Thanksgiving leftovers, sorted by whether you need the oven
Last checked September 9, 2026
By Friday the oven is the last thing anybody wants to turn on again, and it is usually still full. So this list is split that way: nine things you can make without it, and nine worth heating it for.
Every recipe here was written by somebody else, and every link goes straight to them. If one of these becomes the thing you make every year, the person who developed it is worth following.
One thing we checked, because it matters when you are hungry: where a recipe's stated time does not survive its own steps, the card below gives the real number and says so. Five of these eighteen are optimistic, one by more than an hour. That is not a complaint about the writers, it is just the number you actually need.
No oven needed
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Leftover Stuffing Waffles
Just a Taste by Kelly Senyei
The waffle iron is the one appliance nobody is fighting over on Thanksgiving weekend, and it crisps stuffing better than a pan does.
Needs a waffle iron. No oven and no stovetop at all, which on that particular weekend is the whole point.
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One Pot Turkey Tetrazzini
The Recipe Rebel by Ashley Fehr
The pasta cooks in the sauce, so it really is one pan and one wash-up on a day the sink is already full.
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Mashed Potato Pancakes
Sugar Spun Run by Sam Merritt
The shortest route from cold mash to something crisp, and it needs nothing you do not already have.
The card says 9 minutes. That is one batch; eight pancakes is two or three, so budget 15 to 20.
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Leftover Turkey-Cranberry Monte Cristo Sandwiches
Noble Pig by Cathy Pollak
Turkey and cranberry sauce in the same bite, and a sandwich you fry rather than assemble cold.
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Ham and Potato Soup
The Cozy Cook by Stephanie Melchione
Ham and leftover mash both go in, and the mash is what thickens it instead of a roux.
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Mashed Potato Croquettes
Spicy Southern Kitchen by Christin Mahrlig
Clears mash and ham at once, and the half-hour chill is what stops them collapsing in the pan.
Honestly timed: the chill sits inside the stated prep rather than hidden outside the total.
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Leftover Turkey Pot Pie Soup
Handle the Heat by Tessa Arias
The pot pie filling without anyone having to make or bake a crust.
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Easy Turkey Noodle Soup
Pinch of Yum by Lindsay Ostrom
Star anise and cinnamon in the broth make it taste nothing like Thursday, which is the point by Saturday.
The card says 25 minutes. The broth alone simmers about an hour, and the author would rather you made it the day before. Also needs fish sauce, star anise and rice noodles.
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Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Congee
The Woks of Life by Judy Leung
The only one here that uses the carcass rather than the sliced meat, so it costs nothing and clears the shelf.
Take the one-pot method on that page. The two-pot variation simmers the bones for four to six hours.
Worth heating the oven for
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Leftover Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
The Endless Meal by Kristen Stevens
Clears the two biggest containers in the fridge in a single dish.
Warm the mash first. Straight from the fridge it is too stiff to spread, which the author says plainly.
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Leftover Stuffing Breakfast Casserole
Thyme and JOY by Valerie Skinner
Stuffing binds into an egg bake without any extra bread, so it is breakfast for six out of one container.
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Mashed Potato Puffs
The Cooking Jar by Farah Abumaizar
Hands off once they are in the tin, unlike every other mashed potato recipe here that needs you at the pan.
Leave the bacon out and they are vegetarian. Add five minutes of cooling to the stated 40.
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Leftover Turkey Enchiladas
Savory Nothings by Nora Rušev
The turkey gets simmered in broth before it is rolled, which is the fix for meat that has already gone dry.
The card says 45 minutes and leaves out a 5-minute rest.
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The Thanksgiving Leftovers Croque Madame
Half Baked Harvest by Tieghan Gerard
The biggest fridge-clearer here: gravy, mash, turkey, cranberry sauce and vegetables all end up in one sandwich.
The card says 20 minutes, which does not survive the steps. It also has the longest shopping list here, with Gruyere, prosciutto and croissants on top of the leftovers.
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Cranberry Sauce Muffins
Foxes Love Lemons by Lori Yates
A deliberate small batch, so it uses up a little cranberry sauce rather than demanding a lot.
Whole berry sauce only, jellied will not work. The recipe calls for a stand mixer, and add 10 minutes of cooling.
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Cranberry Sauce Oatmeal Bars
Savory Tooth by Julia Mueller
One bowl, one dish, and it turns half a jar of cranberry sauce into sixteen portions.
The card says 45 minutes but the bars have to cool before you can cut them.
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Sweet Potato Bread
Chew Out Loud by Amy Dong
One of very few recipes that takes leftover sweet potato casserole exactly as it is, streusel and all.
The card says 1 hour 15, but it has to cool completely in the pan before slicing. Needs a stand mixer and two loaf pans.
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Leftover Turkey Pot Pie
I Heart Recipes by Rosie Mayes
The full-effort version, for the day you actually want to cook rather than just clear the fridge.
The most honest card in this list: it breaks out the cooling time and counts it in the total. Almost nobody does that.
Who made this page
We build Stockpot, an iPhone app that does this for whatever is actually in your fridge, not just in the week after Thanksgiving. You tell it your ingredients, the cookware you own and how long you have got. It searches the web for real published recipes, throws out everything that does not fit all three, and hands you the one you pick, with a link back to the person who wrote it.
See also: what you can actually cook with one pot.
Wrote a leftovers recipe that belongs here?
Send it to contact@theneeb.com. It has to actually use leftovers, and the time on the card has to be the real time. We add good ones and we credit you by name.