How to Make Nachos with Thanksgiving Leftovers

Alison Roman

Thanksgiving Leftover Nachos
Thanksgiving Leftover Nachos

Let's take a minute to acknowledge what we're all really grateful for this year: Leftovers. They're perfect, really. You're in the middle of a four-day weekend, the house is once again empty, the kitchen is clean, and all that remains is a giant Ziploc bag full of turkey for you to eat from the fridge in your pajamas. Without leaving the house, you have all you need to make sandwiches, pot pie, risotto, you name it. But what if there were something more? Something even better? What if there were… Thanksgiving Leftover Nachos?

We asked ourselves that same question, and now Thanksgiving Leftover Nachos exist. (You're welcome.)

Aside from various leftovers, all you need are a bag of chips, maybe a hot chili or two, some sour cream, and the cheese of your choice. There's no science behind the assembly, just pile on whatever you've got on hand. We built ours with the classics.

SEE MORE: 10 Things to do With Fresh Cranberries

1) If you have leftover stuffing: bonus points, because you can combine pieces of it with your chips as the base layer.

2) Add your grated cheese-we like white cheddar for this nacho project.

3) The turkey: dark meat, white meat-anything goes. For additional nacho-effect, you can crisp up the meat in a little bit of oil to turn it into "turkey carnitas," or just add it on as is.

4) Sliced Serrano or jalapeño. Optional, but not really, because if there's not a little bit of heat, they aren't nachos.

5) Mashed potatoes function as the refried beans here, so be generous. Plus, we know you have, like, three containers full of mashed potatoes left over.

SEE MORE: The Only Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe You Need

6) Warm your gravy up so you can pour it all over said mashed potatoes. This is where we venture into Disco Fries territory, but who cares? Pop the tray in a 425-degree oven until all the cheese melts, the potatoes are warmed through, and your house smells like Thanksgiving all over again (10-15 minutes).

7) Once out of the oven, you can add your sour cream if you want. And you're gonna want.

8) Cranberry sauce/relish/etc. goes next.

9) Celery leaves and parsley make an appearance in lieu of cilantro, because that's what Thanksgiving tastes like: celery leaves and parsley.

10) Now: If you are lucky enough to have any sort of turkey skin that made it past the first 20 minutes of the bird being out of the oven, save it. Because if you do, you can heat a bit of oil in a small skillet over medium heat and add the skin to crisp it up. Then you break up pieces of crispy turkey skin to scatter over these nachos, drop the mic, and retire from the Thanksgiving leftover game, because it will never be that good again. At least, not until next year.

SEE MORE FROM BON APPETIT:
25 Ways to Reinvent Thanksgiving
10 Snacks You Thought Were Healthy But Really Aren't
22 Recipes Everyone Should Know How to Cook
The Ultimate Thanksgiving Headquarters