegetables, then bake until the peaks turn golden and crisp while everything underneath stays soft.
11. Turkey Fried Rice
Cold rice and leftover turkey are a much better match than they sound. A hot skillet, scrambled egg, vegetables, soy sauce, and shredded turkey turn the whole thing into a dinner that bears almost no resemblance to Thanksgiving.
12. Turkey Enchiladas
Turkey wrapped in tortillas and covered in chile sauce is a pretty good argument against another turkey dinner. Add plenty of cheese, bake until bubbling, and let the sauce do most of the work.
13. Turkey and Dumplings
This is the cozy bowl that leftover turkey was waiting for. The broth gets rich with shredded turkey and vegetables while the dumplings cook right on top, turning soft and tender as they absorb the soup.
14. Leftover Turkey Pasta
Turkey pasta doesn’t need much convincing. Toss the meat with rigatoni or another sturdy pasta, garlic, Parmesan, herbs, and a creamy sauce, and the browned edges of the turkey become especially good against all that sauce.
15. Turkey Breakfast Hash
Here’s a good reason not to finish all the turkey at dinner. Crisp potatoes and shredded turkey in a hot skillet, topped with a fried egg, make a breakfast that is considerably more interesting than cold leftovers.
16. Turkey Stuffing Waffles
Stuffing in a waffle iron sounds slightly ridiculous until you see the crispy edges. Pile turkey on top, add gravy or cranberry sauce, and you’ve turned two Thanksgiving leftovers into something worth deliberately making.
17. Leftover Turkey Chili
By the time turkey lands in a pot of chili, Thanksgiving is officially out of the picture. Tomatoes, beans, peppers, and chile spices give the meat a completely new job, and the leftovers suddenly become tomorrow’s lunch, too.
18. Turkey Taquitos
Crispy tortillas have a way of improving almost anything. Shredded turkey and melted cheese tucked inside a golden taquito, with salsa on the side, is a much more interesting lunch than reheating the Thanksgiving plate.
19. Leftover Turkey Stuffed Peppers
This is a good place for turkey when you want something more substantial than another sandwich. Mix shredded turkey with rice, vegetables, herbs, and cheese, stuff it into sweet bell peppers, and bake until the peppers are tender and the tops are bubbling.
20. Turkey Ramen
This is the point where the Thanksgiving turkey takes a very different passport stamp. A bowl of ramen with shredded turkey, mushrooms, scallions, noodles, and a soft egg makes the meat feel almost unrecognizable from the roast that started it all.
21. Turkey Empanadas
Put turkey inside pastry, and suddenly nobody cares that it came from yesterday’s dinner. The filling can take on onions, peppers, herbs, cheese, or a little heat, while the pastry gives you that crisp, flaky contrast.
22. Turkey Croquettes
Mashed potatoes and turkey have one more trick left. Mix them together, shape them into croquettes, coat them in breadcrumbs, and fry until the outside is crisp enough to crack into the soft center.
