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If you need ideas for how to use your Thanksgiving Leftovers, this recipe for Fried Thanksgiving Leftover Bites is perfect. Enjoy your leftover turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes by turning them into a crispy crunchy delight that everyone will love! Use an air fryer or deep fry in your favorite oil!
Every year we look forward to Thanksgiving leftovers, almost more than the Thanksgiving meal itself. All because of these amazing Fried Thanksgiving Leftover Bites! They’re crunchy and delicious, and when you dip them into either fresh cranberry sauce (my favorite) or homemade gravy, your world will change forever!
Deep Fried Thanksgiving Bites (A Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipe)
These Thanksgiving Bites can be described as a meat-filled Thanksgiving hushpuppy. They’re cubes of turkey, wrapped in stuffing, then coated with mashed potatoes, battered and deep fried. THEY’RE SO GOOD! Our friends and family love it when we make these, so we had to share them with you too!
If you haven’t made it to Thanksgiving yet and need those recipes too, check out my Thanksgiving recipe archives for everything you need to make a traditional Thanksgiving meal!
Ingredients
First, you’re going to need some Thanksgiving leftovers! If you don’t have any leftovers of a certain food, you can either make more or omit it. You do need at least one of the starches to coat the turkey before breading.
- Turkey – We cubed about 1/2 lb of turkey into 1″ cubes. Light and dark meat work just the same for this recipe.
- Stuffing – We had about a box of stuffing leftover after our Thanksgiving meal. You can always make a new box of stuffing, but it’s best if you let it cool completely in the fridge, so it sticks together better.
- Mashed Potatoes – You’ll need about 2 cups of mashed potatoes. They can be warm or cold, but they need to be flexible enough to work around the stuffing ball.
- Breading – A mix of flour and spices coat the ball first, and any flour can be used.
- Eggs – Whole eggs or a flax egg replacement will both work well here. You want to coat the outside of the leftover ball with something sticky so that the breadcrumbs will stay put during the frying process.
- Panko – While Panko provides an excellent crunch, if you don’t have it on hand you can use crushed corn flakes, or just omit it completely and double bread the ball with the flour mixture instead.
- Oil – If you’re deep frying these bites, you can use any oil you’d like. We like to use coconut oil. You can also use an air fryer and just coat the outside with the oil of your choice.
Instructions
No one wants a crazy difficult recipe in the days after Thanksgiving, and this one is so simple! The full instructions and ingredient measurements are in the printable recipe at the end of the post.
- Prep – Cube the turkey, and get the separate bowls ready for the coating process. In one bowl, mix the flour and spices until well combined. In another bowl, add the eggs and whisk until frothy. In the final bowl, add the breadcrumbs or crushed corn flakes.
- Coat – Take a piece of turkey and coat it with stuffing first, and then mashed potatoes.
- Squeeze – Give the ball a good squeeze to make sure everything is firmly coated.
- Dredge – Place one ball at a time into the flour and spice mixture to coat it well.
- Coat – Bring the ball over to the egg bowl and turn the ball until fully coated.
- Dredge – For the final layer, turn the egg-coated ball around in the breadcrumbs or corn flakes until fully coated.
- Fry – Make sure your fryer (oil or air) is PRE-HEATED to 350 degrees. Leave plenty of space between each Deep Fried Thanksgiving bite, so they don’t stick together. Fry them for 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Set them on a cooling rack with paper towels for 3-5 minutes to cool before consuming. NOTE: If using an air fryer, brush the outside of the ball with melted coconut oil or the cooking spray of your choice before frying.
We dip ours in leftover turkey gravy or cranberry sauce and it’s SO good. This is one of our favorite meals! Skip the turkey sandwiches this year and enjoy these Fried Thanksgiving Leftover Bites instead!
Even More Thanksgiving Recipes
Fried Thanksgiving Leftover Bites
Ingredients
- 1 lb cooked turkey cubed
- 4 cups cooked stuffing chilled
- 2 cups mashed potatoes
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs
- 3 eggs beaten until frothy
- oil for frying optional
Instructions
- Cube the turkey, and get the separate bowls ready for the coating process. In one bowl, mix the flour and spices until well combined. In another bowl, add the eggs and whisk until frothy. In the final bowl, add the breadcrumbs or crushed corn flakes.
- Take a piece of turkey and coat it with stuffing first, and then mashed potatoes.
- Give the ball a good squeeze to make sure everything is firmly coated.
- Place one ball at a time into the flour and spice mixture to coat it well.
- Bring the ball over to the egg bowl and turn the ball until fully coated.
- For the final layer, turn the egg-coated ball around in the breadcrumbs or corn flakes until fully coated.
- Make sure your fryer (oil or air) is PRE-HEATED to 350 degrees. Leave plenty of space between each Deep Fried Thanksgiving bite, so they don't stick together. Fry them for 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Set them on a cooling rack with paper towels for 3-5 minutes to cool before consuming. NOTE: If using an air fryer, brush the outside of the ball with melted coconut oil or the cooking spray of your choice before frying.
Notes
Nutrition
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