Need Thanksgiving leftover recipes? Here’s a list of easy recipes for leftover turkey, holiday ham leftovers and even things to do with all those leftover dinner rolls! Great for side dish recipes, finger foods, salads, and dinner recipes.
The Best Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes
Use leftovers from Thanksgiving and holiday leftovers to make more delicious recipes! (Don’t throw all that food out)!
Not only does it save food waste, but it’s another great way to stretch a meal and, in my opinion, sometimes better than the actual holiday meal.
There are plenty of ways to use all that food from your favorite fall family gatherings.
What can I do with my Thanksgiving leftovers?
- Hot ham pinwheels
- Leftover turkey salad
- Mashed potato pancakes
- Leftover cornbread salad
- Mexican street corn
- Leftover ham sliders
- Wheat berry bowl with leftover vegetables
- Leftover boiled egg salad
- Black bean and corn salad
- Asparagus salad
- Fried biscuits
- Walking fruit salad
- Sweet potato stew
- Leftover cake mix cookies
TIP: As with any food leftovers, use your best judgment for any food safety concerns.
Recipes For Easy Thanksgiving Leftovers
Leftover Ham Pinwheels
These hot ham and cheese pinwheels are my favorite way to use up leftover ham.
The gooey melted Swiss cheese on the ham pinwheel combines with the secret sweet and spicy sauce for perfect snack bites and a great way to use up holiday ham.
GET THE HAM & CHEESE PINWHEELS RECIPE HERE
Leftover Turkey Salad
This orzo salad recipe is usually made with chicken, but it’s great with turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving, too.
It’s a really refreshing way (and healthy recipe) to use up Thanksgiving leftovers!
GET THE RECIPE FOR LEFTOVER THANKSGIVING TURKEY SALAD
Leftover Cornbread Salad
If you have leftover cornbread from Thanksgiving lunch or dinner or even leftover stuffing (cornbread stuffing), DEFINITELY throw it into this cornbread salad.
This southern recipe may seem weird if you’ve never had it, but trust me… it’s FABULOUS!
(It goes well with leftover ham or leftover Thanksgiving turkey, too!)
GET THE CORNBREAD SALAD RECIPE HERE
Leftover Thanksgiving Ham Sliders Recipe (or Leftover Turkey Sliders)
Can I let you in on a little secret?
Sometimes I make more ham than we need for the holidays just so that we have enough to make these baked ham sliders.
They’re one of my favorite recipes for holiday ham and are great if you’re looking for something other than cold ham sandwiches.
This is one area where I’m never sad to have plenty of leftovers for these cheesy ham sandwiches!
You can also make them with other leftover Thanksgiving turkey.
If you have leftover cranberry sauce, use it on these for leftover turkey and cranberry sliders or leftover ham and cranberry sliders.
GET THE RECIPE FOR HAM SLIDERS PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD
HAM LEFTOVER TIP: I also chop up the ham and freeze pieces to use for bean soup and any casserole dish.
Leftover Deviled Egg Salad Recipe
If you have leftover boiled eggs or leftover deviled eggs, don’t throw them out!
Instead, make this creamy classic egg salad that you can eat on leftover rolls or on top of a salad.
Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes Recipe
This is another recipe where I get excited about having leftovers. I remember my grandma and my mom making fried mashed potatoes when I was growing up with leftover potatoes.
I love that they’re good alone or loaded with sour cream, shredded cheese, green onions, and even crumbled bacon.
So, don’t throw out those leftover mashed potatoes, try these mashed potato pancakes instead.
EXTRA LEFTOVERS TIP: If you have leftover whole potatoes and leftover green beans, throw them together in a pot the next day for a full potato and green bean meal!
Ideas For Leftover Corn
There are so many things you can do with leftover corn (whether it’s corn on the cob or corn off cob), but my favorites are these:
- Roast the corn off the cob in a pan for this fabulous Mexican street corn recipe, which is one of my favorites!
- Toss corn off the cob with black beans and veggies for a quick corn and black bean dip or salad. (My daughter loves to eat this with tortilla chips as a lunch.)
- Use corn on the cob to make elotes, or street corn on cob!
What To Do With Leftover Asparagus
If you have roasted asparagus leftover from your Thanksgiving dinner, toss it into this easy asparagus salad with just a few other ingredients.
My whole family loves this one (even kids!).
How To Use Leftover Vegetable Tray Veggies From Thanksgiving
Don’t throw out those vegetables from your holiday vegetable tray! Instead, chop up those veggies and use them for healthy bowls.
One of our favorite ways to use leftover vegetables (or fresh vegetables that are about to go bad) is to cut them up and use them in a wheat berry bowl like this healthy bowl recipe.
Ideas For Unused Biscuit Dough
If you bought a lot of refrigerated biscuit dough that you didn’t use, repurpose it for biscuit dough donuts or for fried biscuits like these.
(You won’t be disappointed!)
How To Use Leftover Fruit Salad
Revive that leftover fruit salad or fruit platter by putting it in a waffle cone, topping with some leftover whipped cream, and making a walking fruit salad.
Kids love this easy recipe, especially if you let them choose their own toppings like mini chocolate chips or chocolate syrup drizzle.
What To Do With Leftover Cooked Sweet Potatoes (Sweet Potato Thanksgiving Soup)
If you have leftover roasted sweet potatoes or cubed, cooked sweet potatoes, throw them into this sweet potato stew!
It’s a spicy southwestern soup that you can make with chicken or leave it out for a vegetarian soup.
RECIPE TIP: Definitely make the cornbread dumpling! It really makes this crockpot soup.
Idea For Leftover Cake Mix
Did you buy too much cake mix (or didn’t use the cake mix you bought)?
You don’t have to bake a cake with those boxed cake mixes! Instead, make cake mix cookies with box cake mix! (It’s one of my favorite secret easy recipe tips!)
We made chocolate, but you can make them with any flavor you have (even carrot cake flavor!).
GET THE RECIPE FOR CAKE MIX COOKIES
How To Use Leftover Dinner Rolls
Are you guilty of this?
It seems like I buy too many rolls for holiday meals and then I’m left figuring out what to do with them (besides using them for the ham roll sandwiches we already mentioned).
That’s why I decided to come up with an entire list of what to do with leftover rolls.
There are some great ways to use up leftover Hawaiian Rolls and yeast rolls!
NEED MORE HOLIDAY IDEAS? Try Hosting a Bethlehem Dinner for Fun Family Activity For Christmas
Happy Holidays!
I hope these Thanksgiving leftover recipes are helpful!