• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Chef Dennis
  • Recipe Index
  • On the Road
  • About
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Contact
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipe Index
    • About
    • Contact
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Thanksgiving Recipes

    Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes and Ideas

    Published: Nov 23, 2017 · Modified: Jun 18, 2022 by Chef Dennis Littley

    278 shares
    • Facebook162
    • Email
    5 from 3 votes
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Thanksgiving and any of the winter holiday celebrations that follow always means there’s going to be turkey on the table. And that means Thanksgiving leftover ideas. Here are a few of my favorites to change up how you serve your turkey leftovers!

    After a few days of turkey sandwiches and platters, you start thinking of other ways of transforming those leftovers into something not quite as recognizable….sigh.

    Turkey Pot Pie

    Two of my favorite ways to use up leftover turkey or chicken are pot pies because I love Pot Pies! It’s a comfort food that I remember from my childhood and the perfect meal for a fall or winter night. This year I added a new twist to my Pot Pies making them Gluten Free, and you know you couldn’t tell the difference. So far being Gluten Free hasn’t been too hard and I really feel better!

    While I love Pot Pies,  Lisa’s favorite leftover creation has to be turkey croquettes and she looks forward to them every time I put a turkey in the oven! If you’ve never had a croquette before, it really is a blast from the past and something you’d find on every diner menu in the tri-state area. Good diner food can be a thing of beauty!

    Turkey Croquette

    For this rendition of a diner classic, I changed up the recipe and made them even easier than ever to make using leftover stuffing, a little gravy and chopped turkey. Talk about quick and delicious!

    The Bobbie, Turkey leftover

    My favorite sandwich of all times is what they used to call a Bobbie in the Delaware area, aka The Gobbler around the country. But whatever you call it, call it delicious! Turkey, stuffing, coleslaw and cranberry sauce on your favorite toasted bread….sigh.

    If you enjoy ed this recipe you might like these:

    • How to Dry Brine a Turkey
    • Side Dishes for Thanksgiving
    • Turkey Noodle Soup

    Did you make this? Please RATE THE RECIPE below!

    Please SUBSCRIBE and FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST!

    Turkey Croquette
    Print Recipe Save Saved!
    5 from 3 votes

    Table of Contents:

    • Turkey Pot Pie and Turkey Croquettes
      • Ingredients
        • Turkey Pot Pie
        • Turkey Croquettes
      • Instructions
        • Turkey Pot Pie
        • Turkey Croquettes
      • Nutrition

    Turkey Pot Pie and Turkey Croquettes

    I love Thanksgiving and sometimes I think its just so I can enjoy the leftovers!  Here are some of my favorite recipes for using up your leftover turkey and stuffing.
    Prep Time20 minutes mins
    Cook Time20 minutes mins
    Total Time40 minutes mins
    Course: Entree
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 10
    Calories: 325kcal
    Author: Chef Dennis Littley

    Ingredients

    Turkey Pot Pie

    • 2 cups chopped turkey meat
    • 3 carrots peeled and sliced
    • 3 stalks of celery cleaned and sliced
    • 1 small onion diced
    • 3 small potatoes diced skin on
    • 8 oz mushrooms sliced
    • 4 oz peas optional
    • 1 ½ sticks butter
    • 1 cup flour
    • 3-4 cups turkey or chicken stock
    • 1 tsp poultry seasoning
    • Salt and pepper to taste
    • Gluten Free or Regular premade pie crust or make your own

    Turkey Croquettes

    • 3 cups leftover stuffing regular or gluten free
    • 2 cups chopped turkey
    • leftover gravy as needed to make moist
    • flour for dusting
    • olive oil for saute
    US Customary – Metric
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    Turkey Pot Pie

    • Add butter to a large saute pan or pot add all your prepped veggies to butter and saute for about 8 minutes, or until they look partially cooked.
    • add in flour and mix well to make a roux in the veggies, turn down heat and continue cooking for about 5 minutes.
    • Add in 3 cups of your turkey or chicken stock to make the gravy for the pot pie. If it looks too thick add in another cup of stock.
    • Season with salt and pepper and allow to cook on low hear for about 15 minutes. At this point let the mixture cool down a bit.
    • Fill each casserole almost to the top with your prepared turkey filling Place premade pie dough on top of filling , and crimp around edges, finished crust anyway you like.
    • Brush dough with beaten egg, and make 4 slits in the top of the dough
    • Place pot pies in preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the crust gets a rich golden brown color.
    • Serve as is or with lightly buttered noodles, or any side you may like. You may also make one big pot pie if you like, just keep your dough in one piece while chilling.

    Turkey Croquettes

    • Mix leftover stuffing with chopped turkey and add as much gravy as you need to make the mixture moist enough to form patties or cones.
    • These can be baked or sauteed.
    • If pan frying coat croquette with flour and saute in pan with olive oil till lightly brown in color, and place in a 325 degree oven for 20 minutes.
    • You can eliminate the pan frying and just place in oven for 20 minutes.
    • Serve with gravy and your favorite veggie.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 325kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 473mg | Potassium: 714mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 3410IU | Vitamin C: 14.7mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 4.4mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @askChefDennis or tag #askChefDennis!

    More Thanksgiving Recipes

    • partial view of saucepan with turkey gravy and a whisk
      Easy Homemade Turkey Gravy
    • pumpkin pie with whipped cream on a white plate with reminder of pie in tin
      Classic Pumpkin Pie Recipe
    • slice of pumpkin roll with the rest of the roll
      Classic Pumpkin Roll Recipe
    • slice of pumpkin praline cheesecake on a white plate in front of the whole cheesecake on a white platter
      Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan Praline Recipe

    About Chef Dennis

    Picture of Chef Dennis

    Chef Dennis Littley is a classically trained chef with over 40 years of experience working in the food service industry. In his second career as a food blogger he has made it his mission to demistify cooking by sharing his time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen. Let Chef Dennis help you bring the joy of cooking into your home. For more details, check out his About page.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Comment Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Irma

      December 15, 2014 at 9:25 pm

      5 stars
      I got a little excited when I saw turkey croquettes on the menu. But alas they’re different than what we make. In the NL you can buy croquettes in a street “automat”.,which is like a vending machine built into a wall. You slip in a coin and get a lukewarm croquette. It’s been 24 yrs. since I was there, so maybe they’ve disappeared.
      Anyway , my Dutch MIL taught me to make Turkey croquettes. You chop up your leftover turkey finely, about 6 cups,and put it into thick Turkey gravy, 2-3 cups.You let it chill overnight or for several hours. Prepare a crumbing station. A pie plate with breadcrumbs and bowl of loose egg whites. Form a cylinder shape, about 3″ long, 1 1/2″ diameter. Roll in bread crumbs, them in egg whites, and again in breadcrumbs. Put on wax paper lined platter and chill at least an hour to set up. Then deep fry till golden brown.internal temp should be 165.F. This makes 12-15 depending how big they are,2-3/person.
      We eat them on a slice of bread with Dutch mustard or part of a regular meal. So delicious!

      Reply
    2. Charlie

      December 07, 2014 at 12:16 pm

      Hi Dennis:
      Hope you and the wife are well. It’s been quite a while.

      This sounds really good.
      Keeping the recipes for Christmas leftovers. Although I cook goose and not turkey, it will still work.

      Have you ever thought of replacing your poultry seasoning with summer savoury?

      So very good. I have been using it for 32 years now and won’t go back to the poultry seasoning.

      If I can’t get back here before Christmas.
      May God Bless you and give you a Christmas filled with Joy and Laughter.

      Have a Joyful Day :~D
      Charlie

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        December 07, 2014 at 12:39 pm

        Thank you for the tip about the summer savory Charlie, and just in case we don’t connect before the holidays I’m wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar


    My name is Dennis Littley or “Chef Dennis” as I’m known both at work and across the blogosphere. As a classically trained chef with 40+ years of experience in the kitchen, I share my time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen.

    More about me →

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Fan Favorites

    • loaf of homemade artisan bread on a wooden cutting board
      Almost No-Knead Artisan Bread Recipe
    • 2 Maryland crab cakes on a white plate
      Baked Maryland Crab Cakes Recipe
    • chicken parm with pasta on a white plate
      Chicken Parmesan Recipe
    • seasoned crispy chicken legs on a foil wrapped tray
      Best Baked Chicken Legs {Drumsticks}
    • side view of slice of bee sting cake being taken out of full cake
      German Bee Sting Cake (Bienenstich) Recipe
    • Tiramisu with a fork on a white plate
      Best Tiramisu Recipe {step by step}
    • overhead view of barbecued half racks of baby back ribs on a white platter
      Easy Oven Baked Baby Back Ribs
    • overhead view of veal parm and linguine on a white plate
      Restaurant Style Veal Parm Recipe

    Featured In

    logos of all the places chef dennis has been featured

    Popular Posts

    • crispy seasoned chicken leg quarters on a white platter
      Best Baked Chicken Leg Quarters
    • cropped-Gunniess-Beef-Stew-13.jpg
      Authentic Guinness Beef Stew Recipe
    • overhead shot of baked crab imperial on a white plate with sauteed greens and roasted potatoes
      Maryland Style Jumbo Lump Crab Imperial
    • close up of half a chicken salad sandwich on a white plate
      Best Chicken Salad – Deli Style
    • oysters rockefeller with a slice of lemon on a bed of rock salt on a white platter
      How to Make Restaurant Style Oysters Rockefeller
    • sliced dry rub roasted brisket with cilantro and tomatoes on on a white platter
      Easy Oven Baked Beef Brisket Recipe
    • rack of pork with end cut off
      Oven Roasted Rack of Pork {Pork Rib Roast}
    • sliced meatloaf with the rest of meatloaf on a white platter
      Classic Meatloaf Recipe with Zesty Glaze

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    INFO

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosure Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Accessibility Policy

    SUBSCRIBE

    Sign Up Today and start getting my easy-to-make restaurant-quality recipes!

    CONTACT

    • About
    • Contact
    © 2009-2023 · Ask Chef Dennis ·

    Proud Member of:
    Mediavine Publisher Network
    278 shares
    • 162