Thanksgiving Leftovers Gravy Balls

Welcome to the ultimate Thanksgiving leftovers recipe: Thanksgiving Leftovers Gravy Balls! Savory turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes wrapped together in a ball with gravy for dipping.

These little crunchy and buttery nuggets of Thanksgiving flavor will evaporate off the plate! Filled with the best of the holiday table including mashed potatoes and stuffing – you’ll love this new twist on leftovers!

How to make Thanksgiving leftovers gravy balls

Featured Ingredients

• Leftover Turkey: Keeping the turkey coarsely chopped will help the meatballs stay moist. Also, a mix of light and dark meat really gives you a flavor bomb, but if you only have one type or the other the meatballs will still be delicious!
• Leftover Stuffing: The elements of sage, thyme, and butter in the stuffing means that these bites are loaded with rich and savory flavors! And because so many types of stuffing incorporate vegetables like onions, leeks, and celery along with delicious add-ins like sausage, hamburger, bacon, apples or cranberries, you end up with some fantastic texture (and maybe a little extra protein) in these turkey meatballs.
• Leftover Mashed Potatoes: Creamy, wonderful, dreamy, savory, buttery, mashed potatoes make the perfect binder for these Thanksgiving leftovers gravy balls! Quite often mashed potatoes have a smattering of chives, so that gives these balls a little extra “finished” fresh flavor. And if you made sweet mashed potatoes instead of russets, have no fear – they’ll bring their own amazing flavor to these turkey balls!
• Eggs: To hold everything together.
• Leftover Gravy: If you don’t have leftover gravy from the Thanksgiving meal, store bought turkey, chicken, or even beef will be a great substitution.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Coat with cooking spray.
3. Mix together chopped turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, egg, salt and black pepper in a bowl until thoroughly combined, like meatloaf. Using your hands, roll mixture into about 16 medium-sized balls.
4. Line the balls on the prepared baking sheet, 1-inch apart. Bake 15-20 minutes or until the balls are set and the exterior is lightly browned.
5. Serve with reheated gravy and/or cranberry sauce for dipping.

Recipe Substitutions and Alterations

• Add more produce: If you’d like to make these extra-vegetably, feel free to sauté some extra celery, onion, and cranberries or apples!
• Add herbs: If you’d like to make them extra-herby, add in some fresh sage, thyme, and parsley to the mix!
• Instead of turkey: Try this recipe with cooked chicken.

Other Thanksgiving leftovers recipes:

• Leftover Stuffing Waffles
• Thanksgiving Leftovers Pizza
• Cranberry and Goat Cheese Stuffed Pears
• Apple Walnut Chicken Salad (use turkey)

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And for more Thanksgiving leftover inspiration, visit last year's Thanksgiving blog for Holiday Leftovers Whole Grain Pizza.  More yum!