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 leftover cornbread dressing good for? ›

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.

What's the difference between stuffing and dressing? ›

To understand the difference between the two, all you have to do is look at the cooking method. Stuffing is stuffed (literally) inside the cavity of the turkey, while dressing is roasted in a separate casserole dish.

Can you freeze dressing after it's been cooked? ›

If you froze the dressing unbaked, bake for the full allotted amount of time in the morning. If you froze the dressing baked, reheat in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Baked or unbaked dressing will last for 2 to 6 months in the freezer.

How long can you eat leftover dressing? ›

If stored properly, the stuffing or dressing is good to eat up to three to four days after it's cooked. If you want to enjoy it long enough, you can freeze it for up to four months and reheat it when you'd like a festive side of comfort food.

Why do old people call stuffing dressing? ›

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.

Is stuffing the same as 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.

Do Southerners say dressing or stuffing? ›

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.

How long will cornbread dressing last in the refrigerator? ›

A great make-ahead recipe: You can make this Thanksgiving side dish up to a day in advance, and keep it in the fridge until you're ready to bake it. The leftovers are good for up to 4 days so you can enjoy leftover cornbread dressing with your turkey leftovers the next day.

How long can you keep cooked cornbread dressing in fridge? ›

Transfer the cornbread dressing to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for three to four days.

Can I eat stuffing after 5 days? ›

Turkey: Cooked turkey can be stored in the refrigeration for up to four days, and in the freezer for up to four months. 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.

Is stuffing still good after 5 days? ›

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.

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