31 Leftover Brisket Recipes to Make After a Barbecue
You pulled out all the stops at your last BBQ: Mashed potatoes, coleslaw, mac and cheese and a whole lotta brisket. While there are certainly worse problems to have, what’s a cook to do with all that surplus beef? Here are 31 leftover brisket recipes to whip up with cooked or raw meat, so it doesn’t go to waste, including Instant Pot brisket, Dutch oven brisket and one of our favorite chili recipes.
RELATED: 34 Leftover Rotisserie Chicken Recipes That Make Weeknight Dinners a Breeze
1. Flank Steak Tacos with Cucumber Salsa
Thin-sliced brisket will make a killer substitute come Taco Tuesday. And don’t even get us started on the uber-refreshing salsa.
2. Beef Empanadas
Give the Latin turnovers a summery spin by stuffing them with pulled brisket instead of ground beef. Dunk ’em in your favorite barbecue sauce.
3. French Onion Brisket
A boatload of caramelized onions offers savory sweetness to the meat, while a dash of sherry wine acts as the perfect foil to the brisket’s richness.
4. Beef Flatbread with Herb Sauce
Whether you crown it with sliced or shredded leftover brisket, the lemon-garlic herb sauce will zap it back to its former glory.
5. Steak Stir-Fry
Busy weeknights don’t stand a chance against this half-hour gem. Serve it over steamed white rice or noodles.
6. White Turkey Chili with Avocado
Kidney beans and canned tomatoes are by no means a requirement for a mean pot of chili. Luckily, pulled or diced brisket pairs just as well with corn and white beans as turkey does.
7. Whole30 Braised Brisket
The ingredients couldn’t be simpler, and the beefy tomato broth ensures that each bite of meat is juicy and tender. (You can cook it in the Crock-Pot instead of a Dutch oven, BTW.)
8. Slow-Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Pasta
Either start with raw brisket in place of chuck or add pre-cooked shredded brisket to the homemade sauce to save a ton of time.
9. Brisket Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Brioche + leftover barbecue brisket + three types of cheese = what dreams are made of. Add caramelized or pickled onions if you’re feeling fancy.
10. Cheesy Mushroom Quesadillas
Nestled between the sautéed mushrooms, shallots and gooey cheese, brisket transforms this vegetarian recipe into a tortilla-wrapped cheesesteak.
11. Homemade Corned Beef Hash
Turn this crowd-pleaser on its head by substituting brisket for corned beef. While you’re at it, the meat would also work in a frittata or omelet.
12. Irishman’s Beef Brisket Burrito
What’s Irish about it, you ask? The brisket is simmered in spices and Guinness for hours before being shredded and layered with potatoes, Irish cheddar and cabbage.
13. BBQ Brisket Pizza
Muenster and mozzarella and Parm, oh my! Leftovers plus one of our favorite shortcuts in the book—store-bought pizza dough—make for a seriously decadent (and easy to make) pie.
14. Cleveland Cheesesteaks with Pretzel Hoagie Rolls
Blow everyone away with homemade sea salt pretzel boats, or save some effort with store-bought pretzel buns. As long as they’re piled high with garlicky sautéed veggies and melty provolone, everyone at the table will be happy.
15. Slow-Cooker Beef Brisket with BBQ Sauce
The from-scratch sauce is a cinch to whip up, since it uses a ton of pantry staples like ketchup, brown sugar and apple cider vinegar. Make a double batch to use on chicken, pork or wings later.
16. Brisket Mac and Cheese
Any pasta loaded with that much cheese is our kind of pasta. We’re talking tangy sharp cheddar, mild white cheddar, creamy Monterey Jack, spicy pepper jack and a layer of smooth cheddar jack on top.
17. BBQ Brisket Twice-Baked Potatoes
Suddenly bacon bits and sour cream sound so…anticlimactic. There’s nothing unexciting about roasted Russets crowned with buttery, chive-dappled mashed potatoes, cheese and beef.
18. Juicy Instant Pot Brisket
A few teaspoons of liquid smoke in the marinade can make brisket taste like summertime in the dead of winter. Be sure to cut the brisket against the grain, so it doesn’t dry out.
19. Shredded Beef Burritos
Want to make your leftovers last even longer? Assemble the burritos with brisket, cheese, rice and any additional mix-ins, then wrap them in foil and freeze in an airtight container. Then, you’ll have dinner on standby for a few months.
20. Fully Loaded Brisket Tater Tots
BRB, bathing in a tub of homemade cheese sauce. The store-bought tots are piled high with meat, sour cream and chives, but an extra drizzle of barbecue sauce never hurt nobody.
21. Easy 30-Minute Beef Stroganoff
Tender pappardelle, meaty mushrooms, fresh herbs and tangy sour cream make this weeknight wonder possible. It’ll come together even faster with the help of pre-cooked brisket in place of beef tenderloin.
22. Slow-Cooker Maple Sriracha Pulled Pork Mini Pot Pies
Frozen puff pastry to the rescue. If you’re using raw brisket, just substitute it for the pork shoulder. If you’re using cooked brisket, simmer the sauce ingredients until thick and combined, then coat the meat in the sauce before stuffing the pies. (Or just substitute a sweet-and-tangy BBQ sauce.)
23. Ultimate BBQ Brisket Nachos
The leftover beef is mixed with canned pinto beans and BBQ sauce before being slathered onto the chips. Top them off with red onion, cilantro, sour cream and jalape?os.
24. Slow-Cooker Honey Pulled Pork with Cornmeal Pancakes
If cornmeal pancakes feel like a lot of work, might we suggest whipping up an easy skillet cornbread instead? We’re partial to this recipe that calls for maple syrup and buttermilk.
25. Beef Enchiladas
We see two options here: Keep all the fillings—like the enchilada sauce and black beans—and simply substitute the ground beef for cooked brisket or go full-on cookout by using barbecue sauce and grilled corn instead.
26. Pulled Pork Shepherd’s Pie
Make it once and you’ll be making it after every cookout you ever host. This recipe is also a great way to empty your freezer of those frozen corn kernels and peas you’ve been sitting on since winter.
27. Cheesy Crockpot Cajun Pulled Pork with Southwest Pepper-Corn Slaw
If you have raw brisket, don’t pass up the sweet-and-spicy, beer-based marinade. If you’re starting with cooked brisket, simply top it off with Andouille sausage and pile on the veggie slaw.
28. Mini Steak Sliders
These have game day written all over them. And since the meat is already cooked, they’ll only take you about 15 minutes to assemble and bake.
29. Steak Fried Rice
Consider your takeout craving satisfied, thanks to this 20-minute riff on fried rice. Even your kids will have no problem scarfing it down.
30. Grilled Steakhouse Pizza
Our favorite summer dish to serve at a casual alfresco dinner? Grilled pizza. The grates turn the crust impeccably crisp; then, it’s ready for brisket, charred Portobello mushrooms, arugula and crumbled gorgonzola
31. Sweet Potato Fry Steak Salad with Blue Cheese Butter
You had us at sweet potato fry. Feel free to lean on frozen fries instead of baking a batch of your own. (Oh, and you only *think* you hate blue cheese—odds are this butter will convert you.)
RELATED: What to Make with Leftover Pork Chops: 21 Recipes That Taste Totally Gourmet
For even more great recipes, check out our first cookbook, Only the Good Stuff.
