What to Do with Christmas Dinner Leftovers
Christmas dinner might be over, but the good stuff doesn’t have to be.
If your fridge is full of leftover turkey, stuffing, Brussels sprouts, roast vegetables, cheese and half-open jars of cranberry sauce, there are plenty of ways to turn them into something completely different.
From loaded chips and festive nachos to five-spice sprouts, here are some easy ideas for giving your Christmas dinner leftovers a Chipmas makeover – including plenty of inspiration for vegetarian and vegan leftovers.
What Can I Make with Christmas Dinner Leftovers?
Instead of simply reheating Christmas dinner, think of your leftovers as ingredients for something new.
Cook a batch of McCain Home Chips and use whatever you have left - from turkey and stuffing to roast vegetables, cheese or a meat-free centrepiece - to create loaded chips or an easy sharing platter.
Turn Your Christmas Dinner Leftovers into Loaded Chips
Got a little bit of everything left? Turn it into Chipmas Dinner.
Pile crispy McCain Home Chips with leftover turkey, stuffing and Brussels sprouts, add mature Cheddar and finish with warm gravy and cranberry sauce.
For a meat-free version, use leftover nut roast, vegetarian or mushroom Wellington, or your favourite meat-free roast in place of the turkey. Plant-based cheese and vegan gravy make it easy to adapt for vegan leftovers too.
What Can I Make with Leftover Turkey?
There are only so many turkey sandwiches one person can eat.
Give shredded turkey a completely different flavour with Chipmas Nachos. Layer McCain Home Chips with leftover turkey and stuffing, add melted cheese and finish with tomato salsa, sour cream and chilli.
It’s a quick way to turn familiar Christmas flavours into something that feels completely different from another roast dinner.
What Can I Make with Leftover Brussels Sprouts and Roast Vegetables?
Before you serve those Christmas vegetables exactly the same way again, give them a completely different flavour.
Our Salt & Pepper Festive Fries combine shredded cooked Brussels sprouts with peppers, onions, Chinese five spice, garlic and ginger, piled over crispy McCain Crispy French Fries and finished with spring onions and soy glaze.
Other leftover roast vegetables work brilliantly as toppings too. Chop carrots, parsnips or other cooked vegetables into bite-sized pieces and combine them with stuffing, gravy or cranberry sauce for an easy loaded-chip meal.
Or, if you fancy something takeaway-inspired, try our Fakeaway Salt & Pepper Chips.
What Can I Do with Leftover Pigs in Blankets?
If you’ve somehow managed to have pigs in blankets left, turn them into Chips in Blankets.
Pile McCain Home Chips with pigs in blankets and Brie, then finish with gravy mayo and cranberry sauce for an easy festive sharing dish.
Only have a few left? Slice them into smaller pieces before scattering them over the chips to make them go further.
For a vegetarian twist, use leftover vegetarian pigs in blankets or stuffing balls instead.
What Can I Do with Leftover Christmas Cheese?
If the cheeseboard is still going strong, put it to work.
Leftover Brie and Camembert pair brilliantly with hot chips and cranberry sauce - especially when the cheese gets warm and gooey.
Try Fondue Chips, serving McCain Home Chips with warm Camembert, crunchy crudités and cranberry sauce for dipping.
You can also use leftover Brie in Chips in Blankets, where it melts over the hot chips alongside the pigs in blankets.
Got a plant-based cheeseboard instead? A melting vegan cheese or warm vegan cheese dip works just as well for dipping.
What Can I Do with Leftover Stuffing?
Stuffing is one of the easiest Christmas leftovers to give a second life.
Crisp it up and scatter it over loaded McCain Home Chips , combine it with turkey in Chipmas Nachos, or add it to Chipmas Dinner alongside vegetables and gravy.
Vegetarian and vegan stuffing can be used in exactly the same way, making this an easy one to adapt depending on what you served for Christmas dinner.
What Can I Do with Leftover Cranberry Sauce?
Don’t let that half-empty jar disappear into the back of the fridge.
Cranberry sauce works particularly well with festive favourites such as Brie, Camembert, stuffing and roast vegetables.
Try it in Chips in Blankets, Chipmas Dinner or Fondue Chips, or simply serve it as a dip alongside hot, crispy chips.
Vegetarian and Vegan Christmas Leftover Ideas
A meat-free Christmas dinner still gives you plenty of leftovers to reinvent.
Leftover nut roast, vegetarian or mushroom Wellington, stuffing and roast vegetables can all be turned into loaded-chip toppings, while mushrooms, chestnuts, cranberry sauce and plant-based cheese are easy waysto add extra flavour.
For something completely different, use leftover Brussels sprouts in our Salt & Pepper Festive Fries, or simply combine your favourite meat-free Christmas leftovers with crispy chips, gravy and your choice of festive sauces.
McCain Crispy French Fries are labelled suitable for vegans, making them an easy base for a plant-based Christmas leftovers meal.
Make More of Christmas Dinner
Christmas dinner leftovers don’t have to mean eating the same plate twice.
Turn turkey and stuffing into Chipmas Nachos, give leftover sprouts the Salt & Pepper Festive Fries treatment, transform pigs in blankets into Chips in Blankets, or bring out the cheeseboard again for Fondue Chips.
And whether your Christmas dinner was traditional, vegetarian or vegan, those extra vegetables, stuffing, sauces and centrepieces can all become something new.
With a few leftovers, some crispy chips and a different combination of flavours, yesterday’s Christmas dinner can become today’s Chipmas feast.