Not Your Mom’s Thanksgiving Leftovers

November 20, 2018

Thanksgiving week is here! It’s hard to hate a week that starts with only a few days of work and ends with pie and shopping. One of the best parts of Thanksgiving is returning home to family, enjoying a delicious homecooked meal, and then leaving with tons of foil-covered, tupperware-stuffed leftovers that can’t fit in your parents’ fridge. But what does one do with these specific holiday leftovers for the coming week? We’ve found a few new ideas for you to whip up in your apartment:

Leftovers: Mashed Potatoes

Leftovers Reimagined: Mashed Potato Pizza

A pizza with bacon and cheese is sitting on a wooden cutting board.

Mashed potatoes are a blank canvas. They are buttery bites of heaven no matter what you do with them. But chances are your family makes way too many of them and now you’re stuck with the aftermath. If you’re looking for a way to shake up these leftovers, take your favorite pizza dough (we love Trader Joe’s), top it with the already-prepared mashed potatoes and sprinkle with sharp cheddar cheese, bacon, and chives. Just like that, you’ve got yourself a whole new world of deliciousness.

Leftovers: Turkey

Leftovers Reimagined: Cranberry Pecan Turkey Salad

A white bowl filled with chicken salad next to a spoon.

Even during the holidays, sandwiches are a fan favorite. So if you head home with tons of turkey leftovers, don’t squander the opportunity to make something delicious with it! You can put plain turkey on bread any day of the year. This cranberry turkey salad will transport you back to the Thanksgiving table, and it’s incredibly easy to make up on your own.

Leftovers: Cranberries

Leftovers Reimagined: Thanksgiving Leftover Nachos

A bowl of nachos with cheese , jalapenos and cranberry sauce on a wooden table.

It’s probably very rare that you have roasted turkey and homemade cranberries on hand, but we know you have tortilla chips and cheese. Use these standard turkey day leftovers to kick this bar food favorite up a notch, right in your kitchen.

Leftovers: Sweet Potato Casserole

Leftovers Reimagined: Sweet Potato Casserole Pancakes with Maple Glaze

A stack of pancakes with nuts and whipped cream on a plate with a fork

Shake up your normal breakfast routine with the sweet potato leftovers you’re sure to score. The best part is you can make these all at once and have breakfast for the week, and the smell when you heat them up will make all your coworkers jealous (and think you’re the next Bobby Flay).

What are your favorite Thanksgiving leftovers?

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