12 Leftover Turkey Recipes For A Delicious Post-Holiday Breakfast

Both Thanksgiving and Christmas are holidays where we tend to celebrate by indulging in some deliciously sumptuous turkey, but there is no denying the frustration of all the leftover turkey that gets left behind once the holiday period passes.

There is nothing worse than wasting food, especially during the time of the year when we are meant to be thankful for all that we have in our individual lives.

Many of us look to our leftovers to keep us going for days after the celebrations are over, with turkey being a popular leftover that is common after the holidays.

One of the best ways to go about using up your leftover turkey is to put it aside to use in meals for the next few days, such as for breakfast the following day!

Turkey might not be the first thing to come to mind when you think about food that is well suited for breakfast, but you will be surprised at what you can do with the right ingredients, as well as some imagination and creativity in the kitchen.

With this in mind, we are going to be looking at twelve particularly interesting recipes that utilize that leftover turkey in a creative and delicious fashion for your breakfast meal. Let’s get started.

1. Holiday Turkey Hash – Boulder Locavore

Hash is a popular breakfast food, so why not make yourself some delicious holiday turkey hash the next day?

Hash tends to be a combination of chopped-up potatoes and fried onions, though there is sometimes some meat thrown into the mix.

With this recipe, your turkey will be the main event, alongside some of those aforementioned fried onions and potatoes and even a few leftover veggies, stuffing and gravy if you have them.

This particular recipe includes a few other ingredients that you can add to the mix if you so choose, such as garlic cloves, unsalted butter, sliced almonds, red bell peppers, yellow onions, and fresh Italian parsley.

This combination of ingredients will offer you a delicious leftover turkey-based breakfast with amazing flavors as well as a nice crunch!

2. Leftover Turkey Frittata – Serious Eats

Another great way to use that leftover turkey for breakfast is to make a tasty breakfast frittata!

Not only is this a delicious choice when it comes to a breakfast that features leftover turkey, but it is also one that is pretty easy to make as well as quick.

You can use fresh vegetables for your breakfast frittata, but you can also make use of some of your other leftovers, such as any green beans or Brussels sprouts that you might have left.

To get the crispiest top for your frittata, make sure that you start on the stove top and then finish it off underneath the broiler.

3. Ultimate Leftover Turkey Breakfast Sandwich – Project Meal Plan

There is nothing like a hearty breakfast sandwich, and that is exactly what you get with this next leftover turkey recipe!

This ultimate leftover turkey breakfast sandwich combines everything that you might have leftover from Thanksgiving or Christmas (as well as the turkey), such as stuffing, veggies, or gravy.

Pair the leftovers with some melted cheese and top it off with a fried egg for a decadently delicious sandwich.

If you have some mashed potato left over as well, you can also create a mashed potato patty that can go into the sandwich for an extra layer of tastiness.

4. Thanksgiving Leftover Potato Pancakes – Nutritious Eats

These potato pancakes are not only great for breakfast, but they can also be used for lunch and dinner.

The patties for these potato pancakes are pretty versatile, as you can basically make them out of any three leftover sides that you might have.

Of course, leftover mashed potatoes are a must but if you would rather not include turkey, you can always substitute it for something else.

This particular recipe involves using diced turkey with mashed or sweet potatoes, olive oil or coconut oil, a lightly beaten egg, and a cup of stuffing along with some black pepper.

Add on a little maple syrup to get a delicious blend of sweet and savory tastes.

5. Savory Turkey Crepes – Natasha’s Kitchen

Savory crêpes are just as delicious as sweet ones, and these savory turkey crêpes are the perfect breakfast treat to enjoy after the holidays with that leftover turkey.

This particular recipe involves combining the leftover turkey meat with mushrooms, but of course, this can be altered to your particular liking or to suit the leftovers that you have available.

As well as your meat and chosen leftovers, you will also need water, olive oil, unsalted butter, eggs, salt, milk, and all-purpose flour to create your crêpes.

6. Leftover Turkey And Sweet Potato Frittata – SkinnyTaste

Another tasty, leftover turkey frittata, this particular recipe combines sweet potato with that aforementioned turkey as well as Gruyère cheese and spinach to make a beautiful breakfast frittata.

If you want to keep your recipe as close to this original one as possible, then you will need eggs, onions, dried thyme, kosher salt, paprika, garlic powder, olive oil, and freshly cracked black pepper along with that spinach and Gruyère cheese to make this breakfast frittata.

7. Leftover Turkey Tacos – What Should I Make For

Breakfast tacos are a fantastically indulgent way to enjoy your morning meal, so why not consider making some with your leftover Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey?

This recipe makes for some particularly flavorsome breakfast turkey tacos thanks to the inclusion of sautéed onions, cranberry chutney, and jalapeños alongside your leftover turkey.

The ingredients blend perfectly together within a charred taco shell, making for a unique- yet still incredibly delicious- breakfast opportunity.

8. Sweet Potato And Turkey Hash – Around My Family Table

Next up, we have another recipe for a breakfast hash that you can make with your leftover turkey!

This particular hash recipe includes sweet potato, garlic, onions, peppers, and a fried egg on top, but much like the other recipe, you can always switch this up to suit the leftovers that you have at your disposal.

If you have any jalapeños at the ready (perhaps from making those aforementioned breakfast turkey tacos), then throw them in as well for a breakfast with a bit of an edge.

Some other great optional toppings include bacon bits, avocado, or cheese, or why not all three?

9. Thanksgiving Leftovers Breakfast Casserole – Teaspoon Of Spice

If you find yourself struggling to think of one particular recipe for your turkey leftovers- as well as your other leftovers- then this leftover breakfast casserole could be exactly what you’re looking for.

This recipe combines all of your leftovers together, including that all-important turkey, into a tasty casserole dish.

It is simple to make, basically just combining any leftovers that you might have available to you, from corn to sweet potatoes, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and more.

The only limits to this recipe are your imagination (and what you have in your refrigerator)!

10. Mexican Turkey Breakfast Pizza- Taste & Tell

Considering something a little more unconventional for your leftover breakfast? Then this Mexican turkey leftover breakfast pizza could be the perfect meal for you.

This recipe is a little more specific in terms of ingredients, as you can’t really make a pizza without pizza dough and some other key ingredients!

Because of this, you will need to make sure that you have some of the ingredients ready beforehand so that you can make the best leftover turkey pizza possible.

These key ingredients include turkey- of course-, and that previously mentioned pizza dough as well as shredded hash browns, eggs, salsa, and pepper jack cheese.

You might also want to consider chilies, taco seasoning and chopped cilantro to emphasize the Mexican flavors.

11. Thanksgiving Leftover Pumpkin Waffle Breakfast Sandwiches – Running To The Kitchen

If you can’t decide between sandwiches and waffles for your post-holiday breakfast, then why not combine both with this turkey leftover recipe?

For this recipe, you will want to use any leftover cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes that you have as well as the turkey, as these will go into the sandwich element of the meal along with eggs and butter.

The waffle part is a little more complicated if you are making them from scratch, but you can make the process more simple if you so choose with premade or packaged waffles.

Don’t forget that there should be plenty of room left in that sandwich, so if you have other leftovers to hand, like stuffing or veggies, they can go in there too!

12. Leftover Turkey With Ham And Bacon Croissant Melts – Eat Cake For Dinner

Last but certainly not least, this meaty croissant sandwich recipe includes leftover turkey along with bacon and ham, creating a melty meal that is sure to have your mouth watering come breakfast time.

To get the most out of that melty feeling that you get from cooked croissants, add in some cheese (this particular recipe uses Pepper Jack cheese) for an extra layer of decadence.

This recipe also includes a section to make your own honey mustard sauce to go with your croissant melts.

If you want to make this sauce yourself, you will need regular mustard along with Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, lemon juice, honey, and some optional Worcestershire sauce.

Final Thoughts

So there you have twelve different recipes that you can use to make some delicious breakfast foods with your leftover Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey.

Gone will be the days of being stuck with tons of turkey that no one wants to eat with these fun and yummy recipes, so start making notes now to prepare for the holiday season!

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