It’s a universal truth that Thanksgiving is the best meal of the year, right? If you ask me, though, it’s not about how everything tastes on Thanksgiving day, but rather how delicious it is the day after — and the day after that. So whether you cooked this year’s turkey day meal or you packed up leftovers to bring home (you were smart enough to do that, right?!), these Thanksgiving leftovers recipes pretty much guarantee that you won’t get tired of turkey and gravy for a while.
Top: Turkey and Stuffing Croquettes at Just a Little Bit of Bacon | Cranberry Shortbread Bars at Dessert for Two
Grilled cheese with a cup of soup is one of my favorite cold-weather meals, and this upgraded Turkey, Brie and Cranberry Panini at Just a Little Bit of Bacon looks amazing. If you don’t have Brie on hand, substitute provolone or mozzarella. I think the tangy bite you’ll get from the cranberry will cover for a milder cheese just fine.
I love this idea for Game Day Turkey Sliders at Berly’s Kitchen. A bag of dinner rolls — or leftover biscuits — is all you need to put together these yummy bite-sized sandwiches while you watch the games. All. weekend. long.
I have to say, I’m not really a fan of reheated mashed potatoes, so this Mashed Potato Soup recipe at Our Life Tastes Good is one that I’m planning to keep on hand. Since the mashed potatoes will already be made, you can skip the first couple steps in this recipe, which makes it really fast and easy.
Related: One sugar cookie dough recipe, ten easy Christmas cookies.
Use up your leftover roasted butternut squash in this Sage Butternut Pasta recipe at Love and Risotto. It calls for broccolini, too, but I don’t see why you couldn’t use Brussels sprouts, asparagus, or any other crisp green vegetable that you also have leftover instead.
If you still have a few pounds of turkey in your fridge and are wanting to switch up the flavors a little, try this Turkey Tortilla Soup at That Skinny Chick Can Bake. It’s warm and comforting, but the lighter broth soup is a nice change from the heavy cream of turkey soup that is so often suggested for the weekend after Thanksgiving.
I think that it’s perfectly acceptable to add your leftover stuffing to pretty much any of these recipes, but if you want something stuffing-specific (who can blame you), try these Turkey and Stuffing Croquettes at Just a Little Bit of Bacon. (Yes, she’s nailing Thanksgiving leftovers this year.) These can even be made and frozen for a quick weeknight dinner later in the month.
If you’re brave enough to host a post-Thanksgiving party at your house, this Turkey Bruschetta recipe at Mon Petit Four is the perfect easy appetizer to pull together. For something that looks so fancy, it really is super simple. And all of your friends will be wondering how in the world you do it all. Oh who, me?!
Turkey French Dip | Photo by Melina Hammer for the New York Times
The one thing I’m usually left with after all of the other leftovers are gone is a big bowl of gravy. Melissa Clark’s Turkey French Dip at The New York Times is the perfect solution. A warm hoagie sandwich dipped in gravy? Yep, sounds perfectly reasonable to me.
If you’ve already devoured all of the pumpkin pie, use up your leftover cranberry sauce in this recipe for Cranberry Shortbread Bars at Dessert for Two. Tangy, buttery, and sweet: This is perfect with a cup of hot tea while you catch up with relatives over the weekend.
