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Air-Fried Thanksgiving Leftovers Egg Rolls

Air-Fried Thanksgiving Leftovers Egg Rolls stuff turkey and stuffing into egg roll wrappers, which are air-fried to a crispy outer shell. Turn your leftover cranberry sauce into a sweet-and-sour dipping sauce.

A plate of halved egg rolls with a dish of cranberry dipping sauce.

Growing up, we never repurposed our Thanksgiving leftovers. We just had Second Thanksgiving, and Third Thanksgiving until the leftovers were gone.

Then I discovered Wawa's Gobbler sandwich, and I was introduced to the world of recipes using Thanksgiving leftovers.

These egg rolls might be my favorite. They'll work with nearly any leftovers. The air fryer gets them so crisp, you won't even miss that they're not traditionally fried. And that cranberry sweet-and-sour dipping sauce? I might be serving that at Thanksgiving instead of regular cranberry sauce.

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Half an egg roll dipped in cranberry sweet and sour sauce.

Ingredients

Of course, you're going to need some Thanksgiving leftovers. You don't even need to heat them up; air frying will take care of that.

  • Turkey: either shred the turkey, or cut into small cubes, about ½-inch squares. I recommend tossing in gravy to keep them moist during the air frying.
  • Stuffing or mashed potatoes (or both)
  • Veggies: corn or peas work great, dice anything larger, like squash or carrots
  • Canola oil: just a tablespoon or two, depending on how many egg rolls you're making, to help them crisp up in the air fryer.

And then you'll need some egg roll wrappers. These are often located in the produce section with the tofu and ready-made dips and sauces.

Instructions

Working with one egg roll wrapper at a time, and keep the others covered so they don't dry out, lay one wrapper on a cutting board with one corner facing you. Top with two tablespoonfuls of stuffing or mashed potatoes.

Stuffing on a flat egg roll wrapper.

Next add a tablespoonful of diced or shredded turkey, and a tablespoonful of veggies, if using.

Turkey and stuffing on a flat egg roll wrapper.

Fold the bottom corner up over the filling.

Folding up the first corner of the egg roll wrapper.

Then fold the left and right corners into the middle.

Folding in the left and right corners of the egg roll wrapper.

Pat some water on the remaining corner, and continue folding the egg roll away from you until you until it is fully rolled. Set aside, seam-side down, while you fill the other wrappers.

Dabbing water on the top corner before finishing rolling the egg roll.

Brush with a thin layer of canola oil before frying in an air fryer.

Four egg rolls being brushed with canola oil.

Cranberry Sweet and Sour Sauce

If you like a smooth dipping sauce, jelly-style cranberry sauce works best, but you can use any kind of cranberry sauce you have. The remaining ingredients — brown sugar, cornstarch, cider, cider vinegar and soy sauce — are ones you most likely already have on-hand.

Equipment

This recipe requires an air-fryer. I use the Instant Pot Duo Crisp. Other helpful equipment includes a silicone brush for brushing oil onto egg rolls before frying, and ramekins for serving the sweet and sour sauce.

Four egg rolls in the basket of an air fryer.

Storage

These egg rolls, as with most fried foods, don't reheat well. Try to make only the amount that you need, and save any filling and egg roll wrappers separately for the future.

Top tip

Don't overstuff your egg rolls! The wrappers look large when unfolded on the cutting board, but too much filling will tear your wrappers.

Halved egg rolls in front of a dish of cranberry dipping sauce.

Thanksgiving Leftover Egg Rolls

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 18 minutes

Air-Fried Thanksgiving Leftover Egg Rolls stuff turkey and stuffing into egg roll wrappers, which are air-fried to a crispy outer shell. Turn your leftover cranberry sauce into a sweet-and-sour dipping sauce.

Ingredients

For the egg rolls

  • 1 cup diced cooked turkey
  • 2 cups prepared stuffing*
  • 1 cup leftover veggies, diced if large
  • 16 egg roll wrappers
  • 2 tablespoon canola oil

For the sweet and sour sauce

  • ½ cup jellied cranberry sauce
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • ¾ cup apple cider
  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 ½ tablespoon soy sauce

Instructions

  1. Lay an egg roll wrapper on a clean work surface with one corner facing you.
  2. Place two tablespoonfuls of stuffing in the center. Top with 1 tablespoonful each of turkey and veggies (if using).
  3. Fold the corner closest to you up over the filling. Fold in the left and right corners.
  4. Dab a little water on the top corner, and roll the egg roll away from you until you fold it over the top corner. Set aside, seam-side down, while you fill the remaining wrappers.
  5. Brush the canola oil over the egg rolls. Working in batches if necessary, place the egg rolls seam-side down in the air fryer.
  6. Fry at 400 degrees for 4 minutes. Use tongs or a spatula to flip the egg rolls over and fry another 4 minutes.
  7. While the egg rolls are frying, in a small saucepan, combine the sauce ingredients over medium heat. Whisk frequently until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Divide the sauce between 8 ramekins or small dip cups.
  8. Serve two egg rolls per person with a ramekin of sauce.

Notes

*Mashed potatoes can be substituted for the stuffing.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 2 egg rolls
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 447Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 798mgCarbohydrates: 71gFiber: 3gSugar: 20gProtein: 13g

I am not a certified nutritionist. This nutrition information is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only.

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