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Thanksgiving Casserole

This easy Thanksgiving Casserole has all of the flavors of Thanksgiving dinner together in one easy dish! Make the most of your leftovers by putting together this freezer meal – then you can enjoy Thanksgiving dinner any time you’d like, without all the work!

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Thanksgiving Casserole dished up on a plate with casserole dish behind it

Thanksgiving Casserole

This Thanksgiving Casserole freezer meal is a very easy dish to put together, and it uses all of your leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner.  And it does have all the flavors of that dinner together in one dish.

It’s basically a mash-up of several Thanksgiving leftover recipes.  I wanted to try to get the best of all them, in one easy freezer meal.

Thanksgiving Casserole in casserole dish

We love Thanksgiving leftovers at my house and I always make sure to have plenty, because I figure if I’m going to go through all that work, why not make as much as I can so we can enjoy it for as long as possible.  Right?  I mean, it’s basically the same amount of work to roast a 10 lb turkey as it is a 24 lb turkey.  And it’s only a few more minutes of potato peeling to make a triple batch of mashed potatoes as it is a single batch.

But realistically, one can only eat Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch and dinner for so many days in a row before it does tend to lose its novelty.  And I hate throwing away leftovers.  So I created this recipe for Thanksgiving Casserole from a couple of different ideas for using up Thanksgiving leftovers.

Thanksgiving Casserole on plate with cheesy layer showing

The idea is to eat your fill of Thanksgiving leftovers after the big meal, but then when you’re ready to move on, don’t throw away whatever is left, but use it in a freezer meal so a month or two from now, you can enjoy Thanksgiving dinner flavors all over again!  But this time without all the work.

It will keep nicely in the freezer for several months, but it’s such a great meal I doubt it will take that long before you’re ready to pull it out and serve it!

And if you find you don’t have any leftover mashed potatoes, you can always make up some of my Instant Pot Garlic Herb Mashed Potatoes to use for this!

Thanksgiving Casserole dished on a white plate, garnished with sprigs of fresh thyme, with orange napkin and forks in background.

Thanksgiving Casserole

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Enjoy all the flavors of Thanksgiving dinner together in one easy dish!  Make the most of your leftovers by putting together this freezer meal - then you can enjoy Thanksgiving dinner any time you'd like, without all the work!

Ingredients

  • 5 cups shredded cooked turkey (light or dark meat)
  • 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 can green beans, drained
  • 1/2 onion, finely diced
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 4 cups prepared mashed potatoes
  • 1 pkg stuffing mix, prepared (or about 4 cups leftover stuffing)

Instructions

  1. Spray 9x13 baking dish or aluminum pan lightly with cooking spray.  Spread shredded turkey in bottom of dish.
  2. In medium-sized bowl, combine soup, sour cream, green beans, onion, salt and pepper.  Spread mixture evenly over shredded turkey.
  3. Sprinkle shredded cheese over soup mixture.
  4. Spread mashed potatoes over cheese layer.  (You may need to heat up the potatoes or thin them with a little bit of milk to make them spread easier.)
  5. Top with a layer of prepared stuffing mix or leftover stuffing.
  6. Cover with aluminum foil or lid.  Label and date, then place in freezer.

To reheat from thawed (preferred method):

Remove casserole from freezer and place in refrigerator for about 24 hours to thaw. Once thawed, bake uncovered at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-40 minutes until bubbly and topping is lightly browned.

To reheat from frozen:

Bake COVERED at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour. Then uncover and bake for an additional 35-40 minutes until bubbly and topping is lightly browned.

Garnish with crushed fresh thyme or a dollop of cranberry sauce!

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 8 servings
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 515Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 140mgSodium: 1203mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 35g

Nutrition information provided as an estimate only.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Facebook

Rosie

Monday 17th of October 2022

How long would you be able to keep this in the freezer? It’s only the two of us here so I figured I’d save a small portion for an easy frozen meal prep later!

Candi

Monday 17th of October 2022

For best quality, 3 months is the average freezer "best by" for casseroles like this.

Marlene Cloude

Thursday 26th of November 2020

Made this ahead of time. Froze it. Baked it as instructed from a frozen state. 1.5 hrs later, we are still waiting for it to be reheated all the way through! After 40 minutes, the center was still frozen. Was it supposed to be defrosted before baking? Did I miss something of the instructions above?

Candi

Thursday 26th of November 2020

Oh my goodness, I am SO sorry! I looked at the recipe and realized that when I converted over to the new recipe cards recently it didn't copy over all of the instructions! I am so, so sorry! Yes, the instructions that were posted were for baking from thawed. And the instructions for baking from frozen were gone completely! I am heartbroken that I ruined this meal for you! :(

Stacey Torres

Tuesday 26th of November 2019

I'd like to try it with sweet potatoes mashed (instead of white). I recently had surgery and have to eat soft this Thanksgiving. Do you have to freeze it, or can you just make and bake?

Candi

Tuesday 26th of November 2019

You don't need to freeze it - you can just make and bake! :) I think mashed sweet potatoes would be an excellent option! Let me know how it turns out!!

Shelly

Sunday 17th of November 2019

We made this tonight & it came out great! Truth be told, we did not have Thanksgiving early, but put the casserole together using a rotisserie chicken, stuffing we made ahead, and pre-made mashed potatoes found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.

Candi

Sunday 17th of November 2019

That totally works!! I’m glad you liked it!

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