Thanksgiving Leftovers Pizza is a fun recipe using dairy-free mashed potatoes, gravy, Brussels sprouts, stuffing, non-dairy cheese, and all your other favorite leftovers!
Can you believe that Thanksgiving is ten days away? Christmas Eve is just six weeks away! I love the holidays and if we're being honest, I've totally started listing to my Christmas playlist on Spotify. Don't judge me!
I have great memories of spending time with my family during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Both Zack and I grew up with big Turkey Day meals and festive Christmas mornings.
When we got married, we decided that we would alternate holidays with our families. This year we're spending Thanksgiving in our hometown with his family and traveling to my parents home for Christmas.
Have you started planning Thanksgiving yet? I'm in charge of dairy-free and egg-free dinner rolls, roasted Brussels sprouts, smashed Brussels sprouts, glazed carrots, vegan corn casserole, and apple pie!
The best part about Thanksgiving, besides being surrounded by loved ones, are the side dishes. Brussels and beyond! But with so much food being passed around the table, leftovers are inevitable. So what does your family do?
Make a soup with the leftovers? Sandwiches for days? Poutine, perhaps? I've never been a huge leftover person but this Thanksgiving Leftovers Pizza has made me a believer that sometimes meals are better the second (or third) time around.
Think of this recipe as sort of a template. The outcome of your Thanksgiving Leftovers Pizza depends on how many leftovers you have and how high you want to pile on the toppings.
My favorite sides are Brussels and stuffing. So those had to make it onto my pizza! We used dairy-free mashed potatoes with flavorful gravy to help lay the foundation. Topped with other leftovers and finished it off with a healthy drizzle of cranberry sauce.
How To Make A Thanksgiving Leftovers Pizza
If you don't want to make dough from scratch, grab a store bought crust. I love making homemade dough, so I've included my basic recipe. But I won't take offense if you're over cooking for the next few days following Thanksgiving. To start, get your dough ready by following my recipe or the instructions on the package.
Once your pizza dough is ready for toppings, start with slightly warmed up mashed potatoes. I recommend microwaving them for a little bit for better spreadability. You can use the back of a spoon, or just commit and get your hands dirty... It's up to you!
Next, drizzle a few spoonfuls of gravy on top of the mashed potatoes. After that, it's time to top with stuffing, dairy-free cheese, pieces of turkey, Brussels sprouts, and any other leftovers you may have. There are no real measurements here because it depends on how many leftovers you have and what your favorite toppings are! I went heavy on the stuffing but lighter on the turkey.
Now, here's the part that you absolutely cannot skip! I'm not even a fan of cranberry sauce but this drizzle really brings all the flavors together and gives you "that Thanksgiving feeling", you know what I mean? To create your drizzle, combine cranberry sauce, orange juice, and brown sugar in a small pot and bring to a simmer. Yes, it's an extra step but it's so worth it! You can drizzle this sauce on before baking or after, or both! I loved adding it afterward with a few dots of Sriracha hot sauce as well.
Topping Ideas
My pizza dough recipe yields two large fluffy pizzas or four thin crust pizzas.
The pizza pictured is one of four, formed on a pizza pan. For years I have made homemade pizza on my regular rectangle baking sheet. We recently got these round pizza pans on Amazon but you absolutely do not need a special pizza pan or stone to make this.
About The Cheese
I went for cheddar cheese but I really doubt you could go wrong. Remember, this is a Thanksgiving Leftovers Pizza so go with what you have in your refrigerator. As for brand, I go back and forth mostly between Go Veggie and Daiya Cutting Board shreds. My new grocery store doesn't stock much of Go Veggie so the pictured pizza was made was Daiya Cutting Board cheddar cheese shreds. It melts really great and tastes amazing!
About The Gravy
Do you know how hard it is to find dairy-free gravy? It's actually easier just to make it from scratch but if you're wanting to bring a packet to a party, snag some Simply Organic Brown Gravy packets. They even have a vegetarian/vegan packet.
About The Mashed Potatoes
When I first became lactose intolerant I assumed I would never be able to enjoy my favorite foods. Oh, how wrong I was! I adapted the New York Time's classic mashed potatoes recipe to make our taters.
Here's what you need:
- About 6 large potatoes, preferably a combination of russet and Yukon golds
- 4 tablespoons dairy-free butter
- ⅓ cup dairy-free milk
- Salt and pepper
What to do:
Roughly chop potatoes and toss in a large pot. Bring to a boil and let cook for about 15 minutes, until fork tender. Once soft, drain and return to the pot. Using a masher, mash until smooth or desired consistency. Mix in dairy-free butter and milk. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Bon Appétit!
Thanksgiving Leftovers Pizza
Ingredients
For the pizza dough
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- 1 envelope instant dry yeast
- 4 cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
For the toppings
- Dairy-free mashed potatoes
- Gravy
- Stuffing
- Brussels sprouts
- Turkey
- Dairy-free cheese
- Any other leftovers you have
For the cranberry sauce drizzle
- 1 14-ounce can cranberry
- ¾ cup orange juice
- ½ cup brown sugar
Instructions
- To make the pizza dough start by combining warm water and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer. Let sit for about 10 minutes then add bread flour, sugar, and kosher salt. Mix to combine.
- As the mixer runs, add olive oil and knead until the dough forms into a solid ball. If the dough is too sticky, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time. If the dough is too dry, add additional water 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Grease a large bowl and add the dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and place in a warm place to double in size. This will take about an hour. Once the dough has doubled in size, turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into two or four equal pieces.
- To make the cranberry sauce drizzle, mix together cranberry sauce, orange juice, and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Heat on low-medium, and let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently until hot and bubbly.
- When you’re ready to cook the pizzas, preheat oven to 475F. Transfer dough to a greased pizza pan or baking sheet. Working with your hands, gently spread the dough working from the center out.
- To assemble pizzas, start by spreading slightly warmed up mashed potatoes. Drizzle gravy over mashed potatoes. Top with stuffing, chopped Brussels sprouts, shredded turkey, dairy-free cheese, and any other leftovers you have.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes. Drizzle with cranberry sauce and enjoy!
Megan Stevens
It's so nice to find an egg-free dough recipe; thank you!!
Jenna | The Urben Life
You're very welcome 🙂
Daniela
This looks absolutely fantastic! I could go for this all day every day! Absolutely delicious!
Jenna | The Urben Life
ME TOO 😉 Thanks so much!!
Kiran Dodeja Smith
What a brilliant idea!! Love how you put all of this together. I am planning on trying this!
Jenna | The Urben Life
Thanks so much 🙂 Let me know what you think!
Jean
Oh my gosh, yum. What a delicious way to use up leftovers!
Jenna | The Urben Life
Thank you 🙂 I can't wait to have it again in a few days haha
Charlie | The Barefoot Angel
You’re making my mouth water! What a fun way to use your leftovers! Charlie xo
Jenna | The Urben Life
Haha thanks 🙂
Emma BDL
Yum yum and even more yum! Completely delicious looking as always 🙂
Jenna | The Urben Life
Thanks so much, Emma!
Reese Woods
Oh my gosh, yes! I get so bored making turkey plates and sandwiches after Thanksgiving. I never would have thought about pizza!
Jenna | The Urben Life
Right!! Let me know if you try leftovers pizza this year 🙂
Corinne
this pizza is so unique! I'm hosting this year, so I'm bound to have a bunch of Thanksgiving turkey left over - perfect for this! lol
Jenna | The Urben Life
Woohoo 🙂 Enjoy the holidays! I hope you try it out.
Erin Dee
What a great idea for bringing new life to Thanksgiving leftovers! Looks delicious!
Jenna | The Urben Life
Thanks so much, Erin 🙂
Lisa Favre
Everything about this pizza looks absolutely delicious! Will suggest it to the in-laws since they're the ones hosting Thanksgiving this year.
Jenna | The Urben Life
Thanks, Lisa 🙂 I hope you have a great Thanksgiving!
Liz
I'm trying this! Breath new life into leftovers, looks great!
Jenna | The Urben Life
Yes, absolutely! Thanks 🙂
Christa
This is such a brilliant idea! Usually I just reheat leftover, but I love the idea of creating a new dish. And a Thanksgiving pizza sounds delicious.
Jenna | The Urben Life
Thanks, Christa! I'm always trying to find an excuse to eat pizza 😉
Alisa Fleming
I love this idea Jenna - it's brilliant! It seems like there is a shortage of dairy-free Thanksgiving leftover recipes, so this really fills a need 🙂
Jenna | The Urben Life
I really appreciate your feedback, Alisa!!
Denise
This is a great idea, I am always looking for recipes that use leftover Turkey because let's be honest I can not do the turkey sandwich can for long , thanks for sharing this I will keep it in mind next week.
Jenna | The Urben Life
I know, right! Have a Happy Thanksgiving 🙂
anne lawton
we usually eat pizza at some point during Thanksgiving weekend. Turning leftovers into pizza is such a great idea!
Jenna | The Urben Life
So happy you think so too 🙂 I hope you give it a try this year!
Amanda
This is such a clever idea!
Jenna | The Urben Life
Thanks so much, Amanda!
Cassidy @ Cassidy's Craveable Creations
What a great idea, I would never have thought of that!!! Perfect way to use leftovers 🙂
Jenna | The Urben Life
Thanks!! I can't wait to have it again next week
sarah
We thought about doing this a couple years ago with friends for our day after Friendsgiving weekend. Such a fun and great way to use up leftovers!
Jenna | The Urben Life
Oh, how fun 🙂 I love hearing about how others reuse their leftovers!
Jordan Nelson
Oh My Gosh! This is such a clever idea. I have a friendsgiving on Black Friday so this will be perfect!
Thanks for sharing!
Cheers,
Jordan | http://www.dailycupofjojo.com
Jenna | The Urben Life
Omg Jordan, how awesome 🙂 Be sure to tag @theurbenlife and use hashtag #theurbenlife on IG so I can see and share!!
Lanae Bond
I would love to do something like this especially since my family loves pizza!
Jenna | The Urben Life
I hope you do 🙂
Amanda Martin
What a fun and unique idea for leftovers! I love a good leftover sandwich but will have to give this a go instead
Jenna | The Urben Life
Thanks, Amanda! I hope you do 🙂 Enjoy!
joy abou zeid
ugh that pizza looks so good!! gonna make it even if I don't celebrate Thanksgiving :p
Jenna | The Urben Life
It was so yummy, I hope you enjoy!!
Leslie
I'm a fan of leftover Thanksgiving sandwiches, but I'll be trying the pizza this year! It is a great twist on the traditional leftover meal.
Jenna | The Urben Life
Heck yes, please share your pizza with me via email or Instagram 🙂
Samara
This is the BEST way to eat Tday leftovers that I have ever seen : ) Can't wait to try it out!
Jenna | The Urben Life
Thank you so much, I really appreciate your comment!! Let me know what you think 🙂
Leslie
Yum! I’ve never heard of a Thanksgiving pizza, it’s genius!
Jenna | The Urben Life
Thanks 🙂 I love coming up with new ways to enjoy holiday leftovers!!
Jaclyn
What a great idea for all those leftovers!
Jenna | The Urben Life
Thank you 🙂 Helps use em up fast haha
Rhonda
Such a creative way to use those leftovers. Will have to try this. I always end up making turkey sandwiches lol But this looks much better
Jenna | The Urben Life
Thanks, Rhonda! I hope you give this a try next week 🙂
Jen E.
Never have I once thought about making a pizza pie out of leftovers, that's awesome! Great twist on an old leftover classic. I'm newly in love with brussel sprouts, so I'm definitely planning on have some for thanksgiving. Thanks for sharing this out of the box twist, I never would have thought of it on my own.
Jenna | The Urben Life
Woohoo!! I hope you try it this year 😉 We love Brussels! I hope you have a fantastic holiday.
LaRena
Sounds delicious!L
Jenna | The Urben Life
Thanks 🙂 I appreciate your comment!
Jaclyn Musselman
Such a great idea. Friday night is always pizza night at our house...so next Friday it might be a thanksgiving pizza.
Jenna | The Urben Life
Woo, that works out perfectly 🙂
Farrah
This is such a great way to repurpose leftovers! :]! Looks delicious!
Jenna | The Urben Life
Thanks 🙂 Who doesn't like pizza, right?
Alessandro
I like pizza and turkey,I guess we'll try this at home soon. Thanks for the recipe
Jenna | The Urben Life
You're welcome 🙂
Meghan & Melissa
I am doing this this year!!!
Jenna | The Urben Life
Heck yes, enjoy!!