There is nothing better, yet more daunting, than a kitchen filled with holiday leftovers. By the time your holiday celebrations are over, you have an entire fridge and freezer stuffed full of them — but what are you supposed to do with all that extra food? To assist you on this quest, we found several handy recipes that will help you use up and experiment with that mountain of holiday leftovers. Bon appétit!
1. Boulder Locavore Holiday Turkey Hash
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Have leftover turkey, stuffing, and gravy? Turn it into a turkey hash, which is perfect for the day after Thanksgiving and can also be served over leftover mashed potatoes.
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Get the full recipe here.
If all of the holiday cooking and baking has you tuckered out, this quesadilla will be a dream come true. You just have to place your leftovers — like turkey and cranberry sauce — and some cheese inside a tortilla. Then, cook it and enjoy!
Get the full recipe here.
3. Rasa Malaysia Mashed Potato Balls
Got some cold leftover mashed potatoes on your hands? Turn them into delicious crispy balls filled with bacon and cheese. Instead of bacon, you can even improvise with any type of leftover holiday meat or vegan meat.
Get the full recipe here.
4. The Country Cook Glazed Ham and Cheese Rolls
If you have leftover ham and leftover rolls or biscuits, you can easily turn that combo into a mini sandwich. Plus, cranberry sauce or gravy would make a lovely dipping sauce for this recipe.
Get the full recipe here.
5. I Love Vegan Holiday Shepherd's Pie
Another clever idea, courtesy of I Love Vegan, is to take your leftovers and turn them into a shepherd's pie. The recipe includes roasted veggies, vegan turkey, mushroom gravy, and mashed potatoes, but you can experiment with whatever meat-free leftovers you have on hand.
Get the full recipe here.
What's better than apple pie? Apple pie cinnamon buns. That's right — using leftover apple pie (or any pie, really), you can make your very own cinnamon buns as a post-holiday treat.
Get the full recipe here.
7. A Beautiful Plate Leftover Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
Turn your leftover pumpkin pie into a delicious milkshake in only five minutes. All you need is vanilla ice cream, milk, whipped cream, and of course, pumpkin pie. Yum.
Get the full recipe here.
8. Razzle Dazzle Life Loaded Mashed Potato Cakes
For another take on leftover mashed potatos, try making these loaded mashed potato cakes. They're packed with cheese, bacon bits, green onions, and a lot of flavor.
Get the full recipe here.
9. A Cozy Kitchen Eggnog French Toast
Make the most out of leftover eggnog with this mouthwatering eggnog French toast recipe. Slices of challah bread are dipped into a mixture of eggnog and cinnamon, then cooked to perfection.
Get the full recipe here.