What can I make with leftover vegetables?
Leftover Vegetables deserves better than being boiled as a side. These recipes make leftover vegetables the centre of the plate, and the notes below cover roasting temperature, pan space, and seasoning order.
12 recipes with leftover vegetables
Grilled Paneer and Vegetable Skewers
Quick and easy vegetarian skewers with paneer, zucchini, bell peppers, and scallions, flavored with cumin
Indian13m4Vegetable Stir Fry
Crisp-tender veggies in a glossy ginger-soy sauce.
Chinese15m2Egg Fried Rice
Wok-tossed day-old rice with egg, scallion, and soy.
Chinese15m4
Tonkatsu
Crisp panko-crusted pork cutlets with tangy tonkatsu sauce.
Japanese22m4Suya
Grilled skewered beef crusted in spicy peanut yaji.
Nigerian23m4
Beef and Broccoli
Tender flank steak stir-fried with broccoli in a glossy soy sauce.
Chinese-American25m4
Pad See Ew
Wide rice noodles stir-fried with dark soy, egg, and Chinese broccoli.
Thai25m3Nasi Goreng
Sweet, savory, spicy fried rice topped with a fried egg.
Indonesian25m4
Tempura
Ethereally light battered and fried shrimp and vegetables.
Japanese30m4
Churros
Crisp fried dough sticks rolled in cinnamon sugar.
Spanish30m6Falafel
Herby crushed chickpea fritters, fried till crackly.
Middle Eastern35m6
Lentil Soup
Hearty red lentil soup with cumin and lemon.
Mediterranean40m6
How to get the most flavour out of leftover vegetables
- 1Cut into even pieces so everything finishes at the same moment.
- 2Roast at 425F on a preheated sheet pan for caramelised edges, or sear hard in a skillet if you want it fast.
- 3Do not crowd the pan; steam is the enemy of browning. Use two trays if you have to.
- 4Season in layers: salt before cooking, then acid and fat after, so the leftover vegetables tastes finished rather than plain.
What goes well with leftover vegetables
Leftover Vegetables is at its best with olive oil, garlic, lemon, parmesan, chili flakes and flaky salt. Any two or three of those, plus leftover vegetables, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing leftover vegetables
Store leftover vegetables unwashed - moisture is what causes rot. Leafy types last longest wrapped loosely in a towel inside a bag; roots prefer somewhere cool and dark, not the fridge door. Anything starting to soften is ideal for soups, stocks, and roasting.
Substituting leftover vegetables
If you are out of leftover vegetables, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Leftover Vegetables recipes: common questions
- What can I make with leftover vegetables and not much else?
- Plenty. With leftover vegetables plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest leftover vegetables recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute leftover vegetables?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover leftover vegetables?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover leftover vegetables without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.
- Are these leftover vegetables recipes vegetarian-friendly?
- Many are, and the vegetarian and vegan collections filter the whole library down to recipes with no meat or no animal products at all. In the chat you can also say "vegan" or "no dairy" and every suggestion will respect it.