Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Sliders

Take your Thanksgiving leftovers and combine them into the most tasty sliders! Turkey, stuffing, cheese and cranberry sauce in a mini sandwich baked in a poppy seed dressing…yummmmm!

For four years now I’ve been playing around with turkey sandwiches and I’ve for sure figured out a few leftover turkey recipes you need to try. For example, have you had a delicious roll with cream cheese, poppy seed dressing, mozzarella or havarti cheese (ohhhh or muenster!) with a nice slice of turkey? Easy and so delicious.

But this is not about that sandwich. This is about the idea I’ve been playing with year after year and finally I just went all in and added every main ingredient, turkey, stuffing, a killer honey mustard sauce, cranberry sauce and especially melty cheese. And THEN!!!! Cover the whole thing in a butter poppy seed dressing and bake it all in the oven.

This is the ultimate leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Sliders recipe!

Ingredients for Turkey Sliders

Honey mustard sauce: mayonnaise, honey, mustard
Poppy seed dressing: poppy seeds, honey mustard, butter, worcestershire sauce
White Rolls: you could make homemade rolls or buy rolls (we love Hawaiian sweet rolls for these)
Turkey: thick slices of white meat or dark
Stuffing: hopefully you’ve made our make ahead no fuss stuffing, but any stuffing will work great
Cranberry Sauce: homemade or store bought but whole berry sauce is best

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Turkey Sliders

The honey mustard sauce and poppy seed dressing for these come together quickly, then it’s just a matter of assembling the sliders. Here are the basic steps:

For the honey mustard sauce:

Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl.

For the poppy seed dressing:

In a separate bowl, whisk all the ingredients together.

To assemble:

Preheat the oven.
Slice open the rolls and spread the honey mustard on the bottom and mayo on the top.
Place a slice of turkey, a spoonful of stuffing and a slice of cheese on each roll. Then spread cranberry sauce on top of the cheese.
Place all of the rolls in a baking dish.
Drizzle all the rolls with the poppy seed dressing.
Wrap in foil and bake.
Remove the pan from the oven, remove the foil and drizzle with a little more poppy seed dressing.
Serve and enjoy!

All of these instructions are also in the recipe card below in full detail.

a photo of a 9x13 baking dish full of nine turkey sliders lined up in rows with the first row removed so you can see the turkey, melted cheese and cranberry sauce coming out of the sides.

Turkey Slider Variations

Spicy: if you like a little heat, add some pickled jalapeno slices
Hearty: I’ll never say no to bacon, add some crispy cooked bacon for an extra level flavor
Californian: add cooked bacon and avocado slices for that turkey bacon avocado that everyone loves
Creamy: use up some more Thanksgiving leftovers and add some mashed potatoes and a little gravy

Cheese Options

If white cheddar cheese isn’t your jam, other cheesy options that would be so tasty are swiss, muenster, gouda, havarti, or provolone.

Are Sliders an Appetizer or a Main Dish?

The answer is yes! It all depends on how you serve it and what you serve with it. If you’re hosting a New Years Eve party, then you could serve these with a few other appetizers and everyone will be raving.

Or you make these sliders your main dish and you serve it with a couple of side dishes and it will be the best meal you have all month!

Can Sliders Be Made Ahead?

Yes, these work great as a make ahead meal. Assemble the sliders up to 4 hours ahead of time as written but wait to drizzle the poppy seed dressing until right before baking so they don’t get too soggy.

If you are lucky and have tons of leftovers from Thanksgiving, repurpose them into these turkey sliders. It will be like eating Thanksgiving all over again but in a sandwich. You’re going to LOVE these!

More Leftover Turkey Recipes to Try:

Launched!

Our new book is now available!

From food prep to clean-up, this unique cookbook guides the way through every step, including meal lists and easy-to-follow recipes, and features dollops of heartwarming family stories, insights, and kid-friendly food activities to keep young chefs focused on fun in the kitchen.

Buy now