Most years, I cook a full Thanksgiving meal for my family, which results in us having lots of leftovers in the fridge.
Instead of heating up the same dishes all week, I decided to try three recipes that could give our extra turkey (and some sides) new life.
From a simple turkey salad to a stacked sandwich, here’s how each recipe stacked up.
I began by making a Thanksgiving-inspired sandwich.
Our typical Thanksgiving leftovers include things like turkey breast, cranberry sauce, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and green-bean casserole.
For the first recipe, I gathered them all up to make a sandwich using a recipe from The New York Times. I also grabbed thick sandwich bread and turkey gravy.
The stuffing layer was the most labor-intensive part of the sandwich.
I began by mixing the mayonnaise and cranberry sauce to create a cranberry mayo. Then, I combined chopped turkey and gravy to make another sauce.
Since we didn’t have leftover stuffing, I made a box of stuffing, pressed it into a square pan, and refrigerated it until it hardened.
Once it was solid, I fried each side in a bit of oil. This step took the longest and required some advanced prep.
Unfortunately, layering all of the ingredients was pretty messy.
The recipe called for stacking layers of cranberry mayonnaise, gravy, mac and cheese, stuffing, green-bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and the turkey between two slices of bread.
I knew it would be a messy disaster before I even put the two pieces of bread together.
The sandwich tasted good, but it wasn’t worth the hassle.
Overall, the sandwich was messy and difficult to eat. When I tried to take a bite out of it, all of the ingredients slid out onto the plate.
I ended up eating everything with a knife and fork, which made me wonder why I went through the hassle of stacking it all into a sandwich.
I can’t say I’d make this again.
Next, I tried making a turkey salad.
The easiest dish to make was the turkey salad, which was similar to chicken versions I’ve made in the past. I used a recipe from the cooking blog Ahead of Thyme.
The ingredients are simple: celery, green onion, paprika, mayo, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and finely chopped leftover turkey.
I made a few changes to the recipe, but the dish was still good.
I don’t like the crunch of celery or onion, so for this turkey salad, I made a few adjustments.
Instead of adding diced celery, green onions, and salt, I just used celery salt to flavor the salad without adding a harsh crunch.
The turkey salad was great on a sandwich, and I’d make it again.
My turkey-salad sandwich tasted great. It had plenty of flavor from the mustard, paprika, and celery salt.
Overall, I thought it was simple to prepare, and as an added bonus, it required ingredients I already had in my pantry and refrigerator.
I’d make this turkey salad again if I had leftovers on hand.
Lastly, I tried a recipe for turkey soup.
I’m a fan of hearty fall meals, so I was happy to find a recipe for leftover turkey soup on the cooking blog Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.
Out of the three recipes, the soup had the longest ingredient list, including long-grain wild rice, chicken broth, and diced carrots, celery, and onions.
Right from the beginning, the soup felt perfectly rustic.
I love a soup dish that starts with cooking aromatics like carrots, celery, and onions. It took me a bit of time to dice them all, but I knew my hard work would pay off.
Simmering the chopped vegetables in a bit of butter immediately set the tone for the savory soup I was about to enjoy.
Even before I added the cream, I could tell the soup was going to be good.
After sautéeing the chopped vegetables, I added chicken broth and a box of long-grain wild rice to the pot. Then, I let it simmer until the grains were cooked through.
I also added the half-and-half the recipe called for, though I think you could forgo it to make a lighter soup.
I’d cook another Thanksgiving turkey just to have an excuse to make the soup.
Once I added the half-and-half, the soup was creamy and ready to serve.
I thought the finished dish was so delicious, hearty, and savory. I loved the flavor of the vegetables and turkey. My family returned for seconds, so we hardly had any leftovers the following day.
I wouldn’t mind cooking turkey breast again just to make the soup.
The turkey soup was my clear winner.
Of all three recipes, the one I’d be most likely to make again is the creamy, delicious turkey-and-rice soup.
Making this recipe was an amazing way to turn leftover turkey from Thanksgiving into a whole new meal that’s warm and filling. Honestly, I’d cook another bird just so I had an excuse to make this soup again.
This story was originally published on November 23, 2023, and most recently updated on November 26, 2025.
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The post I tried using leftover turkey 3 different ways. One recipe was so good that I’d cook a whole bird just to make it again. appeared first on Business Insider.
