You can save so much money if you don’t let food go to waste. But what to do with leftover food? Check out these savvy strategies for what to do with leftovers.
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You love to meal plan. You love good food.
Sometimes, though, you make too much or the kids aren’t as hungry as normal, and the plastic containers of what’s left start to pile up in the fridge. And somehow the idea of “leftovers” doesn’t sound so appealing.
“Waste not, want not.” That’s what our grandmothers used to say. Perhaps her solution was a type of Mystery Meat Casserole, and it certainly did the job.
But we’ve moved beyond that. Let’s chat about ways to use excess food in ways that you want to eat it up!
The Problem of Leftovers
They say that Americans throw away between 25 and 40 percent of the food they buy. If that’s happening at your house, then a good portion of your grocery budget is going in the trash!
But, what to do with leftovers especially if your family doesn’t like the sound of leftovers? There are a few tried and true strategies to avoid leftovers, but sometimes it can’t be helped.
Avoiding food waste is a huge opportunity to save money and exercise good stewardship. But it’s also a great chance to save time using food you’ve already prepped.
Learn this key step in the Good Cheap Eats System and eat up that leftover food in delicious ways.
Store it properly.
The USDA has stated that leftovers properly stored are good up to 4 days. What to do with leftovers after that point? Chuck it.
But before you get to that point, store it properly and use it up in the next couple days. First step: use a clear container! That way everyone knows at a glance what it is. Bonus points if you label it with the date.
Having a meal plan on your frig will help you remember as well. A quick glance at the calendar will remind you when you prepared a certain item.
If you don’t have such a record, keep a sharpie pen in your kitchen and mark the date when you wrap up leftovers. Clean your fridge out every three days and you’ll be in good shape.
Shopping your kitchen and using what you have to make dinner are top on the list to save money on food.
Reheat and eat.
The simplest way to use up leftover food is to reheat it for another meal. If it’s been stored properly in the refrigerator, you’ve got three more nights to enjoy it.
My go-to method for heating leftovers in the microwave, but you can experiment with different techniques (like reheating in a skillet, air fryer, or oven) to see which you prefer. My husband loves to reheat leftover pizza in a covered skillet on low!
When you’re making your meal plan for the week, think about what tends to be leftover and plan another version of that for lunch or dinner later in the week.
Pack it for lunch.
Packing lunches is a quick and easy way to use up leftovers. I often do this “on purpose” making extra dinner so that I know we’ll have extra for lunches.
Take your lunch prepping skills up a notch by packaging up the leftovers at the same time as serving dinner. Your packed lunches can cool while you eat and then you can load everything in the fridge at clean up time.
Here are my favorite containers for packing lunches:
- glass bento boxes
- Easy lunches plastic boxes – I also like these new Rubbermaid ones that are similar
- black meal prep containers
Freeze it for later.
The easiest way to do freezer meal prep is to double dinner. Leftovers are basically that, a second batch. There’s no reason you need to eat the same thing twice this week. Freeze it for later!
Package up meal-size portions, wrap well for freezing, chill completely and pop them into the freezer. Some night next month, your future self will thank you.
- Too much taco meat? Freeze it in Soupercubes to add to casseroles, chili, or tacos. You can do the same with leftover chili or soup.
- Can your family eat only half the lasagna? Assemble the recipe into smaller pans. Bake one and freeze the other unbaked.
- Got leftover ham? Chop it for casseroles and soup, package in a ziptop freezer bag, and stash it in the freezer for later.
Make something new with what’s left.
If eating the same thing twice in a week isn’t in the cards, then transform your leftovers into something new. I’m not talking about Mystery Meat or Hamburger Surprise. Lots of delicious meals can start with leftovers.
PRO TIP: Create a list of catch-all meals that your family loves. In this way, you’ll always have a way to repurpose leftover prepped food as well as leftover ingredients in tasty ways.
For example:
- Leftover veggies and meats can be incorporated into casseroles, quiches, soups, and stews.
- Leftover roast beef or chicken make a fantastic fillings for tacos, burritos, or quesadillas.
- Leftover rice and chicken or pork go great in fried rice.
- Grilled chicken and roasted veggies will top a pizza or fill a sandwich beautifully.
- Blend fruit salad into a smoothie, leftover veggies into a pasta sauce or soup.
- Tonight’s taco meat can go into tomorrow’s chili or bolognese.
The options are virtually endless! Think through what your family likes to eat and chances are you can find a way to make last night’s dinner new again.
Honor the time and money you spent in the first place.
Remember that you spent good time and money to prep that meal in the first place. Don’t wrinkle your nose at extra food!
We live in an amazing time when we have refrigeration and extra means of food preservation. Leftovers are a blessing in disguise.
The trick is simply in knowing what to do with the leftovers.
Using up leftover cooked food (instead of throwing it out) is a great way to save money and exercise good stewardship. It’s a key part of the Good Cheap Eats System that will help you do more with your grocery dollar.
Wanna level up your leftovers? Check out our budget-boosting resource, Meal Plan to Save Money, including the guide, Leftovers Made New Again. It’s on sale in our estore.
More Ways with Leftovers
What do you think?
Let’s chat in the comments!
This post was originally published on January 16, 2009. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Lisa S
Soup is our favorite way to deal with these. Esp. LO chicken curry soup–we may look forward to it as much as the chicken curry itself.
Egg bake or quiche is another way I use up these bits. Sometimes it’s SW inspired w/ LO taco ground meat, cheese, olives, green onions, salsa for the moisture. Sometimes it’s pizza egg bake with red sauce for the moisture, and whatever pizza toppings we had left. Sometimes it’s LO easter ham chunks, greens, potatoes, and cheese with ranch or something for the moisture.
Jessica Fisher
That’s awesome. Love it when leftovers are a hit!
Carrie
I have been working in this.,I am doing intermintent fastung right now, which means not eating as much, which has resulted in more food waste initially. We do pretty well eatung leftovers for lunches in the past, but they were just stacking up. I have figured out 2 things at our house that help. 1. Have funny dinners (as a child this ment all leftovers came out of the fridge and everyone picked what they wanted. 2. Make smaller meals! I dont need to add the whole box of pasta, I can add just half. Something so simple has really made a difference. Instead of a couple of chicken breasts, I might just use 2 or 1.5 (for the huge ones).
I also think knowing what date something was cooked is essential. I menu plan for a month at a time on a calendar form the dollar store. But I dont keep strictly to the dates. When I make something, I cross it out and put the date I actually cooked it in the box. This really helps my husband prioritize what needs to be eaten first. What I made last night might be more tepting, but to avoid waste he might need to eat something that will be ditched the next day instead.
Jessica Fisher
Great problem solving, Carrie! Sounds like you’re doing a great job.
Belinda
I’ll either freeze leftovers, if it’s something freezable, or we have one night a week where it’s “eat whatever’s in the fridge night”. We can usually feed four of us with bits and bobs of leftovers, with some cheese and salad or a boiled egg added to fill plates if necessary. It can be quite fun, because no two plates are ever exactly the same, based on the quantities of each leftover item 😉
Jessica Fisher
Sounds like you all have great attitudes about leftovers. That’s half the battle!
Alice E
We usually just eat them the next day, thankfully my husband doesn’t object to leftovers. (grin) But I do remember a suggestion from a book/cookbook on eating cheap that said to always add something new the second time around. Some things it works better with than others, but it does help.
My favorite trick is one I learned from my mother. She would heat some milk in a small saucepan and then add a leftover baked potato to the milk cut into chunks or slices. Then she would take the potato masher and squash it up, add a pat of butter and eat her ‘soup’. It is quite tasty, although I usually also add some onion powder. It made a simple one serving soup when she needed something to eat when taking her medicine.
I sometimes freeze single servings for quick meals when I’m home alone. And sometimes I keep leftover veg and meat in a separate larger freezer container and add as time goes by until I have enough for ‘Heloise’ soup. I just heat some broth and add the contents and season to taste. It is never the same but always good.
Jessica Fisher
You always have something helpful to add to the conversation. Thanks, Alice!
Whitney
Could you share a link to your glass containers? I need to buy some for more food prep and yours look like the perfect size. Thanks!
Jessica Fisher
Good question! I’ve added some of my favorites to the post!
keeperofthehome
Oh gosh, that picture is just too funny! I love that big hunk of meat just staring at me through the question mark, LOL!
Mrs. Pear
Okay, this is too funny, I just blogged about wanting to do a better job using up leftovers and generally cutting back on waste in the kitchen!
THanks for the refresher of ideas and thoughts!
Erin
These are some great ideas for leftovers! I like the Grilled chicken and roasted veggies for pizza. One thing that me and my husband do alot is we always make single size portions of the leftovers and freeze them in small containers. My husband can then just pop one in his backpack (he’s still in school) and by the time it has thawed out it is lunch time and he can just pop it in a microwave at school for a minute or two and he has a cheap, healthy, fast lunch.
Another thing we do alot is with leftover white rice we turn it into sweet rice in the morning. We just put cold rice in a bowl and pour a little milk over the top and then add some sugar or I really like it with cinnamon and sugar. Its a great way to get rid of your rice, my kids LOVE it!
Erin
iamfrugal.blogspot.com
JessieLeigh
I almost always plan my meals based on what I know will be leftover, reusing the foods in new ways. I do occasionally hit a speed-bump when my family eats more than I expected though!
Shari
Great ideas–thanks!