I am absolutely obsessed with this Thanksgiving leftover burrito! Really, any holiday burrito. I cooked for the holidays this year. The problem is, that this was no ordinary year! This is the year of the coronavirus outbreak. And now I have more leftovers than I know what to do with! Mashed potatoes. Cranberry sauce, lentils, hummus. You name it? I have it all! And sometimes I just want to throw everything that I have together into a quick and easy meal. So voila! Thanksgiving leftover burritos.
For this particular Thanksgiving leftover burrito, I combined Pumpkin Lentils with Mashed Potatoes and just a dollop of hot sauce. This perfectly pairs the flavors of the holiday season with something that's great to eat on the run. You can toss everything that you have into a burrito shell, lightly toast, and have a delicious meal all in about 15 minutes. It's a great way to utilize everything that's sitting in your fridge. Plus it's flavorful and filling to boot.
I anticipate that this is going to be just the beginning of my holiday burrito excursion. With Thanksgiving wrapping up and Christmas just on the horizon, the sky is the limit with this general burrito concept! Burritos are generally perfect meals to toss a bunch of leftovers into. But I'm particularly fond of the sweet and savory flavor combination during the holiday season.
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Variations of Thanksgiving Leftover Burrito
For the rest of the recipes that I made during Thanksgiving this year, along with a breakdown of how to get them all in and out of the oven in time for dinner! Check out my blog on the pandemic holiday season. I also have a couple other Thanksgiving burritos to make with all of the leftovers!
This Thanksgiving I cooked for the holidays as if it wasn't pandemic times and now I have leftovers for days! I've been trying every way to figure out how to utilize them in fun and interesting ways. My absolute favorite so far is Thanksgiving leftover burritos! This version packs pumpkin lentils and mashed potatoes and hot sauce.
Cook Pumpkin Lentils. This takes a couple of hours to cook and purée the pumpkin and then make the lentils. It requires an oven, aluminum foil, food processor, and rice cooker.
Mashed Potatoes takes about a half hour and requires preferably Yukon gold or Russet potatoes, milk, butter, salt, and pepper. I like to mash mine with a potato masher. But a mixer will also do.
Cook Tortilla
Preheat the skillet on medium-high. If you aren't using cast iron, make sure to lightly oil the pan to prevent sticking.
Wet both sides of the tortilla and add to the preheated pan. Cook for 4-6 minutes, or until the bottom begins to brown.
Remove the tortilla from heat and turn the stove off. Add lentils and mashed potatoes. Fold the burrito.
Turn the stove back up to medium and add the tortilla to the skillet immediately, before it preheats. Cook for about 4 minutes, or until the bottom begins to brown. Rotate until all sides are cooked.The first side will likely take longer to cook than the subsequent sides, which may toast in as little as 2 minutes. Adjust the temperature if it's cooking too quickly and burning or too slowly and cracking.
Serve immediately. Top with hot sauce of choice, if you like! I'm particularly fond of a Vermont maple syrup hot sauce with this burrito. Anything a little bit sweet and spicy pairs perfectly.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
For a more in-depth article on burritos, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Making Burritos. I highly suggest using cast iron and there is precise temperature that works best for cooking at that may vary slightly depending on your stovetop and type of skillet. If you're having trouble rolling the burrito without cracking, there are solutions for this as well!
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