Do Something Different with your Christmas Leftovers

Christmas leftovers are almost as good, if not better than the main event on Christmas Day. This year, with more food on our hands due to limited numbers at the dinner table, we may well have a lot more food leftover than we’re used to.

Turn your Christmas leftovers into something spectacular over the following days. From the ultimate leftover sandwich, to turkey gumbo and ramen, you can make the most of the plentiful ingredients to hand and enjoy something different every evening.

Christmas Leftover Turkey Burger

Using chestnuts, sausage meat, cranberry sauce and orange zest, this turkey burger packs a real punch while using up a lot of leftovers. Serve with a light salad to balance the heavy Christmas feeling.

Christmas Canelón by Chef Jordi Noguera

This Catalonian recipe from Michelin-star chef Noguera can be easily turned into a vehicle for turkey leftovers, and is a hearty and delicious way to enjoy the quiet days after Christmas.

Christmas Leftover Turkey Ramen

This super-easy ramen recipe might have purists up in arms, but it is a brilliant way to travel east with your Christmas dinner leftovers. If you’re feeling lazy, you can whip this up in about 20 minutes and then go back to your position on the couch.

Christmas Turkey Leftover Waffles, Sandwiches and Pot Pies

These are good for Thanksgiving leftovers, but there’s a lot of crossover with Christmas - something a little bit different from Babish, turning your extra food into waffles, sandwiches, and pot pies.

Jamie Oliver’s Ultimate Leftover Turkey Sandwich

Oliver shows us how to make a turkey banh mi sandwich, a spicy, flavourful way to jazz up your Christmas leftovers with a Vietnamese twist. Forget turkey and stuffing between two slices of bread, this is a whole other level of sandwich.

Heston’s Bubble & Squeak

Heston shows us how to make a bubble & squeak - a traditional leftover staple. There’s nothing particularly difficult about this and anyone can do it. This version is vegetarian friendly too.

Christmas Leftover Bubble and Squeak Cakes

Another take on bubble & squeak, making it into cakes served with smoked salmon and crème fraîche. Cabbage replaced with Brussels Sprouts here, which is good, because we have those leftover.

New Orleans ‘Leftover Turkey’ Gumbo

Chef Johnson from Lincoln Culinary Institute shows us how to make a New Orleans gumbo. Start with a stock made from the bones/carcass. With leftover fat from the stock, sauté onions, celery and green bell peppers. This combo is found in every gumbo recipe and is known as the 'Holy Trinity' all over Louisiana. Add sausage and sprinkle with flour to create a roux. Add in leftover turkey, some okra, salt and white pepper. Serve alone or with rice.