10 Fresh Ways to Use Your Thanksgiving Leftovers

By Morgan Davis, RD, LDN

It’s the day after Thanksgiving and if your family is anything like mine, there was too much food prepared.  While the meal was cooked perfectly, there’s only so many plates of turkey, stuffing and green beans one can take!  So here are some ways to use up your Thanksgiving leftovers while keeping things fresh and healthy in the kitchen!

Turkey Stew

Shred leftover turkey and mix into low sodium broth, a hearty grain like barley, and a variety of vegetables like onions, celery, carrots and greens.  Simmer with a bay leaf and some thyme for added flavor.

Cranberry Yogurt Parfait

Mix leftover cranberry sauce with orange or tangerine slices.  Layer fruit between layers of fat-free plain Greek yogurt.  Top with toasted pecans or walnuts.

Turkey Mock Pot Pie

Mix  leftover green bean casserole, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, diced onions and celery.  Layer green bean mixture and leftover turkey in a baking dish lightly coated with non-stick spray.   Mix together 1 cup skim milk and 1 ½ cups heart healthy bisquik (or another low-fat biscuit mix).  Drop batter over the veggie mixture and smooth with a spoon.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes until brown and filling is bubbly.

Cranberry onion chutney

Slow cook thinly sliced red onions over medium-low heat.  Add in some paprika and stir in leftover cranberry sauce.  Use as a chutney topping for pork tenderloin or grilled chicken.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Fold ½ cup sweet potato puree into your favorite whole grain pancake mix.  You will need to cut back the milk in the pancake recipe (try cutting to ½ cup milk and add as needed to achieve desired consistency.  Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.  Top cooked pancakes with toasted pecans and a dollop vanilla yogurt. (You can also use leftover pumpkin in this recipe).

Turkey Chili

Mix leftover turkey into beans, canned tomatoes, onions, peppers, and frozen corn.  Add in spices such as chili powder, cumin and chipotle.  Top with a dallop of fat-free plain yogurt.

Curry Turkey Salad

Chop leftover turkey into bite-sized cubes.  To the chopped turkey, add diced carrots, diced celery, golden raisins and slivered almonds.  Mix together equal parts apple cider vinegar and olive oil- flavor with 1-3 tsp curry powder, a pinch of cayenne, and 1 tsp turmeric.  Toss salad with dressing until evenly coated.

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

In a blender, add ½ cup pumpkin puree, 1 cup skim or soy milk, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 Tb honey, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.  Add ice until desired consistency is reached and blend until smooth.

Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa

Combine one apple diced, ½ cup dried quinoa, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp nutmeg, ¼ tsp allspice, 1 tsp vanilla, ¼ cup walnuts and ¾ cup water in a saucepan.  Simmer for 15 minutes, or until thickened.  Add milk if desired.

T-Day Leftovers Frittata

Combine 8 eggs, ½ cup skim milk , ½ cup low fat cottage cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.  Evenly coat a 9×9  baking dish with non-stick spray.  Spread leftover veggies and potatoes in the dish and cover with egg mixture.  Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes or until eggs are set.

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