Fried Dressing Patties | Thanksgiving Leftover Recipe - Hostess At Heart (2024)

By: Author Julie Menghini

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Fried Dressing Patties have a tender moist center with a buttery crunchy exterior. They’re the perfect quick and easy recipe for using leftover dressing!

Fried Dressing Patties | Thanksgiving Leftover Recipe - Hostess At Heart (1)

Fried Dressing Patties recipe is a delicious way to use up Thanksgiving dressing leftovers.

They’re quick and easy to make and are the perfect side dish for any meal. You’ll feel good about repurposing leftovers instead of throwing them out when the family refuses one more spoonful!

Our Thanksgiving Dressing Recipe is one of our most requested dishes over the holidays.

It’s a simple homemade dressing that family members request to take home so I always make plenty.

But, let’s face it you can only eat so much of it until your family is tired of it or the food police say to throw it out.

This Thanksgiving Leftover Food Guide and FoodSafety.org are good resources on how long food can be safely stored.

Dressing is good for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.

We often make up an extra dish of dressing to freeze and bake when we start craving it again.

Fried Dressing Patty Ingredients

  • Leftover Dressing – previously made and baked
  • Egg – this binds the dressing together and allows you to shape it.
  • Butter – adds flavor and allows the exterior of our patties to become crisp.

Note: This recipe can be increased very easily.

How to make this Dressing Patties Recipe

Fried Dressing Patties | Thanksgiving Leftover Recipe - Hostess At Heart (3)

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  1. Combine the leftover dressing with an egg. The egg acts as a binder and will keep your patty together. Feel free to add a couple of drops of water if it isn’t sticky enough to press together.
  2. We used a 3-inch biscuit cutter to make uniformed-sized Fried Dressing Patties that are approximately 1 to 1-1/2 inches thick. You can also use a glass or any 3-inch circle. My mom just used her hands to form them like you would a hamburger patty.
  3. Heat the butter in a large skillet. When hot, add the Dressing Patties and cook for approximately 4 minutes on each side. We love using a fish spatula for this task.

Thaw and Reheat

How to Store and Reheat Leftover Stuffing Patties

Last year we fried up Dressing Patties and repurposed them with some of our other leftover meals.

The best way to store Leftover Dressing Patties

The best way to store Dressing patties is in an airtight container in the refrigerator. That being said, their countdown started the day you made the stuffing. Therefore, keep the dressing or the dressing patties no longer than 3 to 4 days.

If you will not be able to eat them within that period of time, seal them in an airtight container and slip them into the freezer for up to 3 months.

There’s no need to wait for the holidays! You can enjoy delicious patties all year long. They make a great side dish and thaw out in a jiffy.

Tip: You can also freeze them before frying. Just thaw and then fry them. That will give you a nice crisp buttery exterior.

Thaw and Reheat

To thaw, either put the stuffing patties in the refrigerator overnight or thaw them in 30-second increments in the microwave. They can be re-fried in a little butter after thawing to crisp up the exterior.

Fried Dressing Patties | Thanksgiving Leftover Recipe - Hostess At Heart (4)

Tips for the Perfect Fried Stuffing Patties

  • Uniformed-sized patties will cook at the same rate.
  • Make sure the butter is melted and hot in the skillet so the patties will form a crust and not just absorb the butter.
  • Don’t crowd the skillet. These cook quickly so it doesn’t take long to have them all cooked up in a jiffy.
  • Cook over medium-high heat.
    • If it’s too hot they will burn and not get warm in the center.
    • If it’s not high enough, it will be difficult to get that crispy exterior.
  • When freezing the patties, allow them to cool completely before adding to an air-tight container. Otherwise, the exterior will not be crispy.
  • Frozen Fried Dressing Patties don’t have to be thawed.
    • Just pop them into the microwave for a couple of minutes or let them sit in the refrigerator (plan ahead method).
  • You can re-crisp the patties by adding them back to a hot skillet lined with a little butter or placed briefly under the broiler.

Serving Ideas

Make two patties. Top one patty with a couple slices of turkey and then top with the other patty. Fry your mini turkey sandwich and serve with hot leftover gravy.

From our friend and reader Roma

Pin this amazing Leftover Dressing recipe!

Fried Dressing Patties | Thanksgiving Leftover Recipe - Hostess At Heart (5)

More Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes

Don’t forget to stop back and let me know how your fried dressing patties turned out!

Fried Dressing Patties | Thanksgiving Leftover Recipe - Hostess At Heart (6)

Fried Dressing Patties Recipe

Author: Julie Menghini

Fried Dressing Patties have a tender moist center with a buttery crunchy exterior. It's an easy delicious recipe for using leftover dressing!

4.67 from 6 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 minutes mins

Total Time 23 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword: Dressing Patties, Thanksgiving Dressing, Thanksgiving leftover recipe

Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Cooked Dressing
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp butter

Instructions

  • Combine the leftover dressing with the egg. Press together until somewhat sticky.

  • Using a circle such as a biscuit cutter or a glass, cut a 3-inch circle that's approximately 1 inch thick. You can also form individual patties with your hands.

  • Heat 2 tbsp butter in a large skillet. Add the dressing patties and fry 4 minutes on each side over medium-high heat.

Notes

  • Uniformed sized patties will cook at the same rate.
  • Make sure the butter is melted and hot in the skillet so the patties will form a crust and not just absorb the butter.
  • Don’t crowd the skillet. These cook quickly so it doesn’t take long to have them all cooked up in a jiffy.
  • Cook over medium-high heat.
    • If it’s too hot they will burn and not get warm in the center.
    • If it’s not high enough, it will be difficult to get that crispy exterior.
  • When freezing the patties, allow them to cool completely before adding to an air-tight container. Otherwise, the exterior will not be crispy.
  • Frozen Fried Dressing Patties don’t have to be thawed.
    • Just pop them into the microwave for a couple of minutes or let them sit in the refrigerator (plan ahead method).
  • You can re-crisp the patties by adding them back to a hot skillet lined with a little butter or placed briefly under the broiler.

Nutrition

Calories: 243kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 5gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 56mgSodium: 545mgPotassium: 91mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 547IUCalcium: 40mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

More Delicious Recipes

  • Loaded Blueberry Muffins
  • Italian Sausage and Potatoes
  • Shrimp Stir Fry Recipe

This post was updated to improve readers’ experience. No changes were made to the recipe.

Fried Dressing Patties | Thanksgiving Leftover Recipe - Hostess At Heart (2024)

FAQs

How long is stuffing good for in the fridge? ›

Dressing/stuffing: Like turkey, if stored properly, stuffing or dressing will be safe to eat for three to four days after cooking. It will last for about a month if stored properly in the freezer. Cranberry sauce – homemade and store-bought: Homemade cranberry sauce lasts seven to 10 days.

What's the difference between stuffing and dressing? ›

"Stuffing is cooked in the cavity of the turkey, so the juices soak into the ingredients, making it more flavorful. Dressing gets cooked on its own and needs extra liquid to make it flavorful." So stuffing is cooked inside the bird. Dressing is cooked outside the bird, usually in a casserole dish.

Can you eat week old stuffing? ›

Leftover Stuffing and Gravy

Stuffing — which is often soaked through with meat drippings — shouldn't be consumed after a maximum of two days in the fridge. The same two-day rule should be applied to the gravy, which should always be brought to a rolling boil to properly kill bacteria before serving again.

How many days can you eat leftover stuffing? ›

If stuffing is prepared ahead of time, it must be either frozen or cooked immediately. To use cooked stuffing later, cool in shallow containers and refrigerate it within 2 hours. Use it within 3 to 4 days.

What do Southerners call stuffing? ›

But for the Thanksgiving side dish in the South, the term dressing was adopted in place of stuffing, which was viewed as a crude term, during the Victorian era. Although dressing and stuffing are interchangeable terms, the signature ingredient of this Thanksgiving side dish in the South is cornbread.

What is stuffing called when it is not stuffed? ›

Some people insist that it should be called dressing when it hasn't actually been stuffed inside a bird. But many people insist on one term or the other regardless of how it's prepared or what's in it. The term dressing is most commonly used in the South, but it's popular in pockets throughout the US.

What is the difference between stuffing and dressing black folks? ›

The stuffing mixture may be cooked separately and served as a side dish, in which case it may still be called 'stuffing', or in some regions, such as the Southern US, 'dressing'. This is from Wiki. Basically, everyone except a tiny percentage of Black people with family in Alabama calls it stuffing.

Can I eat stuffing after 5 days? ›

Stuffing/dressing: If stored properly in the fridge, stuffing or dressing is good to eat up to three to four days after you cooked it. But it'll last about a month in the freezer.

How long does stove top stuffing last in the refrigerator? ›

We recommend that prepared stuffing should be consumed or refrigerated immediately. Stove Top Stuffing can be stored in most cases 3-5 days in the refrigerator.

How long can Thanksgiving leftovers stay in the fridge? ›

The answer is simple: leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for three to four days. This means you have until the Monday after Thanksgiving to eat all those delicious leftovers or place them in the freezer to enjoy later. If you store leftovers in the freezer, they will be of best quality within 2-6 months.

Why does stuffing go bad so fast? ›

People have a habit of leaving the food out on the buffet table long after the meal is finished. If turkey, stuffing, or gravy is left out at room temperature (40 to 140°F) for over 2 hours it may no longer be safe to eat. Bacteria prospers at this temperature, increasing the risk of foodborne illness.

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