Leftover Turkey Stuffing Balls

I'm very excited to share these Leftover Turkey Stuffing Balls with you! Everything you love about Thanksgiving in one bite! Well, except for the dessert part but you certainly can have that after you devour these, that is if you have room, lol!

I really have no idea what to call these. Thanksgiving Balls? Turkey Meatballs?

I mean, sure you can make these with leftovers from Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter So they could be Leftover Turkey Balls, however, they have stuffing in them so I thought do I add that into the title. But wait, they also have mashed potatoes, You can see my stress and confusion for the name, right? 

Whatever you want to call these, just call them DEE-licious! 

You won't be waiting until Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter rolls around again to make them again. Trust me!

You'll be grabbing a turkey breast occasionally throughout the year just to make these! I've made these balls using boneless turkey breast from my farmers market, and then making gravy with turkey wings I buy there as well.

To sum up these Leftover Turkey Balls, make them, make them, make them!!

If you do Friendsgiving or any sort of Thanksgiving potluck, these would absolutely be a hit!

You can use store-bought gravy BUT If you make a killer gravy with fresh herbs like sage, tarragon, thyme, and Rosemary, I say make your own.

Someone asked me if I used an egg or eggs in these or anything to bind them with. The answer is nope! No need.

Just combine equal parts mashed potatoes and stuffing and then add in as much or as little shredded turkey as you like. Feel free to season the mixture with black pepper. Other than that everything was already seasoned, so no need for more.

Ingredients

• leftover turkey
• stuffing
• mashed potatoes
• panko
• gravy
• butter/oil (or you can bake)

Instructions

This recipe couldn't be simpler when leftovers are around yet its one of those memorable foods that will have you making the mashed potatoes, stuffing and turkey JUST so you can make it again!

All you need to do is to combine equal parts mashed potatoes and stuffing and then add in shredded turkey meat. Form the mixture into balls like making a meatball and bake them for 10-12 minutes just to firm up the exterior a bit. The inside is light and fluffy as a cloud. Next, smother them in gravy and add a dollop of cranberry if you like and dig in!

OR even better in my opinion and the way I now make these. Form them into balls, roll in seasoned panko, pressing to get the panko to adhere and fry them up in a bit of butter/olive oil just to warm them through. The brown bits make these turkey balls even better!

Tips

• Allow ingredients to come up to room temperature, makes these easier to form into balls.
• Or heat the mashed potatoes up a bit, adding a bit more butter if necessary.
• Same goes for stuffing, you can heat it up just a bit in the microwave, adding in a bit of broth if necessary (or water) to remoisten.
• Crusting the leftover turkey balls in panko and frying them up a bit does make a delicious difference! The gastropub where I first had these, rolls them in Panko and then deep-fries them.

Like my cutting board?? Mevell is a small family business that sources all the wood used to make their cutting boards from Canada and the USA. They also focus on sustainability and plant a tree each time one of their cutting boards is purchased. Love!

My board is an 18 x 12-inch Walnut Board with juice grooves and handles (love the handles!). I like setting out a simple cheese board before Thanksgiving dinner.

What can I make with leftover mashed potatoes?

Besides making these Leftover Turkey Stuffing Balls, You can make my "famous" Mashed Potato Pie, or my leftover Loaded Mashed Potato Skillet. My friend Caroline makes Irish Colcannon with leftover mashed potatoes.

What recipe can I make with leftover stuffing?

Besides making these Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Stuffing Balls, I love placing stuffing in my waffle maker to make stuffing waffles and then top those with all sorts of stuff. I have even wrapped stuffing in bacon and made Stuffing Bombs. Yummo!

Let me know if you make the Leftover Turkey Stuffing Balls OR if you come up with a better name for them. Maybe Gobble Balls?? Because, well turkey and you'll gobble them up...Haha!! 

Enjoy!

Recipe originally published in November 2019, updated November, 2022 with tips & more.

Print Recipe

4.91 from 10 votes

Leftover Turkey Stuffing Balls

What to do with leftovers?? Here is an amazing way to repurpose turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy! These gastro-pub style Turkey Stuffing Balls are SO good you will end up making them on purpose!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time20 mins

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Leftover turkey recip, Thanksgiving Balls, Turkey Balls

Servings: 12 balls

Calories: 448kcal

Author: Colleen Kennedy

Ingredients

• 3 cups mashed potatoes
• 3 cups stuffing
• 1 ½ cups shredded turkey
• Gravy
• Optional: Black pepper
• Panko (see notes)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a baking sheet lightly with cooking spray.
• Warm-up your potatoes and stuffing so that they are easy to handle.
• In a large bowl, combine potatoes, stuffing and turkey and season with black pepper if you like. (There should already be enough salt in the ingredients)
• Form into balls, pressing down firmly as you would when making a snowball.
• Place balls onto the baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.
• Plate and coat with hot gravy.
• Dig in!
• See notes for the addition of panko and frying these balls up.

Notes

No real measurements are needed, simply combine equal parts mashed potatoes and stuffing and then add half the amount of shredded turkey.

As far as nutritional info goes, I really have no idea since everyone makes their stuffing and potatoes differently, its just an estimate.

Over the years as I make these, I now encrust the balls in seasoned panko and fry them up in a bit of butter and grapeseed oil in a nonstick pan.  Just start with the ingredients at room temperature (or warm them up a bit) and form into balls and press panko on. 

Then when ready to enjoy fry them up in a bit of butter/oil, as you would a crab cake and enjoy. If they are super soft, chill just a bit before frying.

 

Nutrition

Serving: 2g | Calories: 448kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 1252mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g