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Thanksgiving is typically a busy day filled with prepping, cooking, eating, and cleaning—but the few days post-Thanksgiving are where the fun happens: you get to eat all the leftovers!
Whether you’re into roast turkey and cranberry sandwiches or just making redos of your entire dinner plate, the long weekend after Thanksgiving is leftovers’ time to shine—but how long do leftovers last, exactly?
Food safety over the holidays is essential to keep in mind, and the shelf life of leftovers is no exception. In this article, get the final word on how long Thanksgiving leftovers last in the fridge, plus our top tips for storing and reheating leftovers safely.
In general, all leftovers should be eaten within 4 days—that will be the Monday after Thanksgiving. However, always use your judgment; if something looks or smells off—even within the suggested time frame—it’s better to be safe than sorry (and sick).
Roasted turkey lasts 3 to 4 days in the fridge or 3 to 4 months in the freezer.
You should not place the entire roasted turkey in the refrigerator, though—it needs to be carved off the bone and divided into smaller portions to ensure quicker cooling and prevent the meat from entering the danger zone. The danger zone is a temperature range (40°F to 140°F) that can lead to bacterial growth and foodborne illness (food poisoning).
Similarly, cooked stuffing lasts 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Be sure to remove the stuffing from the turkey (if you didn’t prepare it separately in a baking dish) and store it separately. For the best flavor retention, you can freeze cooked stuffing in smaller portions for about 3 months.
Meat-based gravy will last 3 to 4 days when refrigerated. You can freeze gravies for 3 to 6 months. However, the quality may decline.
Cranberry sauce is the main exception to the “3 to 4 day” rule, as leftover cranberry sauce can last up to two weeks in the fridge in an airtight container.
However, this is likely only true for canned cranberry sauce. Conversely, homemade cranberry sauce with fresh cranberries will likely last about one week in the fridge. If you have leftover cranberry sauce, keep it in the freezer in an airtight container for 1 to 2 months.
Thanksgiving sides like mashed potatoes, candied yams, and green bean casserole each have different shelf lives, so it’s important to store them properly for maximum freshness.
Fruit-based pies like apple pie will last 2 days at room temperature or 4 days in the fridge.
Custardy or egg-based pies (like pumpkin pie and pecan pie) should be stored in the fridge, lasting up to 4 days. You can also freeze pies for up to a month.
Storebought pies will likely last longer than homemade pies because they have preservatives. If the pie was at room temperature when you bought it, you can leave it out until its sell-by date. After that, it should last 2 more days in the refrigerator.
Leftover Food | Shelf Life in the Fridge |
Turkey | 3-4 days |
Stuffing | 3-4 days |
Gravy | 3-4 days |
Cranberry sauce | 2 weeks (canned); 1 week (homemade) |
Mashed potatoes | 3-4 days |
Candied yams | 3-4 days (potentially 5 days) |
Green bean casserole | 3-4 days |
Apple pie | 2 days at room temperature; 4 days in the fridge |
Pumpkin or pecan pie | 4 days |
The most important thing to know about storing leftover food is the “2-hour rule,” meaning that all cooked or previously chilled food should be stored in the refrigerator (or freezer) within two hours of cooking.
If you are having a buffet-style Thanksgiving and want to extend the time a bit, use a chafing dish, slow cooker, or warming tray to maintain the temperature of the hot food. Conversely, if you need to keep food cold (like a veggie platter or shrimp cocktail), nest dishes in bowls of ice.
If perishable or cooked foods are left on the counter for more than two hours, food is more likely to enter the danger zone and experience harmful bacterial growth. If the temperature is above 90°F or the food is in a hot car, the 2-hour rule becomes a 1-hour rule—you need to get dishes in the fridge within one hour.
Another tip is to refrigerate food in shallow storage containers to allow it to cool quickly, which is important to know for Thanksgiving because the leftover portions are often large.
A common misconception about storing leftovers is that you must let the food fully cool at room temperature before placing it in the fridge. This is not true and can actually increase the risk of food entering the danger zone. However, note that you should not place piping hot containers on top of perishable foods in the fridge, as that will raise the temperature of the other food.
Lastly, be sure to use airtight shallow containers when you store leftovers. We know it’s more convenient to just throw some loose plastic wrap over the tray, but leftovers will keep best in an airtight container (like glass Tupperware). Tightly wrapped aluminum foil may also work, but it’s not entirely airtight.
When reheating Thanksgiving leftovers, bring the food to an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) to destroy harmful bacteria and practice proper food safety (yes, you should use a food thermometer).
Here are some tips for reheating Thanksgiving leftovers, depending on which appliance you’d like to use:
Stovetop
Oven
Microwave
Almost all refrigerated leftovers from Thanksgiving should be consumed within 3 to 4 days. This means all leftovers should be eaten, frozen, or thrown away on the Monday after Thanksgiving. You should package and store leftovers within 2 hours of cooking or removing them from the fridge to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.
Most leftovers are not safe to eat after 7 days. Some foods, like cranberry sauce, have a longer shelf life and can last 1 to 2 weeks, but other leftovers must typically be eaten within 3 to 4 days.
According to food safety experts at the USDA, you should not eat turkey 5 days after Thanksgiving—3 to 4 days is the maximum time.
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