Leftover Thanksgiving Casserole
Add Preferred SourceThe day after the holiday, a leftover Thanksgiving casserole is what saves a fridge full of turkey and half a loaf of bread from becoming one more plain reheated plate. I bake it all into one savory dish that tastes like the meal without being a copy of last night’s dinner.
I toast the bread to golden before anything else touches it, which is what keeps three cups of broth from turning the whole thing soft. Everything goes in from what you already have, so you get a second full dinner out of the leftovers with no special shopping.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- One dish, one meal: the turkey, bread, and vegetables all bake together, so the whole dinner comes out of a single baking dish.
- It uses up the leftovers: a pound of cooked turkey and the ends of the bread loaf become a full second meal instead of going to waste.
- Toasted, not soggy: toasting the bread first means it drinks up the broth and still holds its shape after baking.
- No special shopping: butter, broth, an onion, and a few herbs are usually already in the kitchen the week of the holiday.
- You can make it ahead: assemble it the day before and bake it when you want it, which the storage section covers below.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what’s worth a note before you start. The printable card below has the full list with quantities in both US customary and metric.
- Cooked turkey: a pound of leftover roast turkey, shredded or pulled, is the base. It’s already seasoned and already cooked, so it only needs warming through in the skillet.
- Sandwich bread and French bread: two cups of each, cubed. The mix gives you soft centers and crisp edges once toasted, and slightly stale bread works even better because it soaks up the broth without collapsing.
- Chicken broth: three cups. This is what carries the herbs through the bread and keeps the inside moist while the top crisps.
- White wine: half a cup, for a little acidity that cuts the richness. You can leave it out and add a splash more broth instead, which the variations cover.
- Butter, celery, red onion, and garlic: the base the vegetables cook in. Five celery stalks and half a red onion give you the savory backbone that reads as holiday stuffing.
- Dried thyme and fresh parsley: the herbs that make it taste like the meal rather than plain baked bread. The thyme goes in with the broth, and the parsley finishes it.
How to Make Leftover Thanksgiving Casserole
A complete printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.
Here’s how it comes together. The full printable recipe with measurements is in the card below.
Toast the bread
Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Spread the cubed sandwich and French bread on a baking tray, drizzle with the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
Bake about 12 minutes, until golden. This step is what keeps the bread from going soft later, so don’t skip it.
Cook the vegetables and turkey
While the bread toasts, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped celery, diced red onion, and minced garlic, and cook about 7 minutes, until soft. Stir in the shredded turkey and season with salt and pepper.
Taste it here, because leftover turkey has already given up some of its salt and a casserole bakes flavors flatter than they taste in the pan, so season it up now rather than hoping the bake fixes it.
Combine everything
In a large bowl, mix the toasted bread with the turkey and vegetables, the white wine, chicken broth, dried thyme, and chopped parsley.
Stir until everything is evenly coated. Mix it just until combined, since overmixing breaks the bread down and you lose the texture the toasting gave you.
Bake the casserole
Transfer your mixture to a 9×13 baking dish, spreading it evenly. Pop it back into the oven and bake for another 18 minutes, until the top is crunchy and golden brown.
Recipe Notes and Expert Tips
- Season in stages, not just at the end. The most common complaint with these bakes is that they come out bland. Salt the bread as it toasts, salt the turkey in the skillet, and taste before the dish goes in the oven.
- Toast the bread properly. Pale bread turns soft under three cups of broth, while golden, dried-out cubes hold their shape.
- Watch the moisture. If you’re adding leftover gravy or extra vegetables, they bring their own liquid, so hold back a little broth or the middle stays wet.
- Cover the top if it browns early. If the top colors before the inside is hot, lay a piece of foil loosely over it for the last few minutes.
- Don’t overmix. Combine just until the bread is coated so the cubes stay intact.
Recipe Variations
- Leftover chicken or ham is a well-supported stand-in for the turkey, since they all go in already cooked and nothing else about the recipe changes.
- With no wine on hand, another half cup of broth plus a squeeze of lemon at the end covers the acidity it would have brought, and the bake time stays the same. This substitution is supported and low-risk.
- For more vegetables, I fold in leftover green beans, roasted squash, or a spoonful of corn at the combining step, a tested addition that carries the holiday flavors further. Drain anything watery first and cut the broth back a little, because the extra vegetables add moisture of their own.
- Cornbread in place of the sandwich and French bread makes a softer, sweeter version. It changes the texture more than the other swaps, and the exact timing hasn’t been tested here, so treat it as a starting point.
How to Store Leftovers
To make it ahead, assemble the casserole through the combining step, cover it, and refrigerate for up to a day, then bake it straight from cold as directed with a few extra minutes.
For leftovers after baking, get the casserole into the fridge within 2 hours of it coming out of the oven, or within 1 hour if the kitchen is warmer than 90°F (32°C).
You don’t have to cool it fully first, hot food can go straight into the fridge, and spreading it into a shallow container helps it chill faster. In an airtight container it keeps for 3 to 4 days.
Reheat it in a 350°F (175°C) oven until the center reaches 165°F (74°C), which holds the texture better than a microwave.
It also freezes well for up to 3 months, wrapped tightly in foil or sealed in a freezer-safe container, then thawed in the fridge overnight before reheating.
What to Serve With Leftover Thanksgiving Casserole
Because this is already a full plate in one dish, the sides that work best are the lighter, sharper ones that cut through it.
A spoonful of cranberry sauce on the side brings the tartness the casserole doesn’t have on its own, and it’s another leftover put to use.
If you want to lean into the holiday feeling, a scoop of creamy mashed potatoes with a little turkey gravy over the top turns it back into a proper spread, though the casserole stands fine on its own. A simple green salad rounds it out on a lighter night.
FAQs
A flat result almost always comes down to under-seasoning. Cooked turkey and a long bake both mute salt, so adjust the seasoning at the skillet stage and check it once more right before the dish goes in the oven.
Sogginess comes from too much liquid or bread that went in pale. Get the cubes properly golden and dry in the oven, and if you’re stirring in gravy or wet vegetables, hold some of the broth back so the middle sets instead of pooling.
Yes, it’s a good freezer dish. Portion it into a sealed container, keep it up to three months, and move it to the fridge the night before you reheat it to a safe 165°F (74°C).
You can. If there’s stuffing left over, use it in place of the toasted bread cubes; it’s already seasoned and softer, so ease off the added salt and hold back a little broth, since stuffing brings its own moisture.
More Casserole Recipes Worth Making
If this one earns a place in the rotation, these are the casseroles I’d point you to next.
- Turkey Casserole: the other dish to know when you’ve got roast turkey to use up, this one leans creamy with pasta and Swiss cheese under a golden breadcrumb topping.
- Cowboy Casserole: for a night you want a filling, family-style bake, finished with a tater-tot top the kids go for.
- Chicken Pot Pie Casserole: when you want pot pie without rolling out pastry, built with layers of puff pastry instead of a single crust.
- Cheeseburger Casserole: the flavors of a cheeseburger in a baked pasta dish, good for a busy weeknight.
- Taco Casserole: for a Tex-Mex night, with the tortillas crisped first so the base doesn’t turn soft.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups sandwich bread slices cubed
- 2 cups French bread cubed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- ½ cup butter
- 5 celery stalks chopped
- ½ red onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 pound cooked turkey shredded
- ½ cup white wine
- 3 cups chicken broth
- ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- fresh parsley for garnish
Video
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200ºC).
- Arrange the bread in a tray – drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown.2 cups sandwich bread slices, 1 tablespoon olive oil, Salt and pepper, 2 cups French bread
- In a skillet, melt the butter and add the celery, onion, and garlic and cook for 7 minutes, or until soft.½ cup butter, 5 celery stalks, ½ red onion, 2 garlic cloves
- Add the turkey and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.1 pound cooked turkey
- In a bowl, combine the turkey mixture with the bread, wine, chicken broth, thyme and parsley. Mix well.3 cups chicken broth, ¼ cup fresh parsley, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, ½ cup white wine
- Transfer the mixture to a baking dish and bake for 18 minutes, or until crunchy and golden brown.
- Serve with fresh parsley.
Notes
- Toast the bread to golden before it meets the broth, or it turns soft in the bake.
- Season in stages: the bread, the turkey, and the mixture, and taste before baking, because leftover turkey and a casserole both bake flatter than they taste in the pan.
- Mix just until combined so the bread cubes keep their texture.
- If the casserole looks dry going in, add a little more broth.
- Add extra vegetables if you have them, such as Brussels sprouts or diced butternut squash, when you combine everything.
- A handful of shredded cheddar or a little cream cheese stirred in adds richness, if you want it.
- Extra sage or thyme deepens the herb flavor.
- For crunch, scatter fried onions or a breadcrumb-and-parmesan mix over the top for the last few minutes.
- To make ahead, assemble through the combining step, cover, and refrigerate up to a day, then bake from cold with a few extra minutes.
- For leftovers after baking, get the casserole into the fridge within 2 hours of it coming out of the oven, or within 1 hour if the kitchen is warmer than 90°F (32°C).
- Reheat to an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C); freezes well for up to three months; thaw overnight in the fridge.
WOW…great for Thanksgiving…just ass I remember.
It is! Let me know how it turns out when you try it Estel!
I have trouble digesting stringy veg, so I GRIND half the celery then add the ground and juice–all the flavor half the struggle
I’m glad you’ve found a great solution for you!