The best part of Thanksgiving is definitely the leftovers. Use up some turkey, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce in these leftover waffle breakfast sandwiches.
Earlier yesterday I was getting all sentimental about missing Thanksgiving this year.
Not that I really want to put in the actual work that goes into it like planning for days, shopping, prepping, waking up at dawn to put a turkey in the oven because you only have one oven and need it for everything else that has to get made and then of course the dreaded clean up of it all.
Thanksgiving turkey recipe ideas:
tart cherry cranberry glazed turkey
tart cherry chestnut turkey roulade (<– great for a smaller group!)
But, I’ll miss the 30 glorious minutes or so when all that stops and everyone is shoving it all into their mouths like they’ll never see another morsel of food again in their lives.
That and the leftovers.
Man, will I miss the leftovers.
Particularly when you can smash them in between pumpkin waffles, top them with a runny egg and call it breakfast.
More ideas for Thanksgiving leftovers:
Turkey cranberry enchilada melt
Turkey avgolemono soup
Turkey stew
Because when mashed potatoes can be breakfast food, all is right in the world.
Making these Thanksgiving leftover waffle breakfast sandwiches
These waffle breakfast sandwiches use the Thanksgiving leftover basics:
- turkey
- mashed potatoes
- cranberry sauce (check out this 5-ingredient slow cooker cranberry sauce for a great recipe!)
But in reality, you can use whatever you have on hand.
Have stuffing (my cornbread chestnut stuffing is our favorite recipe)? Feel free to throw that in there instead of mashed potatoes.
Have some roasted or mashed squash? Or maybe mashed rutabaga? That could easily replace the mashed potatoes too.
You know what else would make this an epic breakfast sandwich?
Some cheese. Melt that on the pumpkin waffles before loading up the middle!
Thanksgiving Leftover Pumpkin Waffle Breakfast Sandwiches
Ingredients
For the Waffles:
- 3/4 c all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 1 egg
- 1/2 c milk
- 1/2 c pumpkin puree
- 2 Tbsp melted butter
For the Breakfast Sandwich:
- 2 c leftover mashed potatoes
- 8 oz leftover turkey
- 4 Tbsp leftover cranberry sauce
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 4 eggs
Instructions
For the Waffles:
- Preheat waffle iron.
- Combine all ingredients for the waffles in a large bowl and whisk together.
- Pour batter into greased waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Remove from the waffle iron and cut into 4 sections. Repeat for 2nd waffle.
For the Breakfast Sandwich:
- Layer 1 tablespoon cranberry sauce, 1/2 cup mashed potatoes and 2 ounces turkey on top of 4 waffle sections.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the butter and let melt.
- Crack the eggs into the skillet and fry.
- Top each sandwich section with a fried egg and place another waffle section on top to make a sandwich.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
We’re having Thanksgiving Brunch this year. which means turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries the whole 9 yards. Then I found this!! oh – i’ll still have traditional food but this pumpkin waffle Thanksgiving will be my meal! Thanks so much!
This waffle breakfast sandwiches absolutely something new for me! Looks yummy! Thx, Gina for sharing a recipe, I definitely add it to my cookbook!
Definitely your waffle breakfast sandwiches are awesomeness! This is a great recipe, as you know I made it a short while ago and it was lovely, in fact have made it again since. Thanks for sharing Gina!
ooh man cannot wait to try this holiday season!
What a great idea for leftovers!
I remember the first time we had Thanksgiving here with just my own kids and husband… it was so odd. And I didn’t cook enough for leftovers. Disappointing :)
What a brilliant idea!! I’ve never had a breakfast sandwich made from thanksgiving leftovers, OR made from waffles. Wow.
Looks amazing.
But you’re totally right about how much of a hassle Thanksgiving meals are. And how fast people eat them. 30 minutes is about 3x as long as it takes me to finish my meal, but only about 1/3 of how long it takes to clean up everything after haha
All of the sudden I’m far more excited about Thanksgiving leftovers than I am about Thanksgiving dinner! :)
Thanksgiving dinner is hands down of my of favorite meals. What a great recipe for using leftovers!
I’ll guess I’ll have to click back to see why you are missing Thanksgiving. I love the left-overs too. Especially for breakfast! Love this creation.