Cranberry BBQ Turkey Sweet Potatoes
Give your Thanksgiving leftovers new life with these Cranberry BBQ Turkey Stuffed Sweet Potatoes. Slather that leftover turkey with a tangy mixture of cranberry sauce and barbecue sauce, stuff it into baked sweet potatoes, and finish them off with a cheesy crumb topping made from extra cornbread or stuffing. It’s an easy dinner recipe that the family might love even more than the holiday feast.
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: Oven
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free, Dairy-free option
- Skill Level: Easy
I do love a day-after-Thanksgiving turkey sandwich or just reheating a full plate of leftovers, sides and all. But when that extra turkey is still hanging around after a couple of days, then it’s time to turn it into something completely different. And maybe use up all the other random odds and ends at the same time.
That’s what happened when I started making these turkey-stuffed sweet potatoes. I had just a little cranberry sauce left, so I mixed it with some barbecue sauce to give it some tangy sweetness. Piled it all into a few extra sweet potatoes that I hadn’t used for sweet potato casserole, and gave it a nice, crumbly topping. This is now a go-to meal in our family!
Why You’ll Love Cranberry BBQ Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Here are just a few of the reasons these stuffed potatoes will become a favorite in your family.
- Uses all the leftovers. Not just leftover turkey, it’s a recipe that incorporates cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and even leftover cornbread or stuffing for a wonderful balance of savory and sweet flavors that is hard to resist.
- So versatile. I share several variations below for how you can change it up, whether you prefer potatoes, want to try fries, or only have leftover mashed sweet potatoes. Plus, you can customize the flavor based on your favorite barbecue sauce, cheese, and more.
- Easy to assemble. Just pop those potatoes in the oven, and while they bake you can whip up the simple filling and topping. It’s ready in no time!
Recipe Ingredients
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe, plus some helpful info and possible substitutions. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card with measurements.
- Sweet potatoes. Scrub them well before baking them.
- BBQ sauce. Feel free to use your favorite barbecue sauce. The taste of the final dish will vary somewhat based on what you use, whether it is sweeter, tangier, or spicier. My favorite is Stubb’s Original because it isn’t too sweet and has a subtle bit of heat.
- Cranberry sauce. You can use leftover homemade cranberry sauce, but a canned variety is good too if that’s what you prefer or all you have left. Jellied or whole berry sauce will work fine.
- Leftover turkey. Whether you have white or dark meat left from your Thanksgiving turkey, either will be tasty in this dish. And if you don’t think your bird is big enough to have any left, it’s super easy to make a slow cooker turkey breast.
- Crumb topping. This is where you can get creative and use what you have on hand. Everything from corn muffins to cornbread to stuffing will work, and breadcrumbs are fine if that’s all you have. Choose gluten free or dairy free options, depending on your needs.
- Cheddar cheese. Helps make the crumbly topping turn golden brown and balances the sweetness from the sauce. I prefer extra sharp cheese, but use what you love. Skip the cheese or use vegan cheese if you need to make it dairy free.
Quick Tips and Variations
- Choose your method. You can just pop your sweet potatoes in the oven. But it’s also easy to “bake” them in the microwave, slow cooker, Instant Pot, or air fryer. Use your favorite way to bake sweet potatoes while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
- Heat things through. You’ll want to warm the barbecue sauce on the stove so that the cranberry sauce fully melts into it. And this gives you a chance to warm up that turkey, which is good because you oly want to put them back in the oven briefly after you stuff the potatoes.
- Try it with chicken. You might love this dish so much that you’ll want to make it all year long. So when you don’t have leftover turkey, it is also a great way to use up extra roast chicken or a leftover rotisserie chicken.
- Make it a bowl. If you don’t have any uncooked sweet potatoes left, just reheat your extra mashed sweet potatoes and turn this into a bowl meal.
- Use baked potatoes. I love the savory-sweet combo, but baked potatoes are perfect for stuffing too.
- Try it with fries. Another option is to make BBQ Loaded Fries using Baked Sweet Potato Fries or Air Fryer French Fries.
- Skip the spuds. Just grab or make tostada shells and use the cranberry barbecue turkey to make BBQ Tostadas!
Make it a Meal
If you don’t have any Thanksgiving side dishes left, you can always whip up one of these easy veggies to complete the dinner menu:
- Green Beans with Bacon
- Maple Dijon Apple Coleslaw
- Salad with Creamy Maple Dijon Dressing
- Buttered Carrots and Peas
- Roasted Cauliflower
And don’t forget to use that leftover pumpkin pie filling to make Pumpkin Pie Yogurt Parfaits for dessert!
More leftover turkey recipes
More leftover cranberry sauce recipes
Cranberry BBQ Turkey Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4-6 sweet potatoes , scrubbed well
- olive oil
- kosher salt
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 1/4 cup cranberry sauce
- 2 cups shredded and/or chopped leftover cooked turkey
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (4 oz.)
- about 1/2 cup crumbled cornbread, corn muffin, leftover stuffing, or breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F.
- Lightly spray or rub 4-6 sweet potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Place right on the rack in the oven or on sheet pan and bake for about 45-55 minutes, or until soft (potatoes can also be "baked" in the microwave, if you have less time).
- While potatoes are baking, combine 1 cup barbecue sauce and 1/4 cup cranberry sauce in a medium saucepan, and heat over low to medium heat until the cranberry sauce melts into the barbecue sauce.
- Add 2 cups shredded and/or chopped leftover cooked turkey, and cook until heated through.
- Combine 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese and about 1/2 cup crumbled cornbread, corn muffin, leftover stuffing, or breadcrumbs in a small bowl.
- Slice the baked sweet potatoes lengthwise, spread open, and fill with the turkey mixture. Sprinkle the cheddar topping over the potatoes and bake for about 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted and the crumbs are slightly browned.
Did you make this?
Leave a star rating to help others know that they should make this recipe.
Share a photo and tag @cupcakesandkalechips on Instagram!
Oh my word… can I come for dinner?
Sure, pull up a chair!
Great use of several different Thanksgiving leftovers!
Haha – that was my goal! How much could I squeeze in without it being gross 🙂
This is actually THE FIRST thing that I’ll be repurposing with!! I have Stubb’s on my shelf, and I bought a few extra sweet potatoes…this is happening! Yummy.
Aww, thanks! Hope you get to make it and enjoy it! If you do, I’d love to hear what you think, or even get a photo, because I am planning to start a gallery on the blog of people who made my recipes.
Guess what I just ate? This! So. Good. Do you mind if I blog about it…with links and my own words, of course…??
Oh really – yay! And yes, I would be totally flattered if you blogged about it. I am going to start a page of other people who made my recipes, so I will be sure to add your link when I do that.
Awesome! Here it is: http://www.girlichef.com/2012/11/CranberryBarbecueTurkeyStuffedSweetPotatoes.html thanks again…so yummy 🙂
Love it!
Awesome recipe that I know my family will love. So glad you shared
Thanks – hope you do get to make it, and enjoy!
Great ideas to put flavors together! These look awesome.
Thanks. I thought the BBQ sauce would change it up just enough so that it felt like a new dish.
Okay, first…YUM! Second, I LOOOVE your plate!
Thanks! And funny, that plate is one of those where I only have one, for prop use. Got it for about $1 at the Christmas Tree Shop.
Incredible!! This looks stunning, what a great use of leftovers!
Thank you! Baked sweet potatoes aren’t the prettiest things to photograph, but I guess al the overflowing fillings make it look tasty 🙂
What an amazing combination of flavors! It’s so great that Bug loves sweet potatoes. My nephew is the same way. Ask him what he likes best about Thanksgiving and he says “Grandma’s sweet potatoes.”
Thank you! I thought it would be a fun combo. I can’t believe I never ate sweet potatoes as a kid, and that I know of other kids that don’t like them. Even just baked, they are so soft and sweet!
YUM! Love love love this. Great recipe.
Thanks! I thought it would be something a little different.
What a wonderful way to use up leftovers! That potato looks so amazingly stuffed! I’ll have to take 2 please 🙂
Thanks! I only made 4 potatoes, and they were way overstuffed!! So delish!