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Transform Thanksgiving Leftovers Three Ways
If you find yourself with Thanksgiving leftovers lingering in your fridge, here are three ways to turn them into something fabulous and new.
Published: Nov 24, 2021 | Modified: Oct 27, 2026
Turn Thanksgiving leftovers into three new meals: a spinach and artichoke stuffing frittata, a cranberry and pear grilled cheese, or crispy mashed potato cakes with creamed spinach and a poached egg. The grilled cheese and potato cakes each take 20 minutes from start to finish, and the frittata takes 40.
I tell almost anyone who asks that my favorite holiday is Christmas. Secretly, though, my real favorite is Thanksgiving. I love this warm and fun family gathering for many reasons: Getting to spend the entire day together with loved ones, watching the parade, stuffing myself with pumpkin pie piled extra high with whipped cream.
But what I love about Thanksgiving more than anything is the leftovers! You just can't beat them.
Here's my theory about Thanksgiving leftovers: You can only eat them once or twice as a full meal after Thanksgiving Day. Once the day after, maybe once the Sunday before the new week starts...after that, you've had your fill of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy.
The problem is, come Monday, you're still left with tons of Thanksgiving leftovers.
Never fear. I've pulled together three of my favorite recipes to turn traditional Thanksgiving leftovers that may be lingering in your fridge into something fabulous and new.
First up is a spinach and artichoke stuffing frittata. Eggs are easily one of my favorite foods, but what's so wonderful about them is that they can work for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. A frittata fits every meal perfectly, and this one uses up the rest of your creamed spinach and Swiss chard artichoke stuffing. Since we throw the stuffing in the skillet, we essentially have our toast and eggs in one dish. This meal is super filling and satisfying while also staying rather light, even though we're tossing creamy spinach and bread cubes inside. I love making this the Saturday after Thanksgiving to fill me with some tree-trimming energy.
Next up, we have a melty, gooey grilled cheese. Yes, Thanksgiving leftovers can include this delicious classic. There are very few things I will not shove inside a grilled cheese, as evidenced by my sandwiching leftover cranberry relish and a sliced, ripe pear between two pieces of bread and lots of freshly grated cheese. Fruit and cheese are such a fabulous combination, and the tart cranberry relish adds a wonderful tartness, along with some texture.
Finally, we have mashed potato cakes with bacon. Mashed potato cakes take me way back to when I was a kid. My mom would fry them in bacon grease and often serve them as breakfast for dinner when my dad was traveling. I fried up these caramelized onion mashed potatoes in a bit of butter. Once they were crispy on the outside and still soft on the inside, I topped them with some warmed, leftover parmesan creamed spinach and a poached egg. The flavor here is unreal!
Three easy Thanksgiving leftover recipes
- Place the mashed potatoes in a bowl and sprinkle them with flour. Mix with a spoon or your hands until a dough comes together. Form into patties that are about 1 inch thick.
- Heat a skillet on medium-high heat and add the olive oil and butter. Place the mashed potato cakes in the skillet and let them brown on each side, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.
- Top with warmed creamed spinach and a poached egg, and salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
- Heat a pot of water over medium heat until it is just simmering. Add in a splash of white vinegar.
- Crack the egg into a bowl. Stir the water with a wooden spoon to create a “whirlpool" and pour the egg in the center.
- Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, and then remove the egg with a slotted spoon.
- Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Spread the softened butter on the outsides of the bread. Spread the cranberry relish on the insides of the bread.
- On top of one slice, place half of the grated cheddar. Top with the pear slices, and then top with the remaining cheese.
- Cover the sandwich with the second bread slice, butter side up.
- Place it in the skillet and cook until golden on both sides and the cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
Place the mashed potatoes in a bowl and sprinkle them with flour. Mix with a spoon or your hands until a dough comes together. Form into patties that are about 1 inch thick.
- Heat a skillet on medium-high heat and add the olive oil and butter. Place the mashed potato cakes in the skillet and let them brown on each side, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.
- Top with warmed creamed spinach and a poached egg, and salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
- To poach the eggs
- Heat a pot of water over medium heat until it is just simmering. Add in a splash of white vinegar.
- Crack the egg into a bowl. Stir the water with a wooden spoon to create a “whirlpool" and pour the egg in the center.
- Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, and then remove the egg with a slotted spoon.
What can I make with leftover stuffing and creamed spinach?
A spinach and artichoke stuffing frittata. It uses up the rest of your creamed spinach and Swiss chard artichoke stuffing, and because the stuffing goes right into the skillet, you get toast and eggs in one dish. It takes 40 minutes from start to finish.
How can I use up leftover mashed potatoes?
Make crispy mashed potato cakes. Mix 2 cups of mashed potatoes with 3 tablespoons of flour until a dough comes together, form patties about 1 inch thick, and brown them in a skillet with olive oil and butter, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Top them with warmed creamed spinach and a poached egg. They take 20 minutes total.
What can I do with leftover cranberry relish?
Spread it inside a grilled cheese. We pair it with sliced pear and freshly grated white cheddar, then cook the sandwich in a buttered skillet until golden and melted. The tart relish adds a little texture, and the whole sandwich takes 20 minutes.
Which recipe is the fastest?
The cranberry and pear grilled cheese and the crispy mashed potato cakes each take 20 minutes total. The frittata takes 40, with 10 minutes of prep and 30 of cooking.
How do I poach an egg for the potato cakes?
Heat a pot of water over medium heat until it's just simmering, then add a splash of white vinegar. Crack the egg into a bowl, stir the water to make a whirlpool, and pour the egg into the center. Cook it for 2 to 3 minutes and lift it out with a slotted spoon.
AUTHOR
Jessica Merchant is a full-time recipe developer and food writer who is intensely passionate about food and writing, and loves to share her food through her blog How Sweet Eats. Bacon makes her beam. Chocolate makes her shout from the rooftops with joy. Vegetables are her biggest frenemy (her perfect world would include none of them).
