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Interested in leftover meal planning? This way of meal planning can be so beneficial so you don’t have to cook a whole meal every night, and you won’t be wasting food, either! Let’s learn about leftover meal planning together to make dinnertime easier!
Whether you want to prevent food waste, make meal prep easier, or get a new meal out of leftovers so you don’t have to cook again, you can find a way to make leftover meal planning work perfect for you.
Using “leftover” food is a great way to eat at home more often, without a lot of additional work or money.
And in case your family cringes or whines at the word “leftover”, you’ll be glad to know there are many different ways to use leftovers in your dinners – your family doesn’t even have to know!
So, next time you make your weekly meal plan, leave room for leftovers to make your dinner workload easier!
Leftover Meal Planning (10 Tips for How to Use Up Leftovers)
Using leftover ingredients or meals for new dinners is a great way to serve your whole family a great meal on a limited budget.
Here are the best ways to use up leftovers and make leftover meal planning work for you:
10 Tips & Tricks for Leftovers:
Here are some quick tips and tricks to use your leftover food and save you money!
1. Leftover Chicken:
There are many ways to use leftover chicken in a totally different way to make a new meal without cooking more meat (which is often the most time consuming).
Grab a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and get a few meals out of it.
Rotisserie Chicken Meal Ideas:
There are so many easy recipes you can make with a rotisserie chicken. Take all the meat off and make one dinner, then save the rest for the next day.
You can also bake your own roast chicken and use these meal ideas if you prefer!
- Chicken Salad Croissants
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Burrito Bowls (rice, chicken, beans topped with sour cream, cheese, pico de gallo, etc.)
- Chicken Nachos
- Chicken Enchiladas
- Chicken Quesadillas
- Salad with Chicken
- BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
- Chicken and Brown Rice with Veggies
- Chicken and Rice with White Queso
Leftover rotisserie chicken is so handy to have to make quick dinners! These recipe ideas can come together really quick when you don’t have to cook the chicken!
Check out this post: 10 Easy Ways to Use Leftover Shredded Chicken Breast
2. Ground Beef
Brown a few pounds of ground beef at once, then split it up for a few meals to make easy dinners. It’s so much easier to cook a large batch of meat at once.
Use however much meat you need for one dinner, and save the leftover meat for another quick meal.
This kind of batch cooking will set you up for easy dinners, so you don’t have to cook as much food.
This is one of my favorite meal planning tips to make dinner quick and easy!
Here are some easy ground beef meals you can throw together:
- Burrito Bowls
- Tacos
- Taco Casserole
- Taco Soup
- Vegetable Soup
- Spaghetti
- Chili
- Cheeseburger Casserole
- Baked Pasta
3. Sweet Potatoes
My kids love sweet potatoes! And it’s a great food to eat leftover!
I bake my sweet potatoes on a aluminum foil covered cookie sheet, piece the potatoes with a fork, and bake at 425 for 1 hour 15 minutes.
You can bake many at a time this way and eat some for dinner tonight, and save the rest for another meal. I scoop the insides out and store in a container in the fridge and then reheat in the microwave until warm.
4. Leftover Veggies
Vegetables and sides can easily be kept and stored for leftovers.
Cooked vegetables like kernel corn, green beans, or peas can be easily stored and reheated.
Stir fry vegetables can be warmed and served with a fresh bit of rice and meat.
Leftover potatoes can be a little tricky. Mashed potatoes can be warmed up well – add in some sour cream, shredded cheese, bacon bits, and green onions to make loaded mashed potatoes for a fresh side.
5. Leftover Steak
Did you cook too much steak? My favorite way to use leftover steak in a new easy meal is to cut it into bite size pieces, warm it, and serve it on top of a big salad with toppings and ranch dressing.
You can use your favorite salad mix, toppings, and dressing to make a delicious steak salad. Serve it with a warm roll or croissant.
6. Leftover Rice
You can reheat leftover rice easily by adding 1-2 tablespoons of water to the rice and warming it in the microwave.
Here are some good ideas for leftover rice:
- Chicken, Broccoli, Rice, and Cheese
- Burrito Bowls
- Chicken, Rice, and White Queso Dip (similar to Pollo Con Queso)
- Leftover Chicken, Leftover Rice, Leftover Vegetables (Broccoli or Stir Fry Mix) with Soy Sauce
- Rice Bowl – add any leftover meat, leftover vegetables, beans, cheeses, whatever you like!
- Rice on the side with any meal
7. Roast
We have found that a hearty roast beef meal reheats really well!
I make a large pot of roast, peeled and quartered potatoes, and baby carrots with roast seasoning and water in the slow cooker. We eat it for dinner and save the leftover food for lunches the next day.
This makes for a great warm and quick lunch!
8. Casseroles
Casseroles are a traditional meal that can make wonderful leftover dinners.
Just be careful to do this sparingly or switch up the casserole often, so your family does not tire of it.
Some great, easy casseroles to try are:
- Poppyseed Chicken Casserole
- Taco Casserole
- Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole
Check out these posts:
Top 10 Ground Beef Casserole Recipes
The 25 Best Easy Easter Dinner Casserole Recipes
9. Baked Pasta
In my experience pasta does not reheat well, but baked pasta does.
Here’s one of my favorite recipes:
I will often make a baked pasta with ground beef, penne pasta, and tomato and basil pasta sauce. I brown the ground beef, cook the pasta, and mix them both with the pasta sauce. You want quite a bit of pasta sauce.
Then spread the mix into a greased casserole dish and top with Italian breadcrumbs and shredded Italian cheese. Add fresh herbs if you like. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted.
This reheats well the next day – you can add extra pasta sauce is needed with a fresh salad or breadstick.
Lasagna, whether the homemade or the frozen type, can also reheat well.
Try your own baked pasta dish with your favorite pasta sauces, meat, and pasta.
10. Baked Ham
If you find a great deal on a whole ham, grab it and bake it. And take advantage of the leftover meals that you can enjoy!
Here are a few ways to make different meals from a baked ham (or turkey):
- Warm with homestyle vegetables (collard greens, green beans, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, asparagus, rolls, etc.)
- Ham Sandwich (grab some slices of bread and your favorite cheese and condiments)
- Warm Ham and Cheese Croissants (with a side salad)
- Grilled Ham and Cheese (with a side of soup)
There are so many easy ways to use leftover meals and leftover ingredients to make a fresh, new dinner.
When you repurpose leftovers, you are eliminating food waste, stretching your food budget, and making dinner easier with your busy schedules.
You can do a little bit of planning ahead and make leftover meals a part of your meal plan – which also meals your shopping list will be reduced!
Once you begin making new recipes with extra food, it will become second nature to find creative ways to make good use when you have too much food at the back of your fridge.
So get creative and make some new meals with those leftover items in your fridge!
Not every meal you make with leftovers will be a hit, but keep trying and use the food you already paid for!
You can always do a quick google search with “how to use leftover _” for a new recipe or idea to try!
Using your leftovers will really help stretch your grocery budget and keep you from spending so much time in the kitchen – and you’ll still feed your family a great meal without all the effort or relying on fast food!
*Quick Tip: Plan for leftovers in your weekly meal plan. Make a larger amount or a double batch of one dinner to serve for two nights. Or cook your meat for a few meals at once to set yourself up for another meal. Lunches are also a great place to use up leftovers and save money from eating out.
Here are some helpful meal plans to inspire you:
Weekly Meal Plan for a Single Person on a Budget
Easy $80 Weekly Aldi Meal Plan for 4 People
The $30 Weekly Meal Plan – Free Printable Aldi Shopping List & Menu
7 Frugal Dinner Ideas: Cheap Meals for the Week
One Month Meal Plan: 30 Dinner Ideas
15 Weekly Meal Plans for New Dinner Ideas & Inspiration (With Meal Plan Pictures to Save!)
Need more help deciding what to make for dinner?
Planning meals and eating at home can help you save so much money, but it’s not always easy to figure out what to cook!
If you need some dinner ideas that are simple, quick, and budget-friendly, you’ll love the FREE 60+ Easy Dinner Ideas List – the handy resource you’ll love to use for quick, easy, and budget-friendly meal ideas to make meal planning simple and effortless!
Grab the FREE Easy Dinner Ideas List right here!
Here are some more cheap meal ideas to help you make your own frugal weekly meal plan:
- 20 Things to Eat on a Tight Budget
- 12 Cheap Meals: $2 Meal Ideas
- Cheap Dinner Ideas for 2
- Easy Two Week Rotating Meal Plan on a Budget
- 15 Ideas of 10 Minute Meals
- 10 Pantry Meals: When the Menu Plan Doesn’t Happen
- Theme Nights Meal Planning: Easy Dinner Ideas for Every Night of the Week
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