9 Delicious Recipes to Transform Your Thanksgiving Leftovers

9 Recipes to Transform Your Thanksgiving Leftovers

Turkey Day has come and gone but your Tupperware is full of uneaten light and dark meat. Sound familiar? Leftovers may be hogging your fridge space for the days — even weeks — after Thanksgiving, but don’t throw them out just yet! Love them or love to hate them, holiday leftovers can be brought back to life with a few simple, tasty tricks. From sweet potato pancakes to cranberry sauce cookies, we’ve rounded up nine inventive recipes that can transform your Thanksgiving leftovers. (Looking for other ways to cut down on food waste? Check out these tips that could save you $43 a month.)

RELATED: 12 Ways to Survive Thanksgiving, Minus the Food Coma

9 Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes

Potato-Pancakes

1. Mashed Potato Pancakes (uses mashed potatoes)
All you need are two eggs and some whole-wheat flour to transform your leftover mashed potatoes into savory pancakes! You can also sneak in some spinach for extra iron. Photo and recipe: Heidi / Food Doodles

Leftover-Turkey-Salad

2. Turkey Thai Crunch Salad (uses turkey)
Sick of Thanksgiving flavors? Escape the colonial-tasting carbs and make this fun and flavorful Thai salad. The sweet chili dressing will take some time to make but we know your taste buds will thank you for changing things up. Photo and recipe:  Christina / Sweet Lavender Bake Shoppe

Leftover Turkey Frittata Recipe

3. Stuffing Frittata (uses turkey, vegetables, bread rolls)
Now here’s an egg-ceptional way to use random leftovers! Frittatas are a quick and easy meal that packs protein. Pro tip: throw in any extra veggies monopolizing space in your fridge. Photo and recipe: Jackie / Domestic Fits

RELATED: 10 Healthy Ways to Get on the Egg Muffin Trend

Thanksgiving Salad

4. Turkey Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette (uses turkey, cranberry sauce, mixed greens, pecans)
Here’s a lighter way to use up those leftovers: Whip up a quick and easy cranberry vinaigrette and drizzle it over turkey and greens. If you can stand to turn on the oven, roll some stuffing into balls, bake until crisp, and serve with your salad. Photo and recipe: Theresa / The Craving Chronicles

 Orange-Cranberry-Parfait

5. Orange Cranberry Parfait (uses cranberry sauce)
Take your morning yogurt to the next level by layering it with leftover cranberry sauce! Top with granola or a crushed rice cake to add a delicious crunch to your parfait. Photo and recipe: Sam / Sweet Remedy

Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies

6. Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies (uses cranberry sauce)
Gluten and dairy-free, this dessert is peanut butter heaven. Press a teaspoon into the uncooked dough to make little wells. After baking, fill them with peanut butter and cranberry sauce. Voila! Photo and recipe: Annabel / Annie’s Hungry

RELATED: 10 Irresistible Protein Cookie Recipes

Sweet-Potato-Biscuits

7. Sweet Potato Biscuits (uses sweet potatoes)
Orange you glad Grandma made sweet potato casserole? Now you can make autumn-toned biscuits that pair perfectly with a hot soup on a cold winter day! Or, eat them for breakfast with a cranberry sauce-smothered inside. Photo and recipe: Brandie / Home Cooking Memories

Homemade-Gnocchi

8. Homemade Gnocchi (uses mashed potatoes)
Pronunced “nyo-key,” gnocchi are little boiled Italian dumplings made from potatoes. If you’re looking for a way to use up that mountain of mashed potatoes in your fridge, look no further! Make sure to make ridges (with a fork) or a thumbprint to texture the gnocchi so it will hold onto sauce. Photo and recipe: Karen / The Art of Doing Stuff

Sweet Potato Pancakes

9. 10-Minute Sweet Potato Pancakes (uses sweet potatoes)
Sneak the orange vegetable in flapjacks? It’s possible, and easier than you’d think! Thanks to cottage cheese, each serving of pancakes packs a whopping 16 grams of protein. (That’s how much you’d get from three scrambled eggs.) Photo and recipe: Alexa Schrim / Life by DailyBurn 

Originally posted October 2013. Updated November 2015.

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