This Leftover Thanksgiving Casserole is the perfect dinner to make after you made enough turkey to feed half the neighborhood and you have a lot of delicious thanksgiving leftovers.
The leftover Thanksgiving casserole was invented by us, the people who habitually make too much for holiday dinner and then are stuck with lots and lots of meat and sides leftover. The best way to use them is to recreate them and add something new to create a whole new dish.
If you need ideas on what to make for your Holiday dinner, check out this guide for more.
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What We Love About This Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole Recipe
Casseroles are pure comfort food. Busy mothers have been making them for centuries for their families, Masterclass takes a deep dive into everyone’s favorite layered dinner. Leftover Thanksgiving Casserole.
This easy leftover turkey casserole is layer upon layer of all your best leftovers – turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, veggies and it’s topped off with mashed potatoes. Inside the flavors all come together into this luscious leftover creation.
- 30 Minute Meal: Only five minutes to assemble and then pop it in the oven.
- Easy Ingredients: They are already made for thanksgiving dinner, they just need to be assembled in a new way.
- Family Friendly: Everything in the dish is already things that they love so what else could be easier or more popular.
- Adaptable: Can make it low-carb, meat free, dairy free, etc…
Ingredient Notes for Leftover Thanksgiving Casserole
- Stuffing: divided.
- Turkey: chopped about 1 lb.
- Mayonnaise, divided
- Cranberry sauce: Homemade or store bought cranberries.
- Mashed potatoes: Veggies such as Rutabagas or sweet potatoes work great too.
- Cheddar Cheese: A low fat or fat free cheese is also great in this Thanksgiving casserole.
Equipment Needed
How to Make Leftover Thanksgiving Casserole
These are the basic steps for making leftover turkey casserole. Please refer to the recipe card below for more detailed instructions and nutrition information.
STEP 1: PREP
First, preheat oven to 375°. Spray 8-inch non-stick baking dish with no-stick cooking spray.
STEP 2: LAYER
Then spoon half of the leftover stuffing in the dish and top with all of the turkey. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup mayo and cranberry sauce; evenly spread over turkey. In another bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup of mayo, potatoes and cheese; evenly spread on top of cranberry sauce mixture. Top with remaining stuffing
STEP 3: BAKE
Finally, bake for 25 minutes.
Prep and Storage Tips for Turkey Casserole Recipes
HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE AHEAD OF TIME
Here there is really no making ahead as you are using leftovers, however, it is great to use several small disposable foil pans and build your casserole dish and then wrap well and freeze them for when you want a quick easy meal.
HOW TO STORE THIS RECIPE
Store in the fridge for three days. This casserole can be stored in the freezer for up to three months and pulled out whenever you want a quick and easy meal.
HOW TO REHEAT THIS RECIPE
Reheat leftover turkey casserole recipe in the oven at 350 degrees , covered with foil and bake for about 30 minutes, then remove foil and allow the cheese to melt on top.
Frequently Asked Questions for Leftover Thanksgiving Casserole
If you made fake turkey, then use that, if you made dairy free mashed potatoes then use them, simply use ingredients that meet your dietary restrictions.
Of course, you may have a lot of leftover side dishes but not a lot of the turkey, then just buy a chicken and assemble per the instructions listed below in the recipe card.
Indeed, it wonderful to have several of these casseroles on hand that you can just pull out when you need them, however, feel free to make half the recipe if you have a small family or only a few leftovers.
Yes, stir in cornbread stuffing, green beans, corn, carrots, peas, mushrooms, rice, whatever vegetables you have a lot of leftover.
Expert Tips for Making This Recipe
- Different Cheese: Use what you like or what you have. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese or any good melty cheese can be added to the turkey mixture.
- Mayo Replacement: Cream of Mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup are wonderful to use in this recipe.
- Season: If you need a little more, add salt, pepper, garlic powder to the turkey casserole with stuffing.
- Moisture: If it still seems a little dry add, melted butter or chicken stock or turkey stock or top turkey and dressing casserole with leftover gravy.
- Pasta: Add a little cooked pasta and top with sour cream for a different use for these thanksgiving leftovers.
What to Serve with Leftover Thanksgiving Casserole
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Leftover Thanksgiving Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 cups leftover prepared stuffing, divided
- 4 cups coarsely chopped leftover cooked turkey, about 1 lb.
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise, divided
- 1/4 cup cranberry sauce
- 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°. Spray 8-inch baking dish with no-stick cooking spray.
- Place half of the stuffing in the dish and top with all of the turkey.
- In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup mayo and cranberry sauce; evenly spread over turkey.
- In another bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup of mayo, potatoes and cheese; evenly spread on top of cranberry sauce mixture.
- Top with remaining stuffing.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until heated through.
Video
Expert Tips
- Different Cheese: Use what you like or what you have. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese or any good melty cheese can be added to the turkey mixture.
- Mayo Replacement: Cream of Mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup are wonderful to use in this recipe.
- Season: If you need a little more, add salt, pepper, garlic powder to the casserole.
- Moisture: If it still seems a little dry add, melted butter or chicken stock or turkey stock or top with leftover gravy.
- Pasta: Add a little cooked pasta and top with sour cream for a different use for these thanksgiving leftovers.
Estimated Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided are estimates. To learn more about how I calculate this information go to www.itisakeeper.com/about-its-a-keeper/privacy-disclosure-policies/
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This turned out great! I wish I would’ve have taken a picture! Thank you for all the tips in your article. Because of them I added a few extra layers of what we had including our collard greens and sweet potato leftovers from Thanksgiving. This casserole was a hit for me and my family
This turned out good. But I challenge anyone to put 4 cups of turkey, 4 cups of dressing, 2 cups of mashed potatoes into an 8×8 baking dish. Along with any of the other suggested ingredients. Wasn’t going to happen in my house. After I started with the 8X8 pan and then moved up to a much larger casserole dish, I did add the remainder of my green bean casserole but omitted the cheese. Casserole turned out really good but I was drawn to this recipe because it advertised an 8×8 dish. There are only two of us so I wanted something smaller. All in all, we have dinner for two more nights!
I thought this was a great idea for thanksgiving leftovers! I had just the right amount of turkey and stuffing for it. However, I used a little more cranberry sauce, and did a layer of swiss cheese after placing the mixed potatos in the pan. Then, with the rest of the stuffing, I also added my leftover green bean casserole to fully cover the top.
I personally find that swiss and cranberry compliment each other, and the green bean casserole adds a whole new compliment!
How have I never had this in 59 years? It is so delicious and easy to make. Next time I’ll try it with chicken. Yum!
We had this for dinner tonight and it was yummy. What a great way to use leftovers.
Super easy way to use those Thanksgiving leftovers! Glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Can this be made without the cranberry layer?
Yes!
I made this thanksgiving recipe this morning and it was better than my thanksgiving meal! I was a little concerned about how the cranberry sauce and mayo would be mixed together and it was fabulous! Thank you so much for sharing that very tasty casserole recipe. This is a keeper!
I’m so glad you loved it! It’s a favorite in our house for sure!
Sounds yummy. I’ve been looking for an after Thanksgiving Casserole recipe which also includes the use of cranberry sauce, but why mix it w/mayo? I would add a layer of vegetables (such as peas & carrots OR green beans) somewhere in between.
it’s completely flexible. You can add or omit anything you like – that’s the great part about casseroles. The mayo does add a creaminess and brings the casserole together nicely, though.
Actually, I used to work at a burger joint for many years, and our November Burger Special used Cranberry Mayo as the base, and the burger was absolutely delicious!
This sounds wonderful. We usually make dressing instead of stuffing. I think it would still work. I think from now on we should make an extra pan to make sure we have enough to try this recipe. My whole crew is excited to try this one!
All the best flavors of Thanksgiving rolled into one! It is perfect for shopping day, I’ll just have my teenager throw it into the oven before I get home.
Oh my gosh – what a brilliant recipe! I whipped up lunch today in a snap with my Thanksgiving leftovers – just in time to head out the door for some Black Friday shopping!
I could not find your blueberry pie recipe
I’m glad you found it 🙂