19 Christmas Leftover Recipes: Here’s What To Do This Time (2024)

With Christmas leftover recipes, you’ll never waste food again. Plus, you can save as much as you can too. Transform Christmas dinner leftovers into whole new dishes with this list!

RELATED:17 Christmas Crock Pot Recipes For A Memorable Time With Your Family

Christmas Leftover Recipes To Avoid Food Waste

Extend the Festivities With Christmas Leftover Recipes

Christmas dinner is an occasion to enjoy good food with people dear and near. This is why I make sure our dinner table is filled with special and delicious food. The problem comes in the morning with all the leftovers.

I’m never one to waste food while so many are going hungry in the world. So I prepared this list of Christmas leftover recipes to help you fix dishes for you and your family to enjoy. Better yet, fix some for a soup kitchen for the homeless to keep spreading the spirit of Christmas.

1. Macaroni Ham and Cheese

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A classic meal good for any time of the day! Your leftover ham will have all the Christmas flavor that regular mac n’ cheesedoesn’t!

It’s so good, no wonder it tops our list of Christmas leftover recipes.

2. French Dip Sandwich

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Imagine re-heating your leftover roast beef and submerging it in a thick and rich dip! You won’t regret wrestling with that extra large roast. Not when the stragglers make up this genius recipe!

3. Leftovers Greens Fritters With Crumbled Cheese

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Healthy greens are often overlooked during Christmas celebrations. Everyone flocks to the ham or the turkey. But now that won’t be a problem!

Turn your leftover veggies into healthy and cheesy fritters!

4. Cake Leftover Trifle

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We won’t let even leftover Christmas dessert go to waste! Time to put those cake trimmings to good use. Have fun layering them using cream and fruit to create a decadent trifle!

5. Happy Turkey Meatloaf

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Turkey consumption doesn’t end at Thanksgiving. It’s now a main attraction on the Christmas table too! But because we serve the heaviest and meatiest of them all, we tend to deal with leftovers after.

So why not turn them into meatloaf?

6. Creamed Rice With English Peas and Country Ham

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It’s no longer uncommon nowadays to serve rice at Christmas. No one can deny who tasty and easy it is to eat, you won’t even notice how hearty it is! Turn your leftover rice into savory creamed fried rice!

7. Denver Scramble

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Got some remaining cheese and bell pepper you used for flavoring your dishes? Use them for a one-of-a-kind omelet!

Christmas leftover recipes are all about being inventive. And this one certainly achieves that!

8. Spiced Brunch Rice With Leftover Roasted Veg

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Rice, herbs, and veggies sound like a complete meal to me! A healthy option for your leftovers that leave some of the meaty and heavy stuff out! Perfect for pacing yourself early in the morning!

9. Turkey And Stuffing Sausage Rolls

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Turkey and sausage—two kinds of meat may sound a bit excessive. But not when you make these turkey and stuffing sausage rolls!

Bake them into chewy goodness between layers of soft dough. Now that is post-Christmas heaven!

RELATED:23 Christmas Side Dishes Every Christmas Table Needs

10. Leftover Roast Chicken Crustless Mini Quiches

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Chicken on mini quiche is a great idea! Protein and dairy in a small single serving? Leftover Christmas recipes have never been this exciting!

11. Roast Beef and Caramelized Onion Sliders

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Roast beef is my go-to Christmas main dish. It’s so good on its own, bare, and cooked to perfection. But even as leftovers, it tastes like a newly-cooked dish!

Sliders a great alternative to your regular beef patty burger!

12. Croque Monsieur

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Christmas leftover recipes that sound fancy? Don’t fret, you can make one in a snap! Just put some leftover ham and cheese into a sandwich, grill it, et voila! C’est un croque monsieur!

13. Leftover Brussels Sprout Hash

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Brussels sprouts are slowly winning everyone’s hearts. But they’re is still not the easiest dish to make palatable. Good thing we have Christmas leftover recipes that cater to this exact kind of dilemma!

Turn them into hash to let them receive the attention reserved for turkey and ham!

14. Creamy Spinach Crêpes

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This recipe requires leftover turkey, but you can use any leftover meat to make them! Achieve soft and creamy, but full and hearty crepes. All you need to do is marry the meats for a Christmas miracle!

15. Quick Pesto

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You don’t notice it, but you use up so many herbs and spices while cooking. We take them for granted because they come in unsuspecting quantities. But take notice of how much herbs are left unused during Christmas preparations!

Usually enough to make a quick pesto!

16. Bubble & Squeak

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I like to call this English dish the veggie pancakes! They have the texture of fried rice cakes stuffed with your leftover veggies. Try this to jumpstart your way back to a healthy diet after all that eating!

17. Christmas Leftovers Jacket Potatoes

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Potatoes are always present as a side dish on the Christmas table. We’re so used to it that we don’t notice we make too much! Finally, you know how to deal with leftover potatoes!

The yummy way, of course.

18. Leftover Pie Dough

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All the cutting and shaping for Christmas treats left so much unused dough! It’s enough to turn them into a whole new dessert! The practicality of Christmas leftover recipes does not get any better than this!

19. Apple, Lime and Chia Smoothie

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Who says only meals can be transformed and re-cooked? Bring out all the fruits, herbs, and seeds you used creating Christmas punches and dessert. Turn them into a healthy and innovative drink!

Went the fried chicken route this Christmas? Watch this video by Babish Culinary Universe for their Christmas leftover recipes, fried chicken edition:

Now you know the best way to deal with your Christmas leftovers other than the dump. With these Christmas leftover recipes, you can transform them into brand new dishes.

Be inspired never to waste food again with these Christmas leftover recipes!

Which of these Christmas leftover recipes did you like?Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Up Next:

  • 19 Leftover Turkey Recipes To Extend Your Thanksgiving Celebration
  • 10 Scrumptious Leftover Pork Recipes For Extended Thanksgiving Feast
  • 19 Fun Ways to Eat Homemade Guacamole | Guacamole Recipes

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Editor’s Note – This post was originally published on December 25, 2016, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.

19 Christmas Leftover Recipes: Here’s What To Do This Time (2024)

FAQs

How long can you eat Christmas leftovers? ›

Leftovers stored in the fridge should be eaten within three days. When freezing Christmas meats or stuffing, wrap them in heavy freezer wrap and put them in a container suitable for your freezer.

What to do with leftover food? ›

10 Things You Can Do with Food Scraps to Reduce Food Waste!
  1. Compost. Composting is a great way to put your food scraps to good use! ...
  2. Make DIY Beauty Products. ...
  3. Make More Food. ...
  4. Add to Plant Soil. ...
  5. Utilize the Aromas of Fruit for the Home. ...
  6. Make Infusions. ...
  7. Regrow Veggies. ...
  8. Use the Very Last of Everything in a Jar.
May 6, 2021

How do you use leftovers creatively? ›

Creative Leftover Ideas for Common Ingredients:

Leftover cooked meats can be incorporated into sandwiches, salads, or pasta dishes, while meat scraps can be #repurposed into flavorful stews or tacos. Leftover rice and pasta can be transformed into flavorful fried rice or baked pasta dishes.

How to reinvent leftovers? ›

Stretch any leftover meat (chicken, steak, taco meat, pork chops, etc.) by chopping it up, mixing it with cooked veggies, cheese, and spices (such as chili powder and cumin), placing it all between two whole-grain tortillas and pan frying it for a whole new meal. Sweet potato is a great vegetable for this.

Can you eat 2 year old Christmas pudding? ›

Since traditional Christmas pudding is made with a variety of dried fruits and nuts along with eggs and suet (animal fat)- the high content of the liquor helps it taste better and better over time, with no risk of spoiling even two years after they are made!

What Christmas food has a long shelf life? ›

Christmas foods to make now, use later
  • Christmas chutney.
  • Honey roasted vegetables.
  • Pickled brussel sprouts.
  • Gravy.
  • Dry cured pigs in blankets.
  • Redcurrant jelly.
  • Christmas pudding.
  • Sugar plums.
Sep 9, 2021

What is the best leftover food? ›

  • Meatloaf. Though meatloaf is often restricted to the weeknight dinner table, it is a powerhouse leftover. ...
  • Lasagna. Sure, there's nothing better than lasagna coming out of the oven hot with bubbling cheese. ...
  • Pulled Pork. ...
  • Beef Stew. ...
  • Chili. ...
  • Frittatas, Quiches and Tarts.

What do most restaurants do with leftover food? ›

Many restaurants cook with fresh ingredients, but what they don't use is often saved for another day or sold to other restaurants for a cut price. Some establishments will give them to their employees to take home to ensure the food isn't wasted.

What do hospitals do with leftover food? ›

In the hospitals, food for patients is prepared and disposed of separately from visitor meals and beverages (i.e., cafeteria food). There were four primary ways of disposing all food waste described during interviews: (a) in-sink garbage disposal; (b) MSW/Incineration; (c) farm animal feed, and (d) composting.

What to do with leftovers you don't want? ›

Reimagine Leftovers

Shred leftover meat and turn it into a pasta sauce, combine leftover vegetables into a frittata or make a stir-fry or fried rice using yesterday's rice. You can also pickle them, turn them into a casserole or blitz them into a quick dip or soup to save time.

What can I do with leftovers in the fridge? ›

Cover leftovers, wrap them in airtight packaging, or seal them in storage containers. These practices help keep bacteria out, retain moisture, and prevent leftovers from picking up odors from other food in the refrigerator.

What is the new cookbook using leftovers? ›

Her new cookbook, The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A-Z, is a seemingly endless encyclopedia of recipes that rely on what's left after we finish the initial meal. Adler gives new life to the foods that many of us leave in the fridge to waste away until they wilt to the point of no return and go into the trash.

Can you eat 7 day old leftovers? ›

Leftovers can be kept for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. After that, the risk of food poisoning goes up. If you don't think you'll be able to eat leftovers within four days, freeze them right away. Frozen leftovers will stay safe for a long time.

Is 4 days too long for leftovers? ›

Discard all perishable foods, such as meat, poultry, eggs, side dishes, or casseroles, left at room temperature longer than two hours; one hour in room temperatures above 90 °F. Once leftovers are stored safely, they will remain safe three to four days.

Can you eat leftovers on the 7th day? ›

How long do leftovers last? According to the FDA Food Code, all perishable foods that are opened or prepared should be thrown out after 7 days, maximum. No leftovers should survive in your fridge for longer than that. Some foods should be even be thrown away before the 7 day mark.

How long can you eat leftover Christmas ham? ›

Information. Spiral-cut hams and leftovers from consumer-cooked hams may be stored in the refrigerator three to five days or frozen one to two months. Keep your refrigerator at 40 °F or less and your freezer at or near 0 °F. See also Ham and Food Safety.

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