Leftover Thanksgiving turkey and mashed potatoes go into a shepherd's pie. Leftover cranberry sauce goes into a grilled cheese with cheddar and brie. Roasted vegetables become a skillet hash with an egg, and dinner rolls become stacked sandwiches. All four come from Kathryn Kellogg's six Thanksgiving leftover recipes at Going Zero Waste, which also has uses for mashed sweet potatoes and an open bottle of wine.
As of October 2026, USDA's Thanksgiving guide says to refrigerate leftovers within two hours and to use or freeze them within four days of when they were first cooked. For food first cooked on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26, 2026, that four-day window ends Monday, November 30.
Thanksgiving leftover recipes by ingredient
All six ideas in this table come from Kathryn Kellogg of Going Zero Waste. Her post has a measured ingredient list for the ice cream and short methods for the other five.
| Leftover ingredient | Dish or use | Other ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| Turkey and mashed potatoes | Turkey shepherd's pie | Roasted vegetables, or peas and carrots |
| Cranberry sauce | Cranberry sauce grilled cheese | Mild cheddar and brie, a dinner roll or sandwich bread. Turkey is optional |
| Roasted vegetables | Roasted vegetable hash | An egg |
| Dinner rolls | Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches | Roasted cauliflower, roasted vegetables, onion rings from the green bean casserole, spinach, mayonnaise |
| Mashed sweet potatoes | Sweet potato chocolate ice cream | Non-dairy milk, cocoa powder, coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup |
| An open bottle of wine | Red wine vinegar | Red wine vinegar you already have, or apple cider vinegar with the mother |
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Leftover turkey shepherd's pie with mashed potatoes
For her shepherd's pie, Kathryn Kellogg mixes leftover turkey with leftover roasted vegetables, or with peas and carrots. The mixture goes into a baking dish and the mashed potatoes go on top. It bakes until everything is heated through and the top is golden brown. She makes it in individual dishes or one large pie tin, depending on the crowd and how much is left. The post gives no oven temperature or bake time.
FoodSafety.gov's temperature chart lists 165°F for casseroles and for leftovers of any type, checked with a food thermometer.
Leftover cranberry sauce grilled cheese with cheddar and brie
Kellogg puts cranberry sauce in a grilled cheese with a little mild cheddar and brie, on a leftover dinner roll or sandwich bread, and grills it on the stove. It also uses up cheese left over from a cheese platter. For meat eaters she suggests adding turkey. The post gives no amounts.
Leftover roasted vegetable hash with an egg
Kellogg reheats leftover roasted root vegetables in a cast iron skillet on the stove, which crisps them. She makes a hole in the center, cracks in an egg and adds a little salt. She eats it for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving. The post doesn't say how long to cook the egg. FoodSafety.gov's temperature chart says to cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm.
Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches on dinner rolls
Kellogg stacks a dinner roll with roasted cauliflower, roasted vegetables, the onion rings from the green bean casserole, spinach and mayonnaise. The layers she lists are meatless, and she writes that leftover sandwiches work whether the main dish was a whole roasted cauliflower or a turkey.
Chocolate ice cream with leftover mashed sweet potatoes
One cup of mashed sweet potatoes is blended until smooth with non-dairy milk, cocoa powder, coconut oil, vanilla, a pinch of salt and maple syrup. Kellogg prefers coconut milk and adjusts the maple syrup to how sweet the sweet potatoes already are. The mixture goes into a 9×9 pan and, by her account, freezes through in a couple of hours. The full amounts are in her post.
The ice cream is eaten frozen, and her recipe blends and freezes the sweet potatoes without reheating them. USDA's Thanksgiving guide says to store side dishes within two hours of cooking and to use or freeze leftovers within four days of when they were first cooked.
Red wine vinegar from leftover wine
Kellogg's vinegar idea is for a bottle of wine that was left open and has oxidized past drinking. She turns it into red wine vinegar, either by adding it to red wine vinegar she already has or by starting a jar with apple cider vinegar that contains the mother. Her post describes this in a few sentences. It doesn't say how much wine to use or how to tell when the vinegar is ready.
For a full method, UC Food Safety at UC Davis hosts Vinegar Making, which it lists under Mississippi State University. Its wine vinegar method dilutes the wine to 5.5 to 7 percent alcohol, sanitizes the equipment, adds a vinegar culture and allows 3 to 4 weeks for full fermentation. Ohio State University Extension's Making Cider Vinegar at Home covers fermenting, filtering, storing and using homemade cider vinegar.
Storing and reheating Thanksgiving leftovers
These rules are from USDA's Leftovers and Food Safety page:
- Within two hours: Refrigerate leftovers within two hours of cooking, or of taking them off a warmer. Throw away perishable food that sat at room temperature longer than that. Above 90°F the limit is one hour.
- Packing: Divide large amounts into shallow containers and cover or seal them. Slice the turkey breast meat. Legs and wings can stay whole. Hot food can go straight into the refrigerator.
- How long: 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator, or 3 to 4 months in the freezer. Frozen leftovers stay safe indefinitely but can lose moisture and flavor over longer storage.
- Reheating: When leftovers are reheated, they should reach 165°F, measured with a food thermometer. Bring sauces, soups and gravies to a rolling boil. Cover food while it reheats. Frozen leftovers can be reheated without thawing, which takes longer.
Three of Kellogg's ideas are heated before serving: the shepherd's pie is baked, the grilled cheese is grilled and the hash is reheated in a skillet. Her post gives no heating step for the sandwiches, and the ice cream is eaten frozen. For food served cold, the same USDA page says to keep cold perishable food at 40°F or below and to discard cold leftovers that were left out at room temperature for more than two hours.
Kellogg's six ideas don't include one for stuffing or gravy. USDA's storage rules cover side dishes as well as the turkey. For other food-safety questions, USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline is 1-888-674-6854.
Common questions
What can I make with leftover turkey and mashed potatoes?
Leftover turkey and mashed potatoes can go into a shepherd's pie. Kathryn Kellogg of Going Zero Waste mixes the turkey with roasted vegetables, or peas and carrots, and tops the mixture with the mashed potatoes. Her method gives no oven temperature or bake time. FoodSafety.gov lists 165°F for casseroles and for leftovers of any type.
What can I do with leftover cranberry sauce?
Leftover cranberry sauce can go into a grilled cheese. Kathryn Kellogg's cranberry sauce grilled cheese at Going Zero Waste uses mild cheddar and brie on a dinner roll or sandwich bread. Turkey is an optional addition.
How long do Thanksgiving leftovers last?
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service gives leftovers 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator or 3 to 4 months in the freezer, and says to refrigerate them within two hours of cooking. As of October 2026, USDA's Thanksgiving guide says to use or freeze leftovers within four days of when they were first cooked. For food first cooked on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26, 2026, the four days end Monday, November 30.
What temperature should Thanksgiving leftovers be reheated to?
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service says that leftovers being reheated should reach 165°F, measured with a food thermometer, and that sauces, soups and gravies should be brought to a rolling boil.
Creators and sources
- Six leftover ideas: Kathryn Kellogg, 6 Zero Waste Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes at Going Zero Waste, first published November 21, 2018, and updated September 23, 2024. Kellogg discloses that the post was sponsored by Morton Salt. She also shared a separate reel of five Thanksgiving leftover recipes on Instagram.
- Storage, cooling and reheating: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Leftovers and Food Safety
- The four-day window and the hotline: USDA, Your Safe Thanksgiving Guide
- Temperatures for casseroles, leftovers and eggs: FoodSafety.gov, Cook to a Safe Minimum Internal Temperature
- Full vinegar methods, both hosted by UC Food Safety at UC Davis: Vinegar Making, which the site lists under Mississippi State University, and Making Cider Vinegar at Home, an Ohio State University Extension fact sheet from 2009.
- Cover photos: the potatoes photo is the cover image of Kathryn Kellogg's Instagram reel of five Thanksgiving leftover recipes. The red wine and vegetable hash photos are from her Going Zero Waste post.
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