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leftover pizza

34 Leftover Recipes That Use Up Every Last Bit of Food

/27 Comments/in /by Mary Hunt

I used to toss more food than I’d like to admit, until I got smart about what to do with the “remains of the day.” Turns out most of what’s sitting in your fridge right now isn’t trash, it’s tomorrow’s dinner in disguise. Thirty-four ways to prove it, from pizza-for-breakfast to a rice pudding you’d swear was on purpose.

leftover pizza

Be honest. How many times have you opened the fridge, spotted that lonely half-cup of rice or the last three inches of a baguette, and just… closed the door again?

I’ve done it more times than I’d like to admit. And every single time, I’m throwing away money I already spent. With grocery prices what they are these days, that’s not “cleaning out the fridge.” That’s setting cash on fire.

Julia Child had a much prettier name for leftovers. She called them “the remains of the day.” Lovely, right? But whether you call it that or just “the sad stuff in the back of the fridge,” it’s the same thing: food you already paid for, sitting there waiting for someone to notice it.

So let’s notice it. Here are 34 ways to turn what’s left into what’s for dinner.

Jump to:

Pasta

how to use leftover spaghetti to make a frittata stir fry or pasta mama

Spaghetti frittata

Yes, spaghetti for breakfast. Stay with me. Take any leftover pasta, sauce and all, and mix in a few beaten eggs, a splash of milk, and whatever vegetables are hanging around. Fry it up in a skillet like you would an omelet. It works for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and nobody will guess it started life as last night’s dinner. Get recipe โ†’

Pasta stir-fry

If you want one skill that will single-handedly cut your food waste, learn to stir-fry. Toss in leftover pasta, whatever produce needs using, a bit of protein, and a sauce you like. Ten minutes later, dinner. Learn how to stir fry โ†’

Pasta Mama

This one’s a reader (and family) favorite. I’ve shared it before, and it’s worth a repeat mention. Get the full recipe here โ†’ย 

Pizza

how to use leftover pizza to make scrambled eggs or lasagna

Pizza eggs

Cut two slices of leftover pizza into bite-size pieces. Beat 8 to 10 eggs in a bowl, stir in the pizza, and let it sit for 10 minutes so the flavors mingle. Scramble it all in a greased skillet over medium-high heat for about 6 minutes, top with cheese, and serve. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.

Pizza lasagna

This one takes a little imagination, but bear with me: build your usual lasagna, swapping the noodles for strips of leftover pizza. It sounds odd. It tastes incredible. Trust the process.

Tortilla chips

breakfast scramble and tortilla soup

Breakfast scramble

Crush up that half-bag of stale tortilla chips. Really crush them. Then fold the pieces and some salsa into beaten eggs. Add cheese. Ten minutes, and you’ve got a scramble with actual personality. Get the recipe here โ†’

Tortilla soup

Any good tortilla soup wants stale chips to finish it off, so this is basically a built-in excuse to make one. Here’s my favorite recipe โ†’ย ย 

Bread

what to do with leftover bread

French toast

Beat 2 eggs with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 2/3 cup milk. Soak 6 slices of stale bread, turning to coat both sides, then cook in a lightly oiled skillet over medium-high heat until golden on each side. Butter, syrup, done.

Croutons

Rub 4 slices of stale bread with a crushed garlic clove, cube them, and cook in 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until crispy. Salt and pepper to taste. Homemade croutons put the bagged kind to shame, and you already had the bread.

French onion soup

This soup actually calls for stale bread. A baguette or anything crusty works. You’ll use two slices per serving, one on top and one on the bottom. Here’s my go-to version, which takes a bit more effort but is worth every minute.

Avocado toast

Toast the bread, mash on some avocado, add a squeeze of lime, salt and pepper. That’s the whole recipe, and it’s a fine one. But if you want to turn it into an actual meal, top it with a fried egg… golden, runny yolk, the works. I walk through the whole thing, timing and all, in How to Make the Perfect Avocado Toast with a Fried Egg. Either way, it’s a “clean out the crisper drawer” recipe wearing a fancy restaurant name.

Cheese

fromage fort french cheese spread and mac n chees

Fromage fort

Before you ask… no, this isn’t a blanket of cheese for the kids to play on. It’s French for “strong cheese,” and it’s a genuinely brilliant way to use up every odd end of cheese in your fridge. Toss it all in the blender with a splash of wine, some garlic, salt, pepper, and herbs. Blend. You now have a spread for crackers, a dip for veggies, and zero rules to follow. There’s no official recipe. You just wing it. Here’s how I do it โ†’

Mac ‘n cheese

Obvious, sure, but it depends on what cheese you’ve got. If it’s white cheddar, hallelujah. This copycat recipe is my family’s favorite, and if you love Panera’s version, you’re going to want to marry this one.

Eggs

leftover eggs to make enriched cream of wheat and pavlova

Breakfast bowl

Not what you’re picturing. Stir an egg and a splash of vanilla into a bowl of Cream of Wheat, and it turns into something closer to a creamy breakfast pudding. Recipe here โ†’ย 

Pavlova

If a recipe called for only egg yolks, you’re now staring at a bowl of orphaned egg whites. Turn them into a pavlova… the fancy word for a meringue dessert that looks impressive and is much easier than it sounds. This one is as foolproof as they come โ†’ย 

Mashed potatoes

use leftover mashed potatoes to make potato cakes shepherd pie or gluten free cake

Potato cakes

Mix cold mashed potatoes with an egg or two, some leftover fish, ham, or corned beef, chopped onion, and just enough flour to hold it together. Form into small patties and shallow-fry until golden and crisp.

Pie topping

Spread leftover mashed potatoes over a savory filling instead of a crust. You probably won’t have enough for a full-size pie, so think individual shepherd’s pies or chicken pot pies.

Gluten-free cake

Mashed potatoes show up in a surprising number of gluten-free desserts, paired with gluten-free self-rising flour. Try this Lemon & Orange Cake or this Lemon Drizzle Cake and see for yourself.

Coffee

coffee marinaded flank steak ice cubes and deglazing a pan

Pan sauce

After pan-frying chicken or pork, deglaze the pan with leftover coffee instead of wine. You’ll get a deeper, Southern-style gravy sometimes called red-eye gravy.

Freeze it

Coffee ice cubes keep iced coffee from watering down as they melt. Or stir in milk and flavorings and pour the coffee into popsicle molds for a frozen treat tomorrow.

Marinade

Leftover coffee makes a surprisingly good steak marinade. The acidity tenderizes cheaper cuts like flank or skirt, and you get a rich, faintly smoky flavor you can’t get any other way. I use this trick on flank steak in Grilled Flank Steak with Bold Coffee Marinade, and yes, people always ask what that flavor is. Get the step-by-step โ†’

Rice

fried rice and indian rice pudding from leftover rice

Fried rice

The whole recipe for fried rice starts with leftover, day-old white rice. That’s not a workaround, that’s the point. All you need is a decent roadmap, and I’ve got one right here: New Life for Leftover Rice โ†’ย 

Rice pudding

Most rice pudding recipes call for uncooked rice, which does you no good when you’re staring at a bowl of leftover cooked rice. That’s why I love this one. It’s a creamy, cardamom-spiced kheer that starts with cooked rice and turns into something that tastes like it came from a restaurant. Nobody has to know it started as last night’s side dish. Get the full recipe here โ†’ย 

Chicken or turkey

how to use leftover turkey and chicken

Chicken soup

Chicken and turkey are basically interchangeable here. Maybe you’ve got a family recipe passed down through the generations. If not, this one can easily become your new go-to โ†’

Club salad

Cut-up chicken or turkey on top of a salad is protein and fiber in one bowl, and about as close to a “no-cook dinner” as you’ll get.

Mediterranean wrap

Skip the $12 sandwich shop version. Grab a flour tortilla, add leftover chicken or turkey and whatever grilled vegetables you have, and wrap it up. Same idea, a fraction of the price.

Turkey pot pie

Or chicken, either way, just the thought of a homemade pot pie gets me. Dad’s Leftover Turkey Pot Pie is foolproof and, frankly, a little emotional.

Turkey melt

If your fridge is stuffed tighter than the turkey was, this is the sandwich that makes people forget they’ve had turkey four times this week. Tangy red wine mayo, melty white cheddar, crisp sourdough… this recipe turns “we still have turkey” into something you’d actually crave. Get the recipe โ†’

Fish

white fish casserole and salad.

Fish salad

Got bits and pieces of leftover salmon, halibut, or anything else? Even breaded or fried? Don’t you dare toss it. Flake it over tomorrow’s lunch salad and call it a win.

Fish casserole

Move over, tuna casserole. This fish pasta bake is classier. It calls for 1ยฝ pounds of white fish fillet, but leftover flaky fish works just fine. Since it bakes for under 25 minutes, there’s no risk of it drying out. Recipe here โ†’

Meatloaf

how to use leftover meatloaf in chili quesadillas spaghetti or sliders

Chili

Swap chopped leftover meatloaf in for ground beef in your usual chili. It’s already seasoned, so you’re basically cheating your way to dinner.

Quesadillas

Mix chopped meatloaf with onion, green pepper, and a little BBQ sauce. Layer between two tortillas with shredded cheese, cook in a skillet for a minute or two per side until golden and melty.

Spaghetti

Swap chopped meatloaf for ground beef in your regular meat sauce. Over spaghetti, it might be one of the best leftover transformations on this whole list.

Sliders

Small dinner rolls, a slice of meatloaf cut to fit, and whatever spread you like โ€” bacon-onion jam, mayo, mustard. That’s a party. No party required.

How long can you safely keep leftovers?

Fair question, and one I’ll leave to the professionals. According to dietitian Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D., leftovers are good for three to four days in the refrigerator. After that, your odds of food poisoning start climbing, so if you won’t get to them in time, freeze them right away.

Here’s the part that trips people up: bacteria doesn’t announce itself. It usually doesn’t change how food looks, smells, or tastes, so “it seems fine” isn’t proof of anything. When in doubt, throw it out. I know, I know, that’s the opposite of everything this post stands for, but food poisoning is not the kind of frugal we’re going for.

The fix is mostly about timing. Get perishables like meat, poultry, fish, dairy, and eggs into the fridge quickly. Don’t let them sit out more than two hours at room temperature, or one hour if it’s hotter than 90ยฐF. Cold dishes like salads and sandwiches need the same treatment. The goal is keeping food out of the “danger zone” between 40ยฐF and 140ยฐF, where bacteria multiply fast.

When you’re ready to eat leftovers, reheat them until they hit 165ยฐF, whether you’re using the stove, oven, or microwave. Skip the slow cooker for reheating. It typically can’t get food hot enough fast enough to kill off bacteria.

Thirty-four ways, and I guarantee you have ingredients on hand right now for at least three of them. That lonely rice, that stale bread, that suspicious tupperware in the back… it’s not trash. It’s tomorrow’s dinner in disguise.

 

Question: What’s the one leftover you never throw out, no matter what? Tell me in the comments. I might steal your idea for a future post.

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27 replies
  2. linda says:

    leftover pasta or rice as long as there is no sauce or cheese…melt 2 tbls butter in frying pan [i prefer great grandmother’s cast iron] add leftover pasta or rice. stir for about a minute, add soy sauce, minced onion, pinch of garlic and larger pinch of ground ginger. add any leftover vegetables you might have. when veggies are warm enough, you are done. if there are no vegetables, this also works as a cold pasta salad

    Reply
  3. Barbara says:

    Hi Mary, love all these great ideas. I have one for leftovers. I had an extra George Forman grill which I gave to my daughter. Her pre teen and teen daughters discovered all kinds of leftovers they could warm up on it. Spaghetti, pizza, sandwiches made from leftovers, scrambled eggs adding sliced ham and cheese, stews, toasted cheese, pancakes. You name it. They use it more often than the microwave.

    Reply
  4. Sandra Golightly says:

    We called potato cakes, potato patties. A favorite of my kids and one of the first recipes they learned to make when out on their own.

    Reply
  5. Cally Ross says:

    Leftover mashed potatoes make a great soup, with half-and-half, minced onion, and some Velveeta.
    leftover meatloaf is indeed yummy in spaghetti sauce!

    Reply
  6. MaryElise Rosseau says:

    My mom was quite ingenious. When she would start pulling all the leftovers out of the refrigerator I complained, Oh no leftovers? Her response was, “We’re not having leftovers, we’re having a Smorgasbord!” That made it exciting that meant I could pick & choose what I wanted to eat. Every other dinnertime I had to have some of everything she prepared. So leftovers, excuse me, Smorgasbords at my house were exciting!

    Reply
  7. Carolyn says:

    Dear Mary, I love your column and was just looking at ways to use leftovers. My question is: What in the world would you have been cooking to have 7 cups of leftover rice to use in the “15 minute Chinese Fried rice? (Sorry, my brain works like that)

    Reply
    • Mary Hunt says:

      I routinely make lots of rice at one time to have enough left over for the rest of the week. Why make new rice every day? Same for pasta.

      Reply
  8. Kim says:

    IME, the key to using leftovers is planning ahead. When our kids were growing up, I planned my meals for the entire month, and then did one big shopping. Other than quick trips in and out for perishables, I only went to the store once a month. I even planned for trips to the store to buy fresh items for meals that couldn’t be bought ahead of time. I planned my menus allowing for leftovers, so knew what I was going to do ahead of time. Some meals were made with enough for two dinners, or one dinner and the next day’s school and work lunches, such as meatloaf. Other meals were planned to have half the first night, and the other half in a new reincarnation the next night, such as a beef roast or ham. I would cook the roast, slice about half for that night’s dinner, along with potatoes and carrots, then the other half became a delicious vegetable beef soup with added vegetables for two more dinners. A ham started out as a nice ham dinner, but became a delicious navy bean and ham soup for two more dinners. I knew basically how much each of our family ate per meal, and planned accordingly. There are some meals that are delicious the night they’re made, but never reheat as well; those I planned for enough for one night only. Other meals taste better as they meld, such as chili, so those I always planned for two or three dinners, or two dinners and a weekend lunch. If a meal doesn’t taste that great the first night, no one wants to have it two nights in a row, so planning ahead for leftovers, and making the food taste good to begin with, are the keys to not wasting food.

    Reply
  11. Beck Bulow says:

    Mmm! Iโ€™ve never had stuffing before since I donโ€™t celebrate Thanksgiving, but Iโ€™ve seen enough recipes to make me want to try it!

    Reply
  12. Sheri B. says:

    Mashed Potatoes that I make from scratch never go bad.
    Once we are done eating leftover the next day, On the following day. I will form patties with the mashed potatoes and fry them (be sure to turn the potatoes when you see browning on the bottom), do some eggs over-easy, toast with cinnamon sugar. (just put some cinnamon in to a bowl of sugar and mix.(put as much or less as you prefer) and sprinkle on toast with margarine
    Yummy!.

    Reply
  14. Laura Rickelman says:

    My late neighbor lady used to call these “planned overs” because she planned on using them for the next meal or two!

    Reply
  15. Linda Garcia says:

    I have a container in my freezer that is my “soup bucket”. Whenever there is just a small amount of something left from dinner, especially vegetables (but basically anything goes) I bring out my bucket and add to the contents. When the bucket is full, it’s time to make soup. It is never the same, as each bucketful is made of different ingredients, but it is usually pretty good.
    My soup tip is this: if you taste the soup and it seems flat, like it is missing something, add a one or two tablespoons of vinegar, start with one tablespoon and taste test, sometimes it needs two. Any kind of vinegar, balsamic, rice, red wine, plain white, apple cider, any kind will do. You will be amazed at how it perks up the flavor.
    My second tip is to freeze leftovers. I have a large variety of containers, so use one that is pretty close to full with the amount of food that you have. You don’t want a lot of airspace in your container. I label every container with masking tape and a sharpie marker. Label with the contents and the date it went into the freezer. Many nights I don’t feel like cooking, I take a frozen meal out and all I need to add is a vege, or a salad and we have a meal with very little effort.

    Reply
  16. Linda Pries says:

    Leftovers are never a problem for me. I don’t mind having the same thing for several days straight if it is something I don’t feel is good to freeze. But if I do want to switch things up I can do so much. I made spaghetti one night and had leftover spaghetti and sauce. Since I rarely want spaghetti I used some of the meat sauce to make flatbread pizza the next day and layered the spaghetti with the sauce and added mozzarella and parmesan to make faux lasagna after that. My kids loved leftovers. They knew that having “stuff” for dinner would be good.

    Reply
  18. Betty Thomas says:

    I must add one more remains of the day tip to the meatloaf category. My sister has always done this with meatloaf. She breaks it up in soup stock adds some diced potatoes, some veggies and makes meatloaf soup/stew. It is delicious and such a great way to invigorate leftover meatloaf. And may I add, yay for soup season!

    Reply

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