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.
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More about Leftover Thanksgiving Casserole
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.
Why This Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole Recipe is a Keeper
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…
If you’re looking to make Thanksgiving leftover inspired recipes, try these Easy Turkey Pot Pie, Crock Pot Turkey Soup and Leftover Turkey Pasta Casserole.
How do you keep the turkey moist?
One of the best ways to keep turkey from becoming dry is to add Giblet and Turkey Neck Gravy , chicken broth, turkey stock or butter to the turkey before reheat low and slow.
Ingredient Notes for Leftover Turkey Casserole
- Leftover Turkey: Use leftover turkey, you can use all white mean, dark meat or a combination of both.
- Cheese: Cheddar cheese or a blend of your favorites. Yum!
See the recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Variations and Substitutions for Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes with Stuffing, Mashed Potato and Cranberry Sauce
This day after Thanksgiving casserole is easy and delicious. When you’re ready to revamp your leftovers and make them in to a whole new dinner. Truly the best part is you should feel free to use whatever you love. Pour gravy on top of it all. Definitely use up all your delicious food in one dish that is ready to eat. You get to enjoy a little bit of everything.
- Rotisserie Chicken: Make this recipe with chicken in place of the turkey and stuffing casserole.
- Vegetables: It is a great way to use up whatever you have. Leftover sweet potato casserole, cornbread stuffing or use leftover mashed potatoes even instant mashed potatoes. Use green bean casserole, peas, brussels sprouts, corn casserole or mashed sweet potatoes or even cans of corn or beans. They all work great.
How to Make Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Casserole Recipe
These are the basic steps for making Leftover Turkey Casserole recipe. Refer to the full, printable recipe card below for detailed instructions and nutritional information.
STEP 1: Prepare and Cover the Bottom of the Baking Dish
First, preheat oven to 375°. Then spray bottom of the 8×8 non-stick casserole dish with no-stick cooking spray.
STEP 2: Combine Turkey and Layer the Leftover Turkey
Then spread leftover stuffing on top of the turkey. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup mayo and cranberry sauce; evenly spread over turkey. Next, in another bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup of mayo, potato leftovers and cheese; evenly spread on top of cranberry sauce mixture. Spread stuffing on top.
STEP 3: Cover the Leftover Turkey Casserole Recipe with Foil and Bake
Finally, cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Serve with leftover gravy.
Recipe Frequently Asked Questions to use Thanksgiving Leftovers
Expert Tips for Making This Great Recipe
Along with turkey soup and Turkey Pot Pie, you can make this amazing casserole with leftover mashed potato, stuffing, sweet potato and green beans.
- 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. Adding seasoning will bring nice flavor to the dish.
- Spaghetti Casserole: Add a little cooked pasta and top with sour cream for a different use for these thanksgiving leftovers.
- Fried Onions: Top the turkey and dressing casserole with a little crunch from French Fried Onions and add a layer of cheese on top.
What to Serve with Thanksgiving Casserole Recipes
Leftover Thanksgiving Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 cups Stuffing, divided
- 4 cups Turkey, about 1 lb. of leftovers
- ¾ cup Mayonnaise, divided
- ¼ cup Cranberry sauce
- 2 cups Mashed potatoes, leftovers
- 1 ½ cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
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.
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.
This was delicious !
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 🙂