After Thanksgiving, go-to leftovers are cold turkey sandwiches and turkey casserole. You don’t have to settle for those when you can shred, dice, and chop turkey into these tasty recipes. Here are seven turkey options that are a step up from ordinary.
1. Sliders
Who needs a turkey sandwich when you can have a turkey burger? Swap the ground turkey in this Turkey Taco Slider recipe with finely shredded leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Top your slider with salsa, guacamole, Greek yogurt, or sour cream for a fun mash-up.
2. Stuffed Peppers
Filled with cinnamon, cumin, red pepper flakes, and almonds, these Turkey Picadillo Stuffed Peppers stand out as a surprising fall-favorite dinner on busy weeknights.
3. Breakfast Hash
This recipe uses up the leftover turkey and cranberry sauce. Perfect for a hearty breakfast or dinner, One-Pan Turkey Hash comes together is about 30 minutes and for $1.60 a serving.
4. Tacos
Add chili powder, cumin, chipotle, tomato sauce, and black beans to shredded Thanksgiving turkey, and taco night just got tastier. The lean protein from the turkey plus whole wheat tortillas and mashed avocado give Chipotle Turkey Tacos added health boosts.
5. Pot Pies
Dice cooked turkey and add it to this Mini Pot Pie recipe. You can make six in the Mini Pie Pan Set. They make a perfectly sized meal portions that can be frozen and saved for easy weekday lunches.

6. Taco Ring
Swap the ground turkey for leftover shredded turkey in this Turkey Taco Ring. It’s a fun and easy way to change up the usual taco night.
5. Turkey Cranberry Wreath
This beautiful wreath recipe gives new life to lots of common Thanksgiving leftovers from dried cranberries to walnuts to turkey. Your Turkey Cranberry Wreath could become a Thanksgiving tradition all on its own.
What creative recipes do you use for your Thanksgiving leftovers? Tell us in the comments below.
We make Turkey and roasted Pork sandwiches, with Cuban bread,veggie salad,tomatoes,mayonnaise. We press the Cuban bread.With potato salad….Deliciousness…
I’m sorry, but do it all over again.
We just made Thanksgiving Leftover Pizza! Very yummy!
Do you have a recipe for this?
One of my son’s and his wife make Thanksgiving egg rolls. Use all/ any of the leftovers including cranberry sauce onto an egg roll wrapper, roll and seal, then deep fry in oil. Dip in leftover gravy. Yummy
Just thought after I hit submit that you could likely cook these in an air fryer to eliminate some of the fat.
Terri ~. Those sound delicious!
i absolutely love my air fryer!!!
My husband makes me turkey wild rice soup that freezes very well. Yum, my favorite.
Turkey tortilla soup is really good to make
We make stuffed shells.
And I’m one of those “cook like grandma did” type of people.
Leftover stuffing, turkey. Pulse into a fine crumb in food processor. Mixed in warmed cream cheese and mozzarella cheese. Use to stuff precooked jumbo shells. Add Alfredo sauce to the bottom of a 9×13, lay in the stuffed shells, top with remaining Alfredo and shredded mozzarella. Cover with foil and Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes till bubbly. Remove foil and bake for 10-15 minutes more until mozzarella is golden. Serve with tossed salad and crusty bread.
Autumn Risotto with Chicken (Turkey) and Cranberries is one of my family’s all-time favorites! Quick, easy, and minimal cleanup!
Sounds scrumptious! Could I PLEASE have the recipe? Fritz at samjoe@cox.net
Oh wow. That sounds marvelous. Thanks for sharing your creativity.
turkey veg soup
Creamed turkey over mashed potatoes. I save the turkey juices for this meal. Its a quick comfort meal…great for they evening meal after you decorated the house.
We watched Foodnetwork one year and they had a Stuffing Waffle kind of a take on Beef Manhattan, only using turkey and stuffing! It was one of those What I like to Eat shows. I’ve been looking for the recipe and haven’t found it yet. Seems like they took the left over stuffing and added an egg, then cooked in the waffle maker. Added sliced turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy on top! MMMMMM. The Waffle was so crunchy and delicious!
I don’t have a leftover recipe, but I sure want to thank those of you who have submitted replies with ideas! Some really great idea recipes😊. Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!😊🦃🍁
Those look like great ideas! We also make Turkey and Wild Rice soup with our leftovers! 😉
I make turkey croquettes
Thanksgiving Shepherds pie
Press left over ( I usually have to make more) stuffing into the bottom of you casserole to make a crust. Fill with chopped turkey and gravy, top with leftover veggies. Top it all with mashed potatos. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes.
I make Turkey Curry which is awesome over rice. This is a real change from the turkey/dressing meal of Thanksgiving day.
HOT TURKEY SANDWICHES & GRAVY…….Heat up the turkey with turkey gravy, serve over bread! With leftover stuffing or mashed potatoes!! Very easy & Oh so delicious!!
Denise,
I liked this too. The dressing and mashed potatoes accumulate their flavor after a day.
My mom always made homemade turkey noodle soup using the turkey bones, wings, a couple white onions, pepper, celery and she added broth (now there is ‘Better than Bouillon’ Turkey (base to add and make more rich (1 T for every few cups of liquid ). She would cook egg noodles and add that in too. It was delicious.