4 Ways to Use Thanksgiving Leftovers

These 4 simple, easy, and delicious recipes are sure to spice up your Thanksgiving leftovers! Be sure to try them all since Thanksgiving only comes around once a year!

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Whether you are a fan of leftovers or not, it is inevitable that you will be left with some Thanksgiving leftovers from your delicious feast. Personally, I think eating Thanksgiving leftovers the next day tastes even better with everything being able to sit an extra day to soak up the spices and build up the flavor. However, you can only eat leftovers for so long before it starts to become overkill.

Luckily, I have developed some quick, easy, and tasty recipes that you can create with your extra Thanksgiving leftovers. These recipes are great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and can be easily adapted to incorporate your Thanksgiving leftovers.

After spending hours of cooking a Thanksgiving feast, you or whoever slaved away in the kitchen most likely won’t want to be spending any more time than they need to prepare food for the week. That is exactly why I created these effortless recipes that don’t require a lot of time to create and use ingredients that you most likely already have or are easy to pick up from the store.

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Butternut Squash Casserole

All this requires is your leftover soup, any vegetables you may have lying around, and some pasta. I used a frozen medley of vegetables that I always have on hand in the freezer along with some pasta noodles that I keep stocked up in the pantry. I topped it off with some breadcrumbs that I found in my pantry and called it good for dinner the next day.

Ingredients (1-2 servings)

• 1 c Uncooked Pasta
• 1 c Vegetables (I used a frozen medley)
• 1 ½ c Butternut Squash Soup
• Breadcrumbs, optional topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F.
2. Follow pasta instructions, but cook noodles al dente because you will need to bake them in the oven later.
3. If using frozen vegetables, then prepare as packaging instructions require. If using fresh vegetables, then either steam or saute on a stove top.
4. In a mixing bowl, add cooked pasta, vegetables, and soup. Mix thoroughly and then transfer to an oven safe dish and pack the mixture down. I used a ceramic dish. You may top with breadcrumbs.
5. Place in oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the breadcrumbs turn golden brown, then remove from oven and enjoy.

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Sweet Potato Pancakes

Whether you have Candied Yams or Sweet Potato Casserole leftover, you can easily use this as a base for some delicious pancakes. Using flour, baking powder, a flaxseed egg or banana, some spices, and almond milk, I was able to whip up a delicious stack of pancakes for breakfast. I used the marshmallow topping of my Candied Yams to make it a bit more fancy, but these pancakes are simple and perfect for a nice breakfast the day after Thanksgiving.

Ingredients (6-8 pancakes)

• 1 c Sweet Potato or Candied Yams (pureed)
• ½ c Flour (may use oat, whole wheat, all-purpose, gluten-free)
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• ¾ c Almond Milk
• 1 Flaxseed Egg (1 Tbsp Flaxseed meal + 2 ½ Tbsp Water)
• ½ tsp Cinnamon
• ½ c Marshmallows + 1 Tbsp Water (optional topping)

Directions

1. In a small bowl combine the flaxseed meal with water to form the flaxseed egg and let it sit for 5 minutes to thicken.
2. If you are using a blender, then add all your ingredients to the blender and blend until fully mixed.
3. Over medium heat, pour ¼ c of batter for each pancake. Cook for 2-4 minutes on each side.
4. If you have marshmallows, then microwave ½ c of marshmallows with 1 Tbsp of water at 10 second intervals and stirring between each interval. Once marshmallows are completely melted smear between pancakes or simply top pancakes with a spoonful.

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Shepard's Pie

It doesn’t get much easier than this, but makes for a perfect lunch or dinner. It’s as easy as smashing some stuffing at the bottom of a dish (I used a ceramic dish), adding some mashed potato on top, then topping it off with some delicious gravy. Then I baked it in the oven to get all the juices and flavors to mingle.

Ingredients (1-2 servings)

• 1 c Stuffing
• 1/2 c Mashed Potato
• 1/4 - 1/3 c Gravy

Directions

1. If using an oven, then preheat oven to 350 degree F.
2. In an oven/microwave safe dish, first layer the stuffing and make sure to compact the stuffing at the bottom.
3. Pour 3-4 Tbsp of Gravy evenly over the stuffing.
4. Layer the mashed potatoes on top and place in oven for 8-10 minutes or microwave 2-3 minutes.
5. Use remaining gravy to drizzle on top of mashed potatoes.

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Roasted Veggie Salad

I can guarantee that whatever roasted vegetables were featured in your feast will most likely be leftovers because it’s Thanksgiving and it is the one day everyone feasts without a care of whether or not they are getting their proper vegetable intake. Therefore, you can easily take those delicious Brussels sprouts, green beans, or whatever else you may have and throw it on top of a nice bed of greens. I enjoyed my Maple Glazed Brussels Sprouts on top of a bed of spinach for lunch the following day.

See My Roasted Veggie Salad Recipe for More Details!

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I hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving feast and I hope you ENJOY modifying your Thanksgiving leftovers into new dishes!
- Nutti Nelli