Don't know what to do with Thanksgiving leftovers? We have lots of ideas (and recipes)
What's the difference between dishes cooked on Thanksgiving and those made with leftovers?
The former are prepared with care — family recipe cards are consulted, ingredients are measured and taste-testers called in — to ensure beloved dishes turn out just right.
The latter are loosely assembled from whatever's inside the Tupperware tower in the refrigerator, then drizzled with gravy to bring it all together.
One of the tastiest ways to use leftovers is the classic Thanksgiving sandwich. We like ours on toasted white bread, leftover Italian bread or sourdough with cranberry mayo, turkey, stuffing and a little bit of mashed potatoes. Leftover vegetables are optional, but a slice of gravy-soaked white bread (known as "the moist maker," made famous in the "Friends" episode "The One With Ross' Sandwich") is not.
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The morning after Thanksgiving, try a crispy stuffing waffle topped with a poached egg, gravy and chopped scallions (add shredded turkey for a Thanksgiving Benedict); make a frittata filled with shredded turkey, green beans, stuffing and eggs, topped with cheese and gravy; or try savory pancakes made with turkey, veggies and cheese in the batter, topped with mashed potatoes and gravy.
"I live for turning leftovers into an easy, something new," said chef Chris Calabrese, owner of Nettie's House of Spaghetti in Tinton Falls, who likes to make polpettes after Thanksgiving.
"I throw the turkey (carcass and meat) into a pot with enough water to cover and simmer till tender. I’ll add any (vegetable) sides that are leftover, and even the gravy. Cook for around one to two hours. Cut the heat and let it all cool in the broth. Once cool, pick the meat and vegetables out into a bowl, add a little Parmigiano, a bunch of fresh chopped parsley, a few eggs, and breadcrumbs to bind.
"It should be soft but able to form a ball, so ball them up. Dip them in egg and roll in breadcrumbs, and shallow fry in olive oil. Done ... it’s like a turkey stew croquette!"
Dorothy McGraw of Brick makes turkey shepherd's pie with a stuffing crust, a dish inspired by one she spotted at Hinck's Turkey Farm in Manasquan. The pie, which is assembled in a buttered Pyrex dish, starts with stuffing pressed along its sides and bottom. Then she adds Shoepeg corn, candied yams, peas with mushrooms and onions, green bean casserole ("people are 50/50 on this one," she said) mashed turnips, turkey gravy and "lots of mashed potatoes on top." Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.
"I've been preparing this every year for the past 20-plus years," she said.
Robyn Ruscus of Toms River makes a similar dish, a leftovers casserole that's inspired by shepherd's pie "but with a bottom crust of stuffing," she said. Assembled and baked in a loaf pan, "it has basically all the components: meat, veggies, gravy and mashed potatoes. Just add some cheese and spices and bake it and you’re good to go."
She suggests baking at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.
Christine Mann of Cherry Hill uses her leftovers in a turkey cranberry crescent ring, made from ingredients tucked inside flaky dough.
"It's one of my favorite holiday recipes," she said. "It’s a great way to use up those leftovers.”
Looking for more ideas? Here's what to cook, depending on what you have leftover.
Turkey
The possibilities are endless. If your turkey was dry, turn it into chili. Pile shredded turkey onto nachos. Make a pot pie with turkey, vegetables, leftover gravy and pre-made pie crust. Toss shredded turkey meat with taco spices and cheese and roll into enchiladas, or make turkey fried rice.
Meat and cheese
If you overbought for a charcuterie board, chop leftover meats and cheeses, and mix with eggs and vegetables for a delicious quiche. Leftover cheeses also are delicious in macaroni and cheese, and if you made turkey gravy from scratch, save a few tablespoons of fat from the top and use it in place of butter in your roux.
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Stuffing
If your stuffing was on the dry side, toast the cubes over low heat in a pan on the stove or in an air fryer to make croutons. Scatter over a deli-style salad of chopped turkey and leftover bits from an antipasto platter, or turkey soup. Making turkey tetrazzini? Top with a layer of stuffing and bake until crisp.
Mashed potatoes
Mix mashed potatoes with cheese, an egg and spices, then shape into patties and shallow fry into potato patties. A scoop of mashed potatoes also makes a great soup thickener: Make a soup of chicken broth, shredded turkey, gnocchi, vegetables and a big scoop of mashed potatoes, which melt into the liquid and add creamy richness.
Cranberry sauce
For a sweet treat, mix cream cheese (or leftover goat cheese from a charcuterie board) and cranberry sauce and spread on triangles of crescent dough, then roll, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with sugar and bake. Or keep it simple and stir a spoonful of cranberry sauce into Greek yogurt for breakfast.
Little bit of everything?
If you have a refrigerator full of odds and ends, an easy way to use them up is to stuff them into something else that's delicious.
Tuck stuffing, turkey, vegetables, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes into egg roll wrappers or empanada discs, then fry and dip in warm gravy. You could roll the ingredients into crescent roll or canned biscuit dough, too, or make a Thanksgiving stromboli with pre-made pizza dough. Or, take a hint from Wawa and build your own Gobbler bowls.
Tara Trimarche of Millstone Township and her family turns their leftovers into pot pies.
"Years ago, I bought too many pie crusts. I thought I was going to make a lot of pies, and (my) Italian in-laws brought way too many dishes to go with my 10 or so dishes," she said. "We had so many leftovers that I reached into the fridge before packing leftovers away and gave each family a pie crust. I always have Campbell's mushroom soup, so I used that to make it moist and wow. It has been a family staple for years."
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Aunt Ginger's Broccoli Dish
This dish, which would use up leftover broccoli from a vegetable platter, comes from Cristin McCarthy-Krokosz of Wall.
"We have a side dish at Thanksgiving that my siblings and I used to fight over. It’s named after our beloved Aunt Ginger Carey Doherty, and it is a casserole of steamed broccoli layered between slices of Velveeta cheese then topped with a mixture of melted butter and a sleeve of Ritz Crackers. Bake at 400 until the top is golden brown. It may not be the healthiest, but it’s a once-a-year taste of holiday heaven!"
She uses six or seven heads of broccoli, three packs of Velveeta cheese slices, one sleeve of Ritz crackers and ½ cup melted butter
Turkey and cranberry crescent ring
2 packages refrigerated crescent rolls
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons honey Dijon mustard
½ teaspoons coarsely ground pepper
2 cups cooked turkey, chopped
½ cup celery, sliced
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
1 green onion, chopped
½ cup dried cranberries
4 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded
1 egg white
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Unroll crescent dough into 16 triangles. With wide end of triangles toward the center, arrange 8 triangles in a circle on a pizza pan or stone. The corners of the wide ends will touch and the points will extend 1 inch beyond the edge of the pan.
3. Lay they remaining 8 triangles in the opposite direction with the points toward the center and the wide ends between the other 8.
4. Combine mayo, mustard, pepper, turkey, celery, parsley, onion, cranberries and cheese. Mix well until combined. Spread turkey mixture in a ring around center of crescent rolls.
5. Fold over crescent dough, alternating outside and inside points, tucking ends under. Brush with egg white. Bake 25 to 30 minutes.
— Courtesy of Christine Mann of Cherry Hill, inspired by Pampered Chef
Thanksgiving frittata
This recipe comes from Asbury Park Press food writer Gabriela L. Laracca, who uses the word "recipe" loosely because as her Italian Nonna says, "We don't follow recipes." Some Italians even bake frittatas, but we fry it.
6 to 8 large eggs
2 tablespoons whole milk or 1 dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt (leftover French onion or ranch dip would also work for added flavor)
About ¾ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic or yellow onion (or ½ tablespoon of each)
¼ to ½ cup chopped leftover turkey
¼ to ½ cup chopped leftover vegetables (green beans, broccoli, zucchini, potatoes, spinach or a mix works well for this)
½ to 1 cup leftover gravy (there can never be too much gravy)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and spices to taste (I recommend Adobo, thyme, black pepper, garlic powder and a dash of oregano)
¼ cup finely chopped cheese from charcuterie board (Brie or cheddar are great)
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In a small to medium pan, heat olive oil on low heat (coat the whole pan about a centimeter deep in olive oil).
In a small mixing bowl, whisk eggs with choice of dairy, freshly minced onions and/or garlic and spices (if you have fresh herbs, even better).
Add turkey and vegetables to mixture, stir well and add evenly to pre-heated pan. Sprinkle cheese on top.
Raise heat to medium and wait until egg starts to cook underneath and edges turn lighter in color (about 1 to 2 minutes). (You can use your spatula to twist the frittata to make sure it's not sticking, as well as push some of the uncooked egg to the edges so it cooks evenly.)
Once nearly cooked through, put a round plate or flat lid fully over the pan and flip. Add flipped frittata back to pan to cook underside for 30 seconds to a minute (don't overcook, or risk losing the cloud-like fluffiness). Drizzle with fresh lemon juice and serve warm with gravy.
Savory French toast casserole with Thanksgiving leftovers
4 cups French bread slices, sliced about a ½ inch and then cut in half
½ cup cranberry sauce
½ cup diced turkey
½ cup Gouda, shredded
½ cup extra-sharp white cheddar, shredded
salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a square 8-inch baking glass with cooking spray.
Mix together the bread, cranberry sauce, diced turkey, cheese, and salt and pepper. Pour into the prepared baking glass.
Whisk the eggs and milk together and pour over the bread mixture. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Bake for 40 minutes. If you'd like more melty cheese on top, take out of the oven after 30 minutes, add more cheese, and bake for 10 more minutes.
— Courtesy of Megan Wells, megiswell.com
Gabriela L. Laracca joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2021 and eagerly brings her passion for cuisine and culture to our readers. Send restaurant tips to glaracca@gannett.com.
Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to sgriesemer@gannettnj.com, follow on Instagram at Jersey Shore Eats and subscribe to our Jersey Shore Eats newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Thanksgiving leftovers: Here's what to make after the feast
