Leftover Vegetable Recipes: 40 Easy Ways to Use Up Vegetables
Odds and ends of vegetables add up fast. Whether you have cooked broccoli, roasted carrots, soft zucchini or stray peppers, these recipes are built to use up whatever leftover veg you have in the fridge.
Have leftover vegetables plus other ingredients? Find recipes with what you haveWhat can I do with leftover vegetables?
Almost anything that starts with chopped, already-cooked vegetables: fold them into fried rice or a frittata, simmer them into soup, blend them into a pasta sauce, or pile them into a quesadilla. How to use up vegetables well comes down to matching the dish to the state they're in — soft mixed veg, roasted trays and lone stray carrots each work best in different recipes.
- Cooked and mixed vegetables
- A scoop from one dinner and a scoop from another usually get along fine. Soft, already-cooked veg is at its best where it's folded in near the end or blitzed smooth: fried rice, frittata, soup or a pasta sauce. If the mix includes anything strongly flavoured, taste before adding extra salt.
- Roasted vegetables
- Roasted veg is drier and more concentrated than steamed, so it shines where it can crisp up again or add depth: toss it into a traybake, warm it through a grain bowl, blend it into a velvety soup, or layer it on a pizza or toasted sandwich. One of the easiest ways to use up roasted vegetables is simply to re-roast them at high heat until the edges caramelise.
- Small odds and ends
- Half a carrot, a few green beans, the end of a pepper: chop everything small and evenly sized and they vanish into fried rice, frittata, noodles, dumpling filling or a bubble-and-squeak style hash. Chopping to a uniform size is what lets random pieces cook evenly together.
Find recipes by vegetable
Broccoli
Blend cooked florets and stems into a creamy soup. Cheesy Broccoli Soup.
Carrots
Simmer soft or roasted carrots into a spiced curry. Chickpea Veggie Curry.
Zucchini
Grate it into fritters, or dice it into a clean-out soup. Zucchini Fritters, Minestrone Clean-Out Soup.
Peppers
Roasted peppers fold into menemen; whole ones take a filling. Turkish Menemen, Stuffed Peppers.
Mixed vegetables
Any combination of cooked veg works in a frittata or soup. Veggie Frittata, Vegetable Soup.
40 recipes using vegetables
Cheesy Broccoli Soup
Leftover broccoli blended into a creamy cheddar soup.
Chickpea Veggie Curry
A forgiving curry that welcomes any leftover vegetables.
Indian Vegetable Biryani
Layered spiced rice that turns leftovers into a feast.
Italian Ribollita
Tuscan bread and bean soup built for stale bread and tired vegetables.
Korean Bibimbap Bowl
Rice bowl crowned with whatever vegetables you have.
Minestrone Clean-Out Soup
A brothy tomato soup built from whatever vegetables remain.
Moroccan Vegetable Tagine
Sweet-spiced stew that welcomes any roasted vegetable.
Stuffed Peppers
Leftover rice and protein baked in bell peppers.
Thai Tom Kha Soup
Coconut and lemongrass soup that uses up odd vegetables.
Turkish Menemen
A Turkish scrambled egg dish with leftover roasted vegetables and tomatoes.
Vegetable Soup
Simmer leftover vegetables into a comforting soup.
Veggie Frittata
Use up leftover vegetables with eggs in a baked frittata.
Zucchini Fritters
Crispy fritters that rescue softening zucchini.
Argentinian Empanadas
Leftover beef, chicken, or vegetables wrapped in flaky pastry.
Danish Smørrebrød
Open-faced sandwiches using leftover meats, fish, or vegetables on dense rye bread.
Dutch Erwtensoep Pea Soup
Thick split pea soup with smoked sausage.
Egg Fried Noodles
Use leftover noodles with egg and vegetables.
Ethiopian Misir Wat
A spicy red lentil stew that works with leftover cooked lentils.
Filipino Tortang Talong
A Filipino eggplant omelette using leftover ground meat or vegetables.
Greek Lemon Rice Soup
A creamy Greek soup using leftover white rice, eggs, and lemon.
Hungarian Goulash Soup
Paprika-rich beef soup that reheats even better.
Hungarian Goulash Soup
A hearty paprika soup using leftover beef or pork and root vegetables.
Japanese Curry Rice
Thick, mildly sweet curry poured over rice.
Japanese Miso Soup with Tofu
A comforting miso soup using leftover cooked vegetables and silken tofu.
Korean Japchae
Glassy sweet potato noodles tossed with vegetables and beef.
Lebanese Fattoush Salad
A refreshing Lebanese bread salad using stale pita and fresh vegetables.
Leftover Pasta Bake
Turn last night's pasta into a cheesy baked casserole.
Leftover Roast Wrap
Wrap leftover roast meat and vegetables.
Leftover Turkey Noodle Soup
A brothy soup that turns leftover cooked turkey and a few fridge vegetables into dinner in about 25 minutes.
Peruvian Quinoa Chaufa
A Peruvian take on fried rice using leftover quinoa and any vegetables or protein you have on hand.
Potato Hash
Crispy leftover potatoes with vegetables and optional egg.
Pulled Pork Sliders
Leftover roast pork shredded into saucy little sandwiches.
Shepherd's Pie Skillet
Leftover mashed potatoes and ground meat baked into a golden skillet pie.
Skillet Leftover Turkey Pot Pie
All the comfort of turkey pot pie with none of the pastry work: one skillet, leftover cooked turkey and a sheet of puff pastry on top.
Sri Lankan Kottu Roti
Chopped flatbread stir-fried with vegetables and curry.
Tofu Stir-Fry
Use leftover tofu and vegetables over rice.
Turkish Menemen
Soft eggs simmered in peppers and tomato for any time of day.
Vietnamese Banh Mi
Crisp baguette stuffed with leftover roast and pickles.
Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich
Use leftover roast pork or chicken in this classic Vietnamese sandwich.
Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad
Fresh herb noodle bowl with a sweet-sour dressing.
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