Creative Recipes for Holiday Leftovers

We’ve all been there. After a flurry of holiday activities, we find our fridge filled with the remnants of countless delicious meals. Rarely enough to recreate a whole meal but too much to throw out without a lot of guilt, holiday leftovers present the perfect opportunity to get creative in the kitchen and try new approaches to enjoying familiar foods.

Here are just a few ideas for emptying your fridge and filling your belly.

Veg Out

Raw vegetables: So maybe your veggie tray wasn’t as popular as the cookie tray. No worries.

Chop up the raw vegetables to create a stir-fry or sauté them to add to omelets or quiche, or use as the base of a soup stock to enjoy now or freeze and use later.

Roasted vegetables: Depending upon the how they’re seasoned, you can add previously roasted vegetables to pastas, quiches, paninis, pizza, as well as lettuce- or grain-based salads.

Meat Makeovers

Leftover pre-cooked meats can be huge time-savers for mid-week meals or, really, anytime. Depending how much meat you have leftover, you can slice, chop or shred to make tasty:

- Sandwiches or paninis

- Hearty pasta dishes, soups, or potpies

- Super-quick tacos, nachos, or quesadillas

- Savory soups

- Easy breakfast hash

- Shepherd’s pie

Go Nuts

Great on their own, leftover nuts are also great additions to:

- Salads

- Baked goods

- Granola

- Trail mix

- Topping for gratins or casseroles (chopped)

- Brittles

- Roasted with vegetables

Here are a couple of recipe ideas for using up leftovers in a healthy and creative way:

Sweet Potato Hummus [Serves 6]

If you have leftover roasted sweet potatoes on hand, you can save yourself 40 minutes and skip step one of this recipe.

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

4 cloves of garlic

1 tsp. olive oil

3 tbsp. tahini paste

1 cup water

2 tbsp. lemon juice

Instructions 

1. Roast sweet potatoes in oven at 375°F for 40 minutes.

2. Drizzle potatoes with olive oil and garlic.

3. Transfer sweet potatoes, olive oil, and garlic to food processor.

4. Pulse processor and slowly add water, lemon juice, and tahini.

5. Serve as a dip for fresh vegetables.

Leftover Veggie Tray Stir Fry [Serves 6]

Having pre-cut veggies on hand makes this meal super-easy and quick to prepare. Don’t worry too much about the exact amounts of veggies or the specific type used in this recipe. Just use what you have and, if they’re not already, cut into bite-sized pieces before cooking.  

Ingredients 

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 red bell pepper, sliced into long pieces

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced into long pieces

1 cup sugar snap peas

1 cup carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 cups broccoli florets

¼ cup soy sauce

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons brown sugar or 2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 handful of chopped scallions  

Instructions 

1. Heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a wok or large skillet. Add the peppers, peas, carrots, broccoli, baby corn, and any other leftover veggies you are using. Sauté 2-3 minutes until veggies are almost tender.

2. In a small bowl, blend the soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, sesame oil, chicken broth, and cornstarch until smooth.

3. Add to veggies in the pan, being careful to pour the sauce down the side of the pan and continue cooking until sauce thickens. Add scallions and serve over rice.

Kristin Irace, RD, is a registered dietitian at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.