Thanksgiving Leftovers Casserole

Use up all your delicious Thanksgiving leftovers to make a casserole. Layers of mashed potatoes, turkey, green bean casserole, gravy, and stuffing, all topped with tart cranberry sauce.

casserole in a white dish

You have just spent the better part of two days cooking, serving, eating, and washing dishes. The last think you want to think about is making yet another meal!

And when you open the fridge, it’s stuffed with containers full of leftovers. So even if you wanted to make dinner, there is no room to put anything else in there.

So let’s take all those yummy leftovers and turn them into a delicious meal. You poured all your love into them, so you certainly don’t want them to go to waste. That’s where this Thanksgiving leftovers casserole comes in!

All the delicious leftover stuffing, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole get turned into another yummy meal that is easy to put together. Make life even easier and just assemble the casserole as you are putting away the leftovers from dinner.

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ingredients for a casserole using thanksgiving leftovers

Ingredients Needed

  • Turkey – Feel free to substitute rotisserie chicken if you don’t have any leftover turkey. This is also a great way to use up the leftover turkey dark meat.
  • Mashed potatoes – Substitute store bought if you don’t have any leftover mashed potatoes or add more stuffing.
  • Dressing – Depending on what you have more of you can use all potatoes or all leftover stuffing.
  • Green beans – I prefer to use leftover green bean casserole but you can always substitute frozen or canned green beans.
  • Gravy – This is usually the first thing to disappear so you can make new gravy or substitute cream of mushroom soup.
  • Cranberry – Use up any leftover cranberry sauce you have or you can always open up a can of whole cranberry sauce. Or leave off all together.
  • Fried onions – You can use up any you might have leftover or you can always leave these off if you like.
  • Kitchen staples – Chicken broth, unsalted butter, salt and pepper.

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How To Make Thanksgiving Leftovers Casserole

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9×13 or 9×9 casserole dish and set aside.
  2. Mix mashed potatoes and 1 cup gravy in a medium mixing bowl. Spread mashed potatoes on the bottom of greased baking dish.
  3. Sprinkle turkey on top of potatoes. Pour the remaining gravy on top.
  1. Layer the stuffing and green beans on top of the turkey. Depending on how dry your stuffing is, add up to ¼ cup of chicken broth as needed.
  2. Place pats of butter on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.
  3. Serve with cranberry sauce on the side. Enjoy!

For the full recipe and detailed baking instructions, please see the recipe card at the end of this post.

thanksgiving leftovers casserole in a white dish on a wire rack

How long does it last?

You are already using food that is previously cooked, so I would only keep the leftovers for 1-2 days. I’m sure you don’t want to eat turkey three days in a row anyway.

Also, don’t use the leftovers to make the casserole if they have been in the fridge for more than 4 days. It’s best to make the casserole as soon as you can after Thursday.

plate of thanksgiving leftovers casserole

Can I freeze it?

I like this option the best. I don’t really feel like eating turkey and mashed potatoes again so soon after Thanksgiving. So I usually assemble the casserole and freeze it.

Then, in a few weeks when I am craving comfort food, or need an easy meal during the busy holiday season, I grab this from the freezer. It will freeze well for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and bake it the next day.

scoop of casserole with leftover green bean casserole and stuffing

Serving Suggestions

Since this casserole has all the best leftovers, I like to serve mine with a salad or topped with extra cranberry sauce to freshen it up a bit.

You can always take a slice of this and put it on a sandwich!

Thanksgiving Casseroles

You can use any combination of these traditional Turkey Day dishes:

fork with bite of casserole with cranberry sauce

Tips For The Best Casserole

  • Assemble the casserole as soon as possible. You don’t want anything sitting around for too long.
  • If any of the ingredients seem dry, add a splash of chicken broth or stir in some cream of chicken soup.
  • Substitute a rotisserie chicken if you don’t have any turkey left.
  • You can always top the casserole with some cheese instead of the fried onions.

If you love this recipe as much as I do, pin this to your favorite casserole Pinterest board and share it on your favorite social media channels!

pinterest pin image for thanksgiving leftovers casserole

This Thanksgiving leftovers casserole recipe is a great way to use up all those delicious holiday leftovers without anything going to waste.

thanksgiving leftovers casserole features image

Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole

Use up all your leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner and make this delicious casserole. You can always assemble it and freeze it for later when you have a busy weeknight.
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 492kcal
Author: Jennifer Stewart

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups mashed potatoes
  • 1 ½ cups turkey gravy divided
  • 2 cups turkey shredded
  • 2 cups stuffing
  • 1 cup green beans drained
  • ¼ cup chicken broth optional
  • 4 tablespoons butter divided into pats
  • 1 cup cranberry sauce for serving

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9×13 or 9×9 baking dish and set aside.
  • Mix mashed potatoes and 1 cup gravy in a medium mixing bowl. Spread mashed potatoes on the bottom of greased baking dish.
  • Sprinkle turkey on top of potatoes. Pour the remaining gravy on top.
  • Layer the stuffing and green beans on top of the turkey. Depending on how dry your stuffing is, add up to ¼ cup of chicken broth as needed.
  • Place pads of butter on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.
  • Serve with cranberry sauce on the side. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 492kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 774mg | Potassium: 595mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 593IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 3mg

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