Thanksgiving Egg Rolls With Cranberry Dipping Sauce
Thanksgiving egg rolls breathe new life into your turkey day leftovers by wrapping them up and frying them in an egg roll wrapper! These let you enjoy the classic flavors in a playful new way that will make it fun to eat your leftovers.
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Arguably, Thanksgiving leftovers are as delicious as Thanksgiving dinner itself.
Especially when you get a little creative and make things like Crispy Mashed Potato & Stuffing Pancakes or these Thanksgiving egg rolls with cranberry dipping sauce!
With a little imagination and minimal work, you can turn your leftovers into something even the pickiest of all leftover eaters will enjoy.
After all, who doesn’t love biting into a crunchy egg roll?
And more importantly, who doesn’t love making sure all those leftovers don’t go to waste and you can keep everyone fed and happy without much more effort?
Ingredients
Let’s break this down into a set of ingredients for the egg rolls themselves and another set for the cranberry sauce.
For the egg rolls you’ll need:
- Egg roll wrappers– You can find these near the refrigerated Asian products by the produce section in most grocery stores
- Turkey– Leftover cooked turkey chopped up
- Leftover sides– An equal amount of mashed potatoes and stuffing
- Cornstarch
- Water
For the dipping sauce you’ll need:
- Cranberry sauce– You can use canned or if you have leftover cranberry sauce that would work too
- Water– To think it a bit
- Orange juice– For a bright flavor and to thin it out
- Orange zest– Optional for freshness.
How to Make
Putting a fresh new spin on Thanksgiving leftovers with Thanksgiving egg rolls is easier than you might think!
To do it stir the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl.
Lay an eggroll wrapper out on a flat, clean surface, so that it looks like a diamond with a point facing you.
Spread a tiny bit of the cornstarch slurry out onto the edges of the wrapper with a clean finger or a small pastry brush.
Then spread a half tablespoon of the potatoes out in the corner facing you.
Top the potatoes with an equal amount of stuffing followed by a few pieces of turkey.
Lift the bottom corner of the wrapper up, and fold it over the filling without folding it completely in half.
Then fold both outside corners in so that they overlap.
Roll the egg roll tightly away from you, tucking the edges in as you go.
Then brush a bit more slurry over the remaining top corner.
Finish the eggroll, and brush a tiny bit more slurry over the seal.
Put the finished egg roll on a plate.
Repeat that process until all the eggrolls are done.
Then fill a dutch oven, or cast iron skillet, with about 3 inches of oil.
Heat the oil to 350 degrees, checking the oil with a cooking thermometer to make sure it’s the right temperature.
When the oil’s hot, fry the eggrolls in batches of 3-4, turning occasionally, for about 2 minutes or until they’re golden brown.
Once the egg rolls are golden brown, carefully use tongs to remove them from the oil.
Set them on a paper towel lined plate to soak up any excess oil, and cool slightly.
Serve the eggrolls warm with the cool cranberry dipping sauce, and enjoy!
How to Make the Cranberry Dipping Sauce
Add the cranberry dipping sauce to a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat.
Stir it until the sauce is smooth.
Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove any cranberry pieces.
Transfer to a small serving bowl, and refrigerate until ready to use.
Air Fryer Instructions
Want to skip deep frying?
Make these Thanksgiving egg rolls in your air fryer.
Assemble the egg rolls as directed above.
Then spray the basket of your air fryer with nonstick spray, add the egg rolls to the basket, spritz them with nonstick spray, and air fry the egg rolls in batches of 4-6 (depending on the size of your air fryer) for 12 minutes at 400 degrees, flipping them halfway through.
Storing Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, depending on when you cooked the turkey.
Keep in mind you should only save cooked turkey in the fridge for 3 to 4 days total and the time on that starts the day you cook your turkey.
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure the eggrolls are folded tightly, otherwise they will come apart and loose their filling when fried.
- You can adjust the egg roll based on what sides you have left. No stuffing? That’s fine, use all mashed potatoes or add another starchy leftovers like leftover sweet potatoes, etc.
- No turkey? Feel free to skip it.
- Make sure to fry them in small batches. Doing too many at once will cause the oil to get too cool and not fry the egg rolls properly.
Other Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes
Thanksgiving egg rolls from leftovers are an exciting new way to enjoy the classic flavors again.
Make them and enjoy!
Looking for other Thanksgiving leftover recipes?
Try these:
- Thanksgiving Soup
- Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwiches with Cranberry Mayo
- Thanksgiving Crescent Roll Bake
- Cornbread Dressing Fritters
If you’ve tried these THANKSGIVING EGG ROLLS, or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Thanksgiving Egg Rolls With Cranberry Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
For The Eggrolls
- 18 eggroll wrappers
- 1 lb cooked turkey chopped
- 2 cups mashed potatoes
- 2 cups cooked stuffing
- 1 tbsp cornstarch + 1/4 cup cool water
For The Cranberry Dipping Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups canned cranberry sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp water
- 1 1/2 tsp orange juice
- 1 tsp orange zest
Instructions
To Make The Dipping Sauce
- In a medium sized sauce pan, add the dipping sauce ingredients. Heat over medium heat, stirring until the sauce is smooth and incorporated.1 1/2 cups canned cranberry sauce, 1 1/2 tsp water, 1 1/2 tsp orange juice, 1 tsp orange zest
- Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove any cranberry pieces. Transfer to a small serving bowl, and refrigerate until ready to use.
To Make The Eggrolls
- Stir the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl.1 tbsp cornstarch
- Lay an eggroll wrapper out on a flat, clean surface, so that it looks like a diamond with a point facing you.18 eggroll wrappers
- Using your finger, spread a tiny bit of the cornstarch slurry out onto the edges of the wrapper.
- Spread 1/2 tbsp of the potatoes out in the corner facing you. Top that with the same amount of stuffing, and a few pieces of turkey.1 lb cooked turkey, 2 cups mashed potatoes, 2 cups cooked stuffing
- Lift the bottom corner of the wrapper up, and fold it over the filling without folding it completely in half. Fold both outside corner in so that they overlap. Begin rolling the eggroll, away from you, tucking the edges in as you go. Brush a bit more slurry over the remaining top corner, or tip. Finish the eggroll, and brush a tiny bit more slurry over the seal. Lay the finished roll on a plate or other surface. Repeat until all the eggrolls are done.
- Fill a dutch oven, or cast iron skillet, with about 3 inches of oil. Heat the oil to 350 degrees. When the oil's hot, add the eggrolls in batches of 3-4. Fry them, turning occassionally, about 2 minutes or until they're golden brown.
- Remove the eggrolls from the oil with tongs and transfer them to a paper towl lined plate to soak up any excess oil, and cool slightly.
- Serve the eggrolls warm with the cool cranberry dipping sauce, and enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure the eggrolls are folded tightly, otherwise they will come apart and loose their filling when fried.
- You can adjust the egg roll based on what sides you have left. No stuffing? That's fine, use all mashed potatoes or add another starchy leftovers like leftover sweet potatoes, etc.
- No turkey? Feel free to skip it.
- Make sure to fry them in small batches. Doing too many at once will cause the oil to get too cool and not fry the egg rolls properly.
Nutrition
This post may contain affiliate links. As an amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my full Disclosure Policy for details. As always, all opinions are my own.
recipe adapted from Cake N Knife
Could these Thanksgiving Leftover Eggrolls also be baked in the oven or baked in an “air fryer” if you didn’t want to fry them in oil?
Absolutely! I’m not familiar with an air fryer, other than by name & concept, but they can definitely be baked. Brush them with canola oil, or lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray, and bake them at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes. The baked version will be much more brittle with their crunch though.
OMG What an Amazing recipe to use for Thanksgiving leftovers and any time you make a turkey! We just purchased Chef Wolfgang Pucks Pressure Oven and cannot wait to make our turkeys along with so many others in there! Yum!!!
Thanks
Also you Absolutely can make these in the Air fryer and they are so much healthier! We make every kind of egg roll, sweet and savory, in the Air fryer and they are the best. If you don’t have an Air fryer please try one as t Will become your favorite appliance I promise you! I have a couple and Paula Deen’s is really the best and has highest ratings. I plan to get one more of hers and give my others away!
Thanks, Kathleen! I’ve seen them more & more recently. It’s on my Christmas wish list, alone with an Instant Pot, lol. Hopefully Santa’s good to me this year 🙂
This is a really delicious way to enjoy Thanksgiving leftovers, thank you for sharing with FF:)
Are you able to use ground turkey? Or a rotisserie chicken shredded?
You could totally use cooked ground turkey, but shredded or chopped rotisserie chicken would most match the texture and flavor.
Ok so use shredded or chopped rotisserie chicken rather than ground turkey? And also if yes then do supermarkets usually sell turkey that is chopped? Without having to but a whole turkey yourself and chop it yourself?
Yes, I’d suggest the rotisserie chicken over ground turkey. No, but if I don’t have Thanksgiving leftovers, I will cook a small turkey breast and use that or the thick slices of ‘carving board’ turkey lunch meat and chop those.