Use Up Your Thanksgiving Leftovers To Make Turkey Pesto Sandwiches

You've somehow ended up with more Thanksgiving leftovers than you had hoped for. We've all been there. And while it might sound like a struggle to spend the subsequent days eating mashups of all your remaining food, it doesn't have to be the same boring dish over and over. Turkey-gravy-potato-cranberry-stuffing sandwiches can be transcendent, but even after the third one things can start to feel bleak. Thankfully, there are other delicious ways to use all that leftover turkey meat, and one of them includes the turkey pesto sandwich.

Turkey pesto sandwiches are a quick and easy way to breathe new life into days-old turkey meat. Turkey, pesto, a cheese that melts well, and leftover bread like sourdough are going to be your building blocks for this recipe. You could opt to make homemade pesto, but you're probably not going to have the necessary herbs lying around from your Thanksgiving leftovers. Store-bought works just as well and saves you tons of time. To make, simply add your main ingredients between two slices of bread plus some sliced tomatoes or spinach for additional freshness, and grill the sandwich on both sides on a skillet like you would a grilled cheese sandwich. Then to really kick up the Thanksgiving-ness of the dish, you can dip your hot sandwich in leftover cranberry sauce or gravy — or both.

There are so many variations you could make with this sandwich to be as efficient with your leftovers as possible. Did you also have ham for Thanksgiving? Add it in the sandwich instead of, or in addition to, turkey. Do you have some extra sweet potato casserole lying around? Spread a thin layer of it into the sandwich with the pesto. You could even sprinkle in a handful of fried onions if you used some for your casserole topping.

The flexibility doesn't just lie in the ingredients. You can also serve the sandwich in different ways. If you want to whip up some turkey pesto sandwiches really quickly with fewer dishes, you can even serve it cold. When you opt for this sandwich style, just be aware that your fillings won't remain in place as easily as they would with hot melted cheese holding everything together. So you should be more selective. On the flip side, if you have a panini press, it is perfect for making turkey pesto sandwiches. The press will help you get a great toasty texture to contrast the soft, gooey inside. Get ready for this to be a highly requested lunch in your house throughout Thanksgiving weekend.