25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (2024)

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25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (1)

By Katherine Gillen

Published Nov 1, 2021

Everyone knows the Thanksgiving leftovers are just as important as the day-of feast. You probably already have post-holiday plans for the turkey, but what the heck are you going to do with all that stuffing?! We have a few ideas—from Thanksgiving croquettes to stuffing dumplings, these leftover stuffing recipes are bound to make the holidays even more delicious.

What can you do with leftover stuffing?

Turkey, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce are easy to repurpose, but stuffing (or dressing, if you prefer) is a bit of an oddball. It’s basically savory bread pudding, and what can you make with that? Plenty of foods, it turns out. For starters, stuffing is especially suited for griddling or frying, since it gets crispy on the outside but retains its moisture. Make stuffing fritters or stuffing cakes, then top them with cranberries, gravy or a fried egg if you’re fancy. You could also craft the stuffing into a leftovers casserole with all that turkey, or simple reheat it with another protein (like chicken thighs).

How long is leftover stuffing good for?

All good things must come to an end, and the life of leftover stuffing is relatively short. Stored in the fridge, you should aim to use up this dish within four days (and that’s true for all your Thanksgiving leftovers). You could also freeze the stuffing for up to a month, but the texture won’t be quite the same once you reheat it, and you can only reheat it once. No worries, though: There’s always next year.

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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

1. Stuffing Muffins

Technically, this recipe starts with fresh stuffing, but you can easily use the method to warm up your leftovers instead.

Get the recipe

Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

2. Eggs Baked With Stuffing

Oh, you’re still full from last night’s meal? Not with these savory egg cups on the breakfast menu.

Get the recipe

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (4)

Well Plated by Erin

3. Cheesy Breakfast Stuffing Cakes

We’ll take a short stack with a side of gravy, please.

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (5)

The Modern Proper

4. One Pot Chicken Stuffing Casserole

Because after a feast, we don’t even want to *think* about doing dishes.

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (6)

Spoon Fork Bacon

5. Thanksgiving Turkey Sandwich

You’re going to need a filling lunch to sustain your post-holiday shopping. This massive sandwich is just the thing.

6. Thanksgiving Croquettes

If you didn’t think it was possible to improve on Thanksgiving dinner, think again. These crispy bites are made with stuffing and turkey and taste like an indulgent holiday dream.

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (8)

Yellow Bliss Road

7. Turkey And Stuffing Casserole

Casserole is a classic for a reason: You just toss everything in a baking dish and go.

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (9)

Show Me the Yummy

8. Leftover Turkey Cornbread Casserole

Bonus points if you top this dish with a layer of gooey, bubbly cheddar cheese.

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (10)

Foodie Crush

9. Stuffed Pork Chops

If you’re so over casseroles, you can also go the gourmet route and nestle your leftover stuffing into a few pork chops.

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (11)

I Am a Food Blog

10. Crispy Stuffing Cakes With Quail Eggs

They’re so tiny and cute, but if you can’t find quail eggs, just make the stuffing cakes larger and use chicken eggs.

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (12)

How Sweet Eats

11. Day-after-thanksgiving Breakfast Hash With Cheddar Mashed Potato Pancakes

You’re either team crispy stuffing or team soft, and this one goes out to team crispy.

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (13)

Cook at Home Mom

12. Leftover Stuffing Waffles

With cranberry sauce instead of maple syrup and a fried egg for good measure.

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (14)

Darn Good Veggies

13. Acorn Squash With Sage Apple Stuffing

Whether you make Darn Good Veggies’s sage apple stuffing or your own, this dish proves that leftover stuffing can be oh-so-classy.

Let's Stay In

14. Turkey Roulade With Cherry And Sausage Stuffing

What’s that? You’re ready for round two? Use your leftovers to stuff a second turkey breast if you just can’t get enough Thanksgiving.

Get the recipe

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (16)

Lexi’s Clean Kitchen

15. Thanksgiving Stuffed Acorn Squash

We wish we could eat every meal straight out of a gourd. (If you don’t have acorn squash on hand, any kind will do.)

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (17)

Whitney Bond

16. Easy Stuffing Biscuits

These are practically begging to be turned into turkey sliders.

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (18)

Gimme Some Oven

17. All-in-one Thanksgiving Casserole

Using up alllll those Thanksgiving leftovers has never been simpler. And yes, it takes an hour to make, but 45 minutes of that is it cooking in the oven, giving you ample time to whip up a co*cktail (or binge an episode of Squid Game).

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (19)

Recipe Tin Eats

18. Pork Sausage And Apple Stuffing In Pancetta Cups

We plan on pairing these guys with a holiday-ready charcuterie board (and then calling it dinner).

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (20)

Whitney Bond

19. Instant Pot Turkey Soup With Stuffing Dumplings

Your oven called, and it’s desperate for a break, so fire up the Instant Pot instead. The leftover stuffing dumplings are pretty ingenious.

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (21)

Feasting at Home

20. Thanksgiving Stuffing Muffins

Don’t stop at stuffing in your muffins! Add dried cherries, chorizo and whatever else is hiding in your fridge.

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (22)

Pinch of Yum

21. Loaded Turkey Panini For Thanksgiving Leftovers

If you don’t have a panini press, just use a hot skillet and a spatula to squish this sammie to oblivion.

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (23)

Make It Dairy Free

22. Thanksgiving Leftover Pizza

We can all but guarantee your local pizzeria doesn’t have this on the menu.

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (24)

Whitney Bond

23. Mushroom Spinach Turkey Quiche With Stuffing Crust

Homemade pie crust? No way. Store-bought? Nope. Stuffing? That’s more like it.

25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (25)

Half Baked Harvest

24. Thanksgiving Leftovers Croque Madame

This is a treasure trove of textures just waiting to be bit into.

Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

25. Hearty Stuffed Butternut Squash

Swap the filling in this recipe for your leftover stuffing and you’re on your way to dinnertime.

Get the recipe

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Katherine Gillen

Senior Food Editor

Katherine Gillenis PureWow’s senior food editor. She’s a writer, recipe developer and food stylist with a degree in culinary arts and professional experience in New York City...

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25 Leftover Stuffing Recipes to Make After Your Thanksgiving Feast (2024)

FAQs

What is made from Thanksgiving leftovers? ›

Instead, try turning your leftovers into a casserole, like our turkey divan, our chicken stuffing casserole, or our turkey pot pie; a soup, like our turkey noodle soup, our leftover turkey & wild rice soup, or our homemade turkey stock (made from your turkey carcass); or something lighter or more flavorful than before, ...

How long is leftover stuffing good for? ›

Dressing/stuffing: Like turkey, if stored properly, stuffing or dressing will be safe to eat for three to four days after cooking. It will last for about a month if stored properly in the freezer. Cranberry sauce – homemade and store-bought: Homemade cranberry sauce lasts seven to 10 days.

How long does homemade stuffing last in the fridge? ›

If stuffing is prepared ahead of time, it must be either frozen or cooked immediately. To use cooked stuffing later, cool in shallow containers and refrigerate it within 2 hours. Use it within 3 to 4 days.

In what did recipes did people originally use stuffing? ›

The earliest documentary evidence is the Roman cookbook, Apicius De Re Coquinaria, which contains recipes for stuffed chicken, dormouse, hare, and pig. Most of the stuffings described consist of vegetables, herbs and spices, nuts, and spelt (a cereal), and frequently contain chopped liver, brains, and other organ meat.

What are 4 commonly consumed foods at Thanksgiving other than turkey? ›

Cornish game hen, goose, duck, ham, beef, salmon, and mushroom recipes make worthy centerpieces for holiday meals.

What foods make great leftovers? ›

  • Meatloaf. Though meatloaf is often restricted to the weeknight dinner table, it is a powerhouse leftover. ...
  • Lasagna. Sure, there's nothing better than lasagna coming out of the oven hot with bubbling cheese. ...
  • Pulled Pork. ...
  • Beef Stew. ...
  • Chili. ...
  • Frittatas, Quiches and Tarts.

Is week old stuffing OK to eat? ›

Stuffing/dressing: If stored properly in the fridge, stuffing or dressing is good to eat up to three to four days after you cooked it. But it'll last about a month in the freezer.

Can you eat week old stuffing? ›

Leftover Stuffing and Gravy

Stuffing — which is often soaked through with meat drippings — shouldn't be consumed after a maximum of two days in the fridge. The same two-day rule should be applied to the gravy, which should always be brought to a rolling boil to properly kill bacteria before serving again.

Can you freeze leftover stuffing from Thanksgiving? ›

The short answer is yes, you can freeze your Thanksgiving stuffing! And it actually freezes really well. Just like with freezing mashed potatoes or freezing pumpkin pie, keeping stuffing in the freezer is a great time-saving trick. Phew, now that we got that squared away, you might be wondering just how to do it.

How to tell if stuffing is bad? ›

The simplest way to tell if your stuffing has gone bad is to sniff it and see if the appearance looks off. “You will know if your stuffing has gone bad if it has a bad odor or there is visible mold growing on it,” Dankosky advises. “It may also taste unpleasant, have a slimy film, or mushy appearance.

How many days after Thanksgiving can you eat leftovers? ›

How long do the turkey and trimmings stay safe in the refrigerator or freezer? The answer is simple: leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for three to four days. This means you have until the Monday after Thanksgiving to eat all those delicious leftovers or place them in the freezer to enjoy later.

Can you freeze stuffing after 4 days? ›

If you're freezing leftover stuffing that has already been cooked, make sure to freeze it within 24 hours of making it. You don't need much equipment to freeze stuffing—just be sure to have some resealable freezer bags or airtight freezer-safe containers on hand.

What is stuffing actually called? ›

Stuffing and dressing are commonly used as different names for the same thing—a dish consisting of bits of bread (or other starchy things) and various seasonings. The dish can be made by stuffing it (hence the name) inside a turkey or other bird that will be roasted, or by baking or cooking it separately.

What is stuffing called in America? ›

Dressing Is For Midwesterners

Lacey Muszynski, a food and drink writer based in Milwaukee, said she's always called the Thanksgiving side dish stuffing, as do other Midwesterners. Generally, in the Midwestern states, it's called stuffing regardless of the ingredients or whether it's cooked inside a turkey.

What animal does stuffing come from? ›

According to question, Traditionally, stuffing is often made using poultry meats like turkey or chicken. However, other meats like pork, sausage, or even vegetarian options can also be used based on personal preferences and regional variations. Stuffing is usually large bread crumbs with herbs.

Are Thanksgiving leftovers good for? ›

The answer is simple: leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for three to four days. This means you have until the Monday after Thanksgiving to eat all those delicious leftovers or place them in the freezer to enjoy later. If you store leftovers in the freezer, they will be of best quality within 2-6 months.

What is the day after Thanksgiving usually called? ›

Black Friday, the day following Thanksgiving, has evolved into one of the busiest shopping days in the United States. Contrary to popular belief that the term originated from businesses going from "in the red" to "in the black" in profits after Thanksgiving, it actually traces back to 1960s Philadelphia.

What are 3 foods that are eaten on Thanksgiving? ›

Millions of people across the United States will sit down to a traditional Thanksgiving meal, including turkey, potatoes, squash, corn, and cranberries.

Why are Thanksgiving leftovers better? ›

The flavor compounds – the herbs, the spices, the reactions that take place during cooking, sort of cool back and depending on how you have cooled and refrigerated your food, actually get back into the food and get trapped into the starches and the proteins.

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