Thanksgiving Leftover Egg Rolls

Mashed Potatoes – Almost any leftover mashed potatoes will work here. Just keep in mind the more strongly flavored they are, the more that flavor will come through in the final dish.

Stuffing – Most stuffing or dressing recipes should be fine here, but they will also influence the final flavor of the dish. I used leftovers from my sausage and sage stuffing here, but anything should be good.

Turkey – Any leftover turkey should be fine here. Shred the turkey or cut into strips for the egg rolls. For reference, I used leftovers from my herb-roasted turkey here,

Cranberry Sauce – I used leftovers from my easy cranberry sauce recipe here. You don’t need as much as the other ingredients, but you might want to reserve some for a dipping sauce. If you’re using a canned cranberry sauce, I would heat it up a bit and blend it into a thinner, less gelatinous sauce.

Egg Roll Wrappers – These are available in most grocery stores these days. They’re typically found in a refrigerated area near the produce sections. I don’t list it as an ingredient but keep a small bowl of water near you while you make this recipe. Dipping your fingers into the water and rubbing the edges of the egg rolls helps to seal them as you roll.

Dipping Sauces – Reserve some leftover gravy and cranberry sauce for use as dipping sauces here for your egg rolls. You can also add a bit of orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce to some cranberry sauce to create a quick sweet and sour cranberry sauce.

Egg Rolls

Start by getting everything prepared in separate stations so that you can quickly assemble each of the egg rolls. Place the mashed potatoes, stuffing, shredded turkey, and cranberry sauce in their own bowls. Remove the egg roll wrappers from their package and loosely cover them with a damp, not wet, kitchen towel or paper towel so that they don’t dry out.

Working with one wrapper at a time, place it in front of you with one corner pointing back towards you and the other corner away from you. Start adding your filling with the mashed potatoes, then stuffing, then turkey, and finally cranberry sauce. Place the filling towards the center of the wrapper, slightly closer to you than exactly in the middle, in a log shape going from left to right.

Lift the corner of the wrapper closest to you over and move it to cover the filling. Now fold the left and right corners over the middle and you should be left with a strip moving away from you to the last triangle corner. Gently tuck and tighten the rolled parts into the filling.

Finally, wet your finger and dampen the triangle part of the top of egg roll wrapper. Now roll the filled part towards the end and set it aside, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining egg roll wrappers and filling.

In a skillet set over medium heat, use enough oil to fill the pan about 1” deep. You can test for when the oil is ready by dipping the handle of a wooden spoon in. If it causes bubbles around the handle, you’re good. You can also try touching the oil with a corner of one of your egg rolls. If it sizzles, the oil is ready, if spatters, turn down the heat some.

Place the egg rolls into the oil, seam side down, and cook for about 2-3 minutes, until golden brown. Flip them and cook on the other side for another 2-3 minutes until golden brown on both sides. Remove from the oil and place on a paper towel lined plate. Cook in batches without overcrowding the pan until you use all the egg rolls.

Serve warm with your choice of dipping sauces.

Cranberry Sweet & Sour Sauce

These egg rolls taste great with regular cranberry sauce, but here’s a quick cranberry version of a sweet and sour sauce for a more Asian spin.

In a small mixing bowl, add ½ cup leftover cranberry sauce and smash up any whole cranberries you can. Add 1 tablespoon of orange juice, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon rice vinegar (or white vinegar if you don’t have rice vinegar). Whisk together and place into a sauce dish.

If you prefer an even smoother sweet and sour sauce, add everything above into a blender instead. Puree until smooth and then pour through a fine mesh strainer. Push and scrape the puree in the strainer to get as much liquid as you can. Serve in a sauce dish.

The flavor will vary depending on the cranberry sauce you use. If it tastes a little too sour for you, mix in a teaspoon of brown sugar and adjust.

Deep-Fried – Fill a pot or Dutch-oven with oil about 3-4” deep and set over medium heat. Heat until the oil maintains a temperature between 350-375°F. Place the egg rolls into the oil and cook for 2-3 minutes, turning them as needed.

Air-Fried – Preheat your air fryer to 375°F. Spray the basket with some oil, place egg rolls seam side down in a single layer and spritz again with some oil. Cook them for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway through until golden brown.

Baked – Preheat your oven to 425°F. Spread the egg rolls out on baking sheet seam side down and spritz with some oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden brown on both sides.

Optional Ingredients – I suggest keeping the mashed potatoes, turkey, and cranberry sauce for these egg rolls. Other than those ingredients, you can fill with Thanksgiving options such as stuffing, green bean casserole, green beans, brussels sprouts, corn, asparagus, sweet potato casserole, etc. Just be careful not to overstuff the egg rolls or you risk them bursting while cooking.

❄️ How to Store & Reheat Thanksgiving Egg Rolls

Once cooled completely, you can place leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for 3-4 days.

The important thing to remember here is that how long you can keep these egg rolls also depends on how old the leftovers you used in making them are. Once cooked, turkey can be stored for 4-5 days, most stuffings around 3-4 days, and mashed potatoes about 3-4 days as well.

For longer storage, you can also freeze the egg rolls before or after cooking them. Place the egg rolls onto a baking sheet and set into freezer for at least 30 minutes to an hour. Once frozen, transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag. The egg rolls can be frozen for up to a year, but best used within 1-2 months.

You can reheat Thanksgiving egg rolls through any of the cooking methods mentioned above until warmed through. I suggest setting them on a baking sheet and warming them in a 350°F oven for about 10-15 minutes until heated throughout. You can also microwave for a quick snack, but the egg roll will lose its crispiness that way.

You can also make the uncooked, frozen egg rolls through any of the above methods. Cook from frozen, adding a few minutes to the mentioned cooking methods. The frying methods will probably need an additional 1-3 minutes, while baking will need an extra 4-5 minutes.