Your Ultimate Guide to Gourmet-Style Leftovers
Sometimes leftovers just don't sound appetizing, especially when they are just microwaved extras from last night's dinner. You shouldn't settle for that! Instead, try these different ways to repurpose your leftovers in entirely different (but still remarkably easy) recipes!
Just crack a few eggs and add in whatever scraps are leftover from your meals for these delicious recipes:
You might be surprised by how easily your leftovers can become soup! Here are few of our favorite recipes recreated from leftovers:
With some leftover protein and a few fixin's, a Mexican style meal is only minutes away.
Pot pies are also a perfect vehicle for leftovers!
Chicken pot pie is a classic, but there are plenty of other varieties including beef, pork, turkey. There's even a pot pie for vegans too!
If you're looking to cut carbs, try this creamy chicken (or turkey) ala king or skillet chicken divan.
They use ingredient substitutions, like cauliflower rice, to keep the carb count low.
If you've never cooked Indian food before, using leftovers is a great way to experiment with the flavors.
Start simple with Indian rice dishes like lemon rice or tomato rice. Then progress to vegetarian samosas (basically fried potato-filled pockets).
Gourmet leftovers aren't just for meat-eaters. Check out these vegetarian and vegan recipes that use your scraps from previous meals!
Quinoa can be used in vegan dishes like:
If you prefer cheese with your veggies, try these recipes:
If you have leftover chicken to use and still want to keep dinner low-fat, then here are some recipes to try:
These Asian-inspired dishes are a cinch to make when you have some leftovers on hand.
If you want to go Italian for dinner tonight, leftover stale bread is essential for an authentic Italian meatball.
Another traditional Italian dish is cabbage casserole, which uses leftover meat and cabbage.
Baked pasta dishes can use almost any leftover you have! This baked pasta dish uses chicken, pasta, peppers, and, of course, cheese!
1. Quiches and Frittatas
Just crack a few eggs and add in whatever scraps are leftover from your meals for these delicious recipes:
- Corn tortilla frittata
- Ham, cheddar and potato frittata
- Turkey quiche (perfect for after Thanksgiving!)
- Cornbeef quiche (a great way to use St. Patrick's Day leftovers)
- Pizza frittata
2. Soups
You might be surprised by how easily your leftovers can become soup! Here are few of our favorite recipes recreated from leftovers:
- Chicken tortilla soup
- Broccoli soup
- Carrot soup
- Potato soup
- Freezer soup (made from any and all of the scraps you got!)
3. Mexican Styled Recipes
With some leftover protein and a few fixin's, a Mexican style meal is only minutes away.
4. Pot Pies
Pot pies are also a perfect vehicle for leftovers!
Chicken pot pie is a classic, but there are plenty of other varieties including beef, pork, turkey. There's even a pot pie for vegans too!
5. Low-Carb Recipes
If you're looking to cut carbs, try this creamy chicken (or turkey) ala king or skillet chicken divan.
They use ingredient substitutions, like cauliflower rice, to keep the carb count low.
6. Indian Recipes
If you've never cooked Indian food before, using leftovers is a great way to experiment with the flavors.
Start simple with Indian rice dishes like lemon rice or tomato rice. Then progress to vegetarian samosas (basically fried potato-filled pockets).
7. Vegetarian Recipes
Gourmet leftovers aren't just for meat-eaters. Check out these vegetarian and vegan recipes that use your scraps from previous meals!
Quinoa can be used in vegan dishes like:
- Muffins
- Stuffed peppers
- Quinoa burgers and more
If you prefer cheese with your veggies, try these recipes:
8. Low-Fat Leftover Recipes
If you have leftover chicken to use and still want to keep dinner low-fat, then here are some recipes to try:
- Apricot Chicken
- Chicken Enchiladas (this delicious recipe uses low-fat ingredients for less guilt, but more comfort)
9. Asian-Inspired Meals
These Asian-inspired dishes are a cinch to make when you have some leftovers on hand.
- Got leftover rice? You've got an easy fried rice dish.
- Extra veggies and some coconut milk serve as the base for Thai styled vegetarian curry.
- If you have leftover chicken, then this chicken stir-fry recipe only takes 20 minutes to prepare.
- Also, chicken or turkey can be repurposed into several Asian-inspired recipes like Egg Foo Yung. (Don't be intimidated by the name, it's not hard to make at all!)
10. Italian Inspired Meals
If you want to go Italian for dinner tonight, leftover stale bread is essential for an authentic Italian meatball.
Another traditional Italian dish is cabbage casserole, which uses leftover meat and cabbage.
Baked pasta dishes can use almost any leftover you have! This baked pasta dish uses chicken, pasta, peppers, and, of course, cheese!
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