thanksgiving

20 Delicious Ways to Use Up Leftover Turkey After Thanksgiving

Nicole Rufus
Nicole RufusAssistant Food Editor
Nicole is the Assistant Food Editor at Kitchn. She writes about recipes as well as developing some of her own. You can usually find her playing around in the kitchen or online “window” shopping. She currently resides in Brooklyn and is getting her master’s in Food Studies.
Jan Valdez
Jan ValdezAssistant Recipe Producer at The Kitchn
I cover recipe content on The Kitchn, write and update recipes and recipe roundups, and test recipes for the team. I have 10 years of experience working in R&D test kitchens, testing products and recipes, and at publishers including Serious Eats and EatingWell.
updated Nov 4, 2024
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A photo of turkey sheperd's pie, where a spoon scoops some of its ingredients: turkey, carrots and peas
Credit: Kelli Foster

On the day after Thanksgiving, do you find yourself wondering what in the world you’re going to do with all of that leftover roast turkey? You’re not alone. There’s the requisite turkey and cranberry sandwich, and perhaps a pot of turkey soup. (Don’t forget to use that carcass for turkey stock!) But for some of us, that barely puts a dent into all those turkey leftovers.

Don’t lose hope! The ways to repurpose the turkey — without eating the same dish for days on end — are not only endless, but superbly tasty. It does take a little inspiration and creativity, but that’s where you have us.

Here are 20 leftover turkey recipes to get you hyped up.

1 / 20
Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Pot Pie

Turn Thanksgiving leftovers into a comforting, creamy turkey pot pie. It's baked in a cast iron skillet so that you can cook the filling in the pan on the stovetop, then continue baking right in the same pan.

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2 / 20
Turkey Noodle Soup

Leftover Thanksgiving turkey is repurposed in this noodle soup which comes together in 20 minutes but tastes like it simmered on the stove all day.

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3 / 20
Turkey à la King

This creamy dish, made from vegetables like onions, celery, and mushrooms, puts leftover shredded turkey to good use. You want to serve it with something to sop up the creamy sauce, like egg noodles, rice, biscuits, or even baked potatoes.

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4 / 20
Turkey Shepherd's Pie

This crowd-pleasing dish combines diced holiday turkey with mirepoix, frozen peas, and umami-rich gravy, then topped with mashed potatoes.

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5 / 20
Turkey Enchiladas
Can we all agree that the requisite leftover Thanksgiving sandwich is a little overrated? These enchiladas on the otherhand are the best way to use up your extra Thanksgiving turkey.
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6 / 20
Turkey Sandwich

Classic, deli-style turkey sandwich made with sliced, roasted turkey, cheese, lettuce, and tomato. Don’t forget to include a dollop of leftover cranberry sauce or cranberry-coated goat or cheddar cheese from the holiday spread to your sandwich.

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7 / 20
Turkey Noodle Casserole

Creamy cheddar béchamel tossed with noodles, leftover turkey, and veggies, all baked to perfection. It's comfort food at it's finest.

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8 / 20
Hearty Turkey Stew

This hearty bowl of stew is definitely the coziest way to use up leftover holiday turkey.

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9 / 20
Leftover Thanksgiving Lasagna

When you’ve had your fill of turkey sandwiches and turkey soup, but there are still leftovers waiting to be eaten in the fridge, choose greatness. And by greatness we mean a towering lasagna.

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10 / 20
Turkey, Cranberry, Cheddar Skillet Monkey Bread

A warm and cheesy monkey bread that makes use of your leftover Thanksgiving turkey and cranberry sauce.

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11 / 20
Irish Turkey & Ham Cottage Pie

This recipe combines two classic Irish dishes. The filling is made with turkey, smoked ham, scallions, and cabbage, all tossed in a rich parsley sauce. Creamy mashed potatoes is piled on top with some grated Irish cheddar to gild the lily.

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12 / 20
Turkey and Cheese Sandwich Sliders

If you do plan on making one leftover turkey sandwich, let this be the one. The leftover turkey meat and slices of cheese gets tucked inside an entire fluffy Hawaiian rolls. Since you build a full pan of sliders, you not only feed a crowd but you get to have a little break from intensive holiday cooking.

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13 / 20
Post-Thanksgiving Turkey Vegetable Soup

The most this soup will ask of you is chopping vegetables and dicing or shredding the leftover turkey. Want to make it even easier? If you’re cooking Thanksgiving dinner, add a few more onions, carrots, and celery to the pile for dicing while you’re prepping for other dishes. Store the diced veggies in a zip-top bag in the fridge until you’re ready to simmer your soup.

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14 / 20
Turkey Parmesan Biscuit Bake

This is a weeknight-friendly chicken (or turkey!) Parmesan biscuit bake that captures all the satisfying flavors and textures of the classic dish with much less time and effort.

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15 / 20
Turkey and Brussels Sprouts Club Sandwich

Inspired by classic club sandwiches, this seasonal twist relies on fresh-cut turkey, and layers it with cranberry sauce and leftover Brussels sprouts.

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16 / 20
Turkey and Stuffing Casserole

An easy bake casserole recipe made from boxed stuffing, canned cream of chicken/mushroom soup, and what Thanksgiving leftovers you've got.

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17 / 20
Hot Brown Sandwich

This open-faced turkey sandwich with crispy bacon and Mornay sauce is Kentucky's original hangover cure.

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18 / 20
Turkey Tetrazzini

Turkey tetrazzini has many variations, but at its heart it is a baked noodle casserole.

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19 / 20
Post-Thanksgiving Stuffed Shells

This seasonal twist on classic stuffed shells keeps the tender cooked pasta, the ricotta, and the stringy, melted mozzarella cheese, but ditches traditional filling for the flavors of Thanksgiving.

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20 / 20
Bacon, Kale, & Turkey Stew

A hearty kale and turkey stew, made more flavorful by bacon and onion, and simple enough to be simmered together in less than an hour of mostly hands-off time.

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