13 Leftover Beef Brisket Recipes

After smoking a brisket, no matter how lip-smackingly delicious it was, there are almost always leftovers. A brisket yields a lot of meat.

If you are looking for some ideas for how to use your leftover brisket, then check out this list of 11 great ideas to get your mouth watering (again).

1. Smoked Brisket Chili

This recipe plays to the smoky flavors you come to expect from a brisket. Add in bacon, sautéd veg, fresh and tinned tomatoes, and this chili has some great layers of flavor.

This is not a super spicy chili, so you could up the amount of chili powder used, or as we have done, add heat with the toppings in the way of fresh jalapeños or hot sauce.

You can find the recipe here.

2. Chopped Beef Sandwich

To make a great chopped beef sandwich you need freshly smoked brisket point. You could do it with reheated brisket, but it won’t taste quite as good.

There aren’t a lot of ingredients that go into this recipe, so use a high-quality bun, pickles, and your favorite BBQ sauce.

Get the full recipe for the best chopped beef sandwich.

3. Texas Twinkies (Jalapeños stuffed with brisket and cheese)

The best way to improve a jalapeños popper is to add leftover chopped brisket and turn it into a Texas Twinkie.

Fattier brisket point works better for this recipe, although any brisket will get the job done. You’ll want to chop your brisket into quite small pieces, so you can easily stuff the jalapeños.

Get the full Texas Twinkies Recipe.

4. Brisket Grilled Cheese

Think of all the very best comfort food items. Creamy, melted cheese, perhaps? How about warm crispy bread, lightly toasted? And don’t forget juicy, flavor packed beef, smoked to perfection. Can you imagine all of these things combined into one?

Welcome to the brisket grilled cheese.

After all the work you put into smoking that delicious brisket, it’s nice to make something really easy the next day.

You only need two or three slices of brisket to make this special sandwich, and you can have this warm, filling meal ready in around 15 minutes.

Here’s the full recipe for the Brisket Grilled Cheese.

5. Leftover Brisket Bolognese

Even though a traditional Bolognese sauce does not normally have smoked meat in it, using leftover brisket adds more depth of flavor and a nice smoky element to the sauce.

You will need to slow cook the sauce for at least 4 to 6 hours for the best results. With each hour the flavors will intensify and build up to eventually become the best Bolognese sauce you’ve ever had.

This sauce is also very versatile. Obviously, it works great with your favorite freshly cooked pasta, but it also pairs perfectly with mashed potatoes and can be even used to make pies.

Check out the leftover brisket Bolognese recipe here.

6. Grilled Brisket Breakfast Burrito (Optional: The jalapeno cheese blanket)

Breakfast burritos are nothing new, but throw in some slow smoked brisket and wrap it in a melty cheese blanket to take it to the next level.

We pair the spicy and aromatic flavors of the Southwest with the smoky and indulgent BBQ of Tex-Mex and the South. 

This recipe makes enough for one large burrito, but slice it in half and it’s enough for two. And really, this burrito is so good you’ll want to eat it for lunch or dinner as well.

Check out the grilled brisket breakfast burrito here.

7. Breakfast Brisket Hash

Not only is this hash a delicious way to use your leftover brisket, it is also loaded with protein. If you feel like a lazy morning, this meal will likely cover you for both breakfast and lunch.

This meal hails from Ireland originally, and there surely is nothing more comforting on a fresh morning than the smells of brisket, peppers, onion and garlic sizzling away in the pan.

The ingredients in this dish are readily available, and if you can cook yourself a great brisket then whipping up this breakfast hash will be a breeze.

Grab the recipe here, and call all your friends around for a delicious, lazy Sunday breakfast.

8. Four Ingredient Breakfast Quesadillas (you can have these ready in 20 mins!)

If last night’s barbecue left your cupboards a bit bare, there is nothing to fear. These breakfast quesadillas only require 4 ingredients, and even they are negotiable.

For instance, if you have some other meat left over that you want to use up, it will taste great as well.

Similarly, it doesn’t matter exactly what sauce you have floating around, as long as you have enough to generously coat that meat, then all is good.

Aside from that, all you need is some cheese and tortillas, and you’re good to go.

Check out the recipe here and play with it according to what’s in your cupboards.

9. Smoked Brisket Shepherd’s Pie with Jalapeno Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

Just by reading its name, you can tell this is a proper recipe in its own right. If you find yourself needing to entertain back to back, then have this one at the ready.

With the addition of carrots, broccoli, peas, etc there is a fair serving of veggies in this dish. Now I am not going so far as to say it falls into the “health food” category, but “hearty” would be a fair description.

The jalapeno cheddar mash is a great twist on classic mashed taters as well.

Planning a big weekend of entertaining? Then head down and grab your brisket, and while it’s smoking, check out the smoked brisket shepherd’s pie recipe here.

10. Beef Brisket Street Tacos

Tacos are the perfect size meal if you want something that fills you up yet is not going to leave you with (more) leftovers. Make just as much as you want and eat it when you feel peckish.

This recipe calls for pickled onions. Of course, you can grab them right off the store shelf, but for those who love a bit of DIY, the recipe for pickling the onions is included in the recipe for the tacos.

Aside from frying up the brisket and whipping up the avocado cream sauce (which sounds amazing), there is nothing much else to do than heat up the tortillas, then pile those ingredients on.

Get the recipe here.

11. Brisket Stroganoff (ultimate comfort food in 30 minutes)

The mention of beef stroganoff (or brisket stroganoff, in this case) brings to mind the words creamy, meaty, and buttery.

Pile it on pasta, or mash, and you are in for a real treat.

Generally, the ingredients in this dish are those you would typically have on hand, but you might want to check that you have some Chianti, as it is required along with Worcestershire sauce to deglaze the pan.

Have a look at the recipe here.

12. Leftovers Cottage Pie

Not only will this classic cottage pie recipe work beautifully with brisket, but also with leftover lamb, chicken, or even that ground beef you need to defrost and use before it expires.

Really, though, we are mainly interested in making it with leftover brisket, as the flavor packed into the brisket, along with the easily shreddable texture of the meat after smoking it makes it a pleasure to cook with.

If you are looking for a quick, filling, and tasty midweek meal that everyone will enjoy, check out the recipe here and pull out the leftover brisket ready to go.

13. Sweet and Spicy Brisket Baked Beans

Reimagine baked beans with the addition of spices, sauces, and of course leftover brisket.

Far from an emergency dinner on toast, these baked beans are liable to steal the show the next time you have a family dinner.

All you need to do is chop up some extra veggies for heat and flavor, squeeze in some sauces for richness and a little bit of sweetness, and of course, add the brisket to beef them right up.

Let them bubble for around 45 minutes and you have an absolutely mindblowing side dish – or meal. Up to you.

Find the recipe here, and also check out our own smoked baked beans recipe here.

Wrapping it up

There is so much more you can do with leftover brisket than whack it on a sandwich (although that is delicious too).

Follow these recipes to the letter, or use them as inspiration the next time you find yourself blessed with leftover brisket.

If this post has inspired you to cook a brisket, we’ve got some great guides to help out:

• Beginners guide to smoking your first brisket
• Hot and fast brisket recipe
• Should you cook fat side up or down
• Guide to wrapping brisket
• Best knives for slicing brisket

Buying good brisket from your local butcher is always a good idea, but not everyone has access to a good butcher.

We recommend the American Wagyu from online butcher Snake River Farms.

We hope you found this article helpful. Do you have any other great leftover brisket ideas? Let us know in the comment section below. And if you like our list, be sure to share it!