Thanksgiving through New Year’s is traditionally the most-wasteful time of year for food in the US!
The following tips will help you creatively use up your leftovers:
- You can’t go wrong with Big Oven’s great “Use Up Leftovers” recipe search tool, which we’ve featured since Day One on NFLB’s website, and periodically in our Kitchen Confessions blog!
- Check out these great post-Thanksgiving ideas from our colleagues at Eat Smart Waste Less, which like NFLB, is a partner in statewide food waste efforts. We particularly love how these recipes mirror the approach of NFLB’s Leftover Recipes Contest, by highlighting leftovers utilized and estimated savings from preventing wasted food!
- If you’re interested in multi-cultural cuisine, here’s a nice sampling of African, Indigenous Peoples, and Latinx recipes from OSU’s Food Hero program. For more Asian-inspired dishes and listings for vegan/vegetarian and other specialized diets, search the main recipe menu. We also find a lot of value in following Food Hero on Facebook!
- If YOU have a traditional Hanukkah dish that can be prepared low-waste or with leftover ingredients, we’re all ears! Please let us know in the comments below.
Enjoy the following local recipes, generated during our Leftovers Recipe Contest in 2021. No Leftovers Left Behind!
Pumpkin Banana Shake
Recipe by Donna T., of Corvallis MONEY SAVED: $3 INSPIRATION: When your bananas are riper than you want for eating fresh, just peel and cut them into 8 slices each (6 slices if they are small bananas), and then freeze the separated pieces on a parchment-lined plate or cookie sheet. Next day, move the slices …
Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Soup)
Recipe by: Sue C., of Corvallis, adapted from 40 Aprons.com INSPIRATION: I’ve been thoroughly enamored with Thai food lately, and this is one of my favorite recipes for using up leftover bits of meats and veggies in the fridge. For this dish: 3 wilted carrots, Some aging green beans, An old zucchini, 1/2 green pepper, …
Tuna Patties with Picklejuice Crema
Recipe adapted from Simplyrecipes.com, by Karen K. of Corvallis MONEY SAVED: About $9 INSPIRATION: During the Catholic era of my childhood, we always ate fish on Fridays. In those days, that meant fish sticks or tuna fish cakes! So I got inspired when I was perusing my Eat First pantry area and found a couple …
Leftovers-n-Nettles Soup
Recipe by Colleen K., of Corvallis MONEY SAVED: Maybe $3? This kind of soup if takeout will cost you at least $4. I like foraging and picking nettles in the early spring. They are very good for you! I always have some on hand in cubes in my freezer. You have to steam them lightly …
Peach Pie Pancake Mix Muffins
Recipe by: Cathy W. INSPIRATION: I have several of these pancake mix muffin recipes. Pancake mix is cheap, versatile and comes in a huge bag. These require only a few ingredients, a bowl and a spoon! Kids love all of them and can easily help with this recipe. It also gives me a great way …
Chonky Chicken-Tarragon Noodle Soup
Recipe by Lisa L of Monroe MONEY SAVED: $18 I was in California visiting my grandpa and saw half a roasted chicken carcass in his fridge. Wanting to help him with not wasting food he already had, I offered to make thick (“chonky”) chicken soup. After a quick check of the fridge and pantry, I …
Grits and greens
Recipe by: Leigh Ann S. of Corvallis, her sister’s mother-in-law, and online instructions how-to-cook shrimp MONEY SAVED: About $3 — and you won’t waste your organic kale! INSPIRATION: This dish is inspired by my Southern roots. I grew up in Alabama, where grits are a staple. A bowl of buttery, creamy, cheesy grits will power …
Kitchen Sink Cookies
Recipe by: Amy B. of Corvallis MONEY SAVED: $10 INSPIRATION: I like to snack at night on something that is healthy and yummy tasting at the same time. But I don’t like complicated recipes, so I create healthy snacks by blending things that may be already sitting in the fridge and kitchen. This can be …
Leftover Turkey and Mashed Potato Breakfast Cakes
Recipe by: JD M. of Corvallis MONEY SAVED: Whatever you would spend taking the family out for brunch! INSPIRATION Every year my family asks for these delicious and simple potato cakes, so I always make sure to cook extra mashed potatoes for this recipe. They can be eaten any time of day — we prefer …
Olde Valentine Choco-coco Cookies
Recipe by: Olin G of Corvallis MONEY SAVED: $5-$10 worth of past-prime ingredients Whenever I’m in Salem I stop at the See’s Chocolates store, and last time I bought a box of assorteds for a future Valentine’s Day. Not wanting to spoil the surprise for my sweetie, I tucked them away deep in the cupboard …
Juice Pulp Muffins
Recipe by Mali of Corvallis (“Inspired by Becky from Love To Be In The Kitchen, and Kelly from Eat Yourself Skinny (to name a few).) MONEY SAVED: “not sure what the exact price would be, but it’s a great way to use up old veggies and get some extra nutrients in your snacks! I recently …
Everything Ramen Soup
Recipe by Donna P, Corvallis (“This is my ‘recipe’ although I use the word recipe here very loosely – since this is more of a broad style of food with lots of different variables.”) MONEY SAVED: $10-20? “This dish is very much inspired by the no food left behind concept and a love of noodle …
One Pot Adaptable Curry
Recipe by Rebecka, of Corvallis MONEY SAVED: $15-20 “I love the flavor combo of curry and coconut. Throw in a savory winter squash and I am over the moon! This dish is great way to rescue food in two ways: 1. The broth. I save all bones, greens and mushroom stems, onion tops and any …
Carrot Top Pesto
Recipe by Donna T from daughter, Colleen MONEY SAVED: $1 “Delicious pesto made from carrot tops that might otherwise be thrown away or composted. Great for dipping, filling small bell peppers, cooking with chicken. This is a vegan recipe.” INGREDIENTS: 1 cup packed carrot tops, tough stems removed (item that would be discarded) 1 cup …
Vegetable Scrap Soup Stock
Recipe by Sarah B MONEY SAVED: $5/quart of organic veggie broth x 4 = $20 “I was first inspired to freeze my veggie scraps for stock by Bryant Terry, in his book Vegan Soul Kitchen. I haven’t paid for vegetable stock in years. I make my own stock out of vegetable scraps leftover from cooking …
Watermelon Rind Pickles
Recipe by Donna T from daughter, Colleen MONEY SAVED: $2 “There is a lot of perceived waste with a watermelon. Make that rind into pickles and it becomes something delicious!” INGREDIENTS/DIRECTIONS: 8 cups sliced peeled watermelon rind (2” x 1” pieces) – this item would potentially be discarded 6 cups water 1 cup canning salt …
Spaghetti Pie – RUNNER-UP DRAWING WINNER
Recipe by Emily S., Philomath MONEY SAVED: $5 “When you cook too much spaghetti and want to make it into something special, try this! We often have partial cottage cheese containers in the fridge, as well as a few olives left from some other meal, and some limp zucchini that were meant for some other …
Leftover Chicken with Indian Spices – DRAWING WINNER
Recipe by Amy, of Corvallis MONEY SAVED: $20 “I looked in the fridge, and as usual, there was nothing in there except left over chicken. So, I looked around, and there was a partially used jar of tomato sauce. I wanted a whole meal, and something to fill me up. This is a non dairy …
Leftover Chicken with Indian Spices – DRAWING WINNERRead More
Mac-n-Leftover Squash-n-Cheese – DRAWING WINNER
Recipe by Virginia, of Philomath: MONEY SAVED: $10 “This is my own recipe, and is vegetarian. I despise food waste and like to clean out my fridge!” INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS: leftover roasted butternut squash 1 c. milk 5 different kinds of small hunks of miscellaneous cheese 1/2 carton of veggie stock crumbles of crackers macaroni …
Sheetpan Noodle Soup – DRAWING WINNER
Recipe by Marvel, of Corvallis: MONEY SAVED: $10+ “A couple of nights ago we cooked up a ‘sheetpan’ dinner. (H/T New York Times — grab a bunch of stuff, in this case, chopped-up veggies, a couple of andouille sausages and a few cubes of feta, coat it in a little EVOO and spices then blast …
Leftover Chicken Casserole w/Crumbled Cornbread
Recipe by Amy B, of Corvallis: MONEY SAVED: $20 “I came home, and was hungry. I looked in the fridge, and I all I had was some chicken. By itself, chicken isn’t a balanced meal. So, I thought I could add some things that I already had, and make a more complete meal. I looked …
Cheesy Tuna Nachos with Salsa
Recipe by Jeanette, Corvallis MONEY SAVED: $3 “We already had tunafish sandwiches twice, and needed to use up the rest somehow. Seemed like anything savory on chips with cheese would be good. It was! After that, we just added salsa and it was de-lish! Probably could add olives or capers for added flavor bursts.” INGREDIENTS: …