Thanksgiving Tacos
Don’t toss your holiday leftovers and make Thanksgiving Tacos instead. Wrapped in a warm, buttery tortilla or crispy taco shell, leftover turkey, gravy and cranberry sauce shine. These tacos take the leftovers sandwich to a whole new level.
2024 update: A version of this recipe was originally published on My Cooking Spot in November 2014. My recipe has been updated in November 2024 to include a better recipe, as well as new images and a lot more helpful information. I hope you love these tacos!
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Thanksgiving Tacos Recipe
So when your Thanksgiving feast is behind you, chances are, you’ve got a ton of leftovers… And chances are, you want something a little different than the dishes you gorged yourself on the previous day. I’m with you — we only need to eat the whole feast once.
Making new dishes with Thanksgiving leftovers the next day is clutch. In past years, I’ve made sandwiches and turkey pot pie.
This year, I wanted to put a different spin on it. And the inspiration came from my husband, who once remarked, “You know, it’s funny. Our pantry and diets reflect our move to Texas.” And it’s shockingly true. You will always find fresh flour tortillas in our fridge. We keep ingredients for guac on hand… And we eat fajitas or tacos at least once a week.
So it’s fitting that we’d make Thanksgiving tacos with our leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner. They’re a different take on something we all know and love. Add your favorite leftovers to the mix, and let the Thanksgiving flavors sing as you enjoy them wrapped up in a tortilla.
Why I love this recipe:
You’re going to love these easy leftover turkey tacos! I am obsessed with these and make them every year with whatever leftovers I can get my hands on.
This is the perfect way to reinvent your leftovers, especially if you’re not a huge leftover fan. These look similar to our favorite tacos, but with a completely different flavor profile.
Here are some more things to love about this quick recipe:
- Essentially, this is a TexMex-inspired way to use Thanksgiving leftovers… or any holiday meal that might involve these flavors.
- It’s a pretty simple recipe and can be customized however you like it with whatever you’ve got leftover.
- This is a great way to use up Turkey Day leftovers because it isn’t simply reheating the same meal you had yesterday. (Again: this recipe was written for those of us who don’t love leftovers, no matter how delicious they were the day before.)
Please note that for this recipe, we are not re-seasoning the leftover turkey with homemade taco seasoning or any additional combination of spices to make it into turkey taco meat.
We’re taking what we have, reheating it with our other favorite leftovers, and serving it up in a tortilla to make unique and delicious turkey tacos.
More Thanksgiving recipes to try: Thanksgiving Cheese Board | Spinach Madeline | Sparkling Ginger Cranberry Mocktail | Lemon Pepper Green Beans
What you need to make this recipe:
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- Tortilla warmer
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Meat shredder
- Cast iron skillet or a large skillet or pan for heating tortillas
- Baking sheet for warming up leftovers in the oven
- Pot for warming up leftovers on the stove
- Microwave
Let’s talk ingredients!
In addition to the tools above, you’re going to need some ingredients to make this recipe, too! Chances are, you might already have some of them in your fridge or pantry. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full measurements and instructions.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Fresh tortillas — flour or corn tortillas, it’s all about your personal preference! We tend to keep fresh flour tortillas in our home, but you do you. You can do hard taco shells, too, if you prefer those. Make sure to toast those up for the ultimate crunchy texture.
- Cranberry chutney — we like this spiced chutney, but you can use cranberry sauce, cranberry relish or orange cranberry compote, too.
- Leftover turkey meat — this can be white or dark meat. Use whatever you like. Just cut it down or shred it so it’s in bite-size chunks. (My favorite Thanksgiving turkey is a toss-up between this Sage Browned Butter Turkey and this Cajun Turkey.) This recipe also works with other protein options, like chicken and tofurkey if that’s your thing!
- Leftover stuffing — we usually end up with my mom’s classic French bread stuffing but we also love my baguette bacon stuffing and brioche bread stuffing.
- Gravy — use whatever you’ve got! I like to make turkey gravy with drippings from the turkey.
- Anything else you want — mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and sweet potatoes all make lovely Thanksgiving food additions to this leftover taco situation. Pickled red onions, sour cream (or a dollop of plain Greek yogurt), chopped cilantro, avocado slices, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, drizzle of hot sauce, etc., all are favorite toppings to add texture, flavor and color.
How to make Tacos with Thanksgiving Leftovers
These tasty tacos are shockingly easy to put together… and they’re quite delicious if I do say so myself!
Another bonus? You can add whatever Thanksgiving leftovers you’d like to these, so whatever sounds good to you in the moment? Make it happen!
Here’s what I do for mine… but feel free to get creative with it and add YOUR favorite Thanksgiving leftovers to the mix:
First, warm the tortillas. We do this in a skillet, but some people like to heat them by wrapping them in a damp paper towel and microwaving them.
If you have a gas stovetop, you can also toast them directly over the burner until slightly charred, as seen in these photos.
Heat the leftovers that need heating in the microwave, stove or oven.
Then the fun part: Assemble your tacos.
- Smear the cranberry chutney on the warmed tortillas.
- Place the stuffing carefully on top of the cranberry.
- Top with the turkey meat.
- Finally, finish with a drizzle of gravy.
Add anything else that sounds good! Some cheesy mashed potato casserole is a fave of mine, too. Enjoy warm!
Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips
Hosting friends or family to enjoy your leftovers in a different way?
Here’s how I would do it:
- Place all the leftover containers on the counter along with the warmed tortillas.
- Let everyone heat up their own on microwave-safe plates.
- Offer up some other taco toppings like salsa, shredded cheese or guacamole, if you want!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use up Thanksgiving leftovers in so many ways. Turn them into soup, tacos or sandwiches to reuse them in a new way.
Slice the turkey, place it in a baking dish and add a bit of broth or gravy to keep it from drying out. Cover tightly with foil and heat at 300°F (150°C) for about 20-30 minutes. For smaller portions, a microwave works if covered with a damp paper towel.
Quick tips and tricks to making the best Thanksgiving Tacos
- Reheat everything at once on the stove or in the oven so that everything is the same temperature at the right time.
- Be creative and try to use as many leftovers as you can!
- Use them for breakfast tacos. Add eggs and bacon, too.
More Thanksgiving leftover recipes
Want to make breakfast out of your leftovers? Check out this twist on a Southerm classic, Thanksgiving Turkey Biscuits and Gravy.
Looking to transform leftovers into an appetizer? These stunning Cranberry Turkey Puff Pastry Tartlets are bite-sized and utterly delicious.
Want to make a meal out of ’em? Turkey Tortilla Soup is a fun twist on a TexMex classic. And these Cranberry Turkey Sandwiches are so simple, but so flavorful!
If you want to make dessert, let me recommend transforming your cranberry sauce into these Orange Cranberry Cream Cheese Thumbprint Cookies OR Cranberry Pinwheel Cookies!
Here is how to make these delicious leftover Thanksgiving turkey tacos.
Thanksgiving Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 tortillas warmed
- 2 tablespoons cranberry sauce
- ¼ cup stuffing
- ½ cup leftover turkey
- 1 tablespoon turkey gravy
- Green onions for garnish
- Lime wedges for garnish and squeezing
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Instructions
- Warm the tortillas on an open flame on the gas range or in a skillet over the stovetop.
- Heat the turkey, stuffing and gravy in the microwave to prepare them to make the tacos.
- Smear the cranberry sauce on to the warmed tortillas.
- Next, sprinkle the stuffing on top of the cranberry sauce.
- Add the leftover turkey on top of the stuffing and cranberry sauce.
- Finish the tacos with a drizzle of gravy. Sprinkle on some chopped green onions for garnish.
- Enjoy immediately!
Video
Nutrition
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
This might be my favorite take on Thanksgiving leftovers! Yum! I always want something completely different, like Tex Mex, the next day. Plus after all that hard work, these are so easy to whip up!
Thanks so much, Megan! I always want something different for the day after Thanksgiving, too, to shake things up a bit. Did you give these a try this year?
This is amazing! Normally I just attempt some mass food dump with leftovers — eventually everything is in one bowl that you heat up and eat all together. THIS is way more creative and a much better option. 🙂
Thank you, Erini! I generally do the mass food dump or a sandwich, and it’s kind of fun to switch things up, right?
I love that this isn’t just your run-of-the-mill Thanksgiving leftover sandwich! This actually reminds me of these turkey tacos we had in Mexico at this Mayan restaurant – they were turkey + green mole + peanuts and so freaking yummy! Turkey tacos for the win!
Thanks, Cheryl! While I love a Thanksgiving leftover sandwich, there’s something wonderful about making something completely different with your leftovers. And those turkey tacos you’re talking about? Sound so wonderfully delicious! Yum!
I love tacos, and I love Thanksgiving. I never thought these loves would collide, but now I’m not sure I can rest easy until I try this combination….:)
Me too, Trisha! So happy I’m not alone in loving both, and I hope you tried and enjoyed this combination last week!