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Do you ever open the fridge, see a few containers of leftovers, and still feel like there’s “nothing” to make for dinner?
Leftovers can be one of the easiest ways to save money on groceries, waste less food, and get dinner on the table faster — but only if you have a simple plan for using them.
That’s where leftover meal planning comes in.
Instead of letting extra chicken, rice, vegetables, pasta, or ground beef sit in the fridge until they get forgotten, you can turn them into quick, budget-friendly dinners your family will actually want to eat.
And the best part? Leftover meal planning doesn’t mean eating the same exact meal three nights in a row. You can repurpose leftovers into tacos, casseroles, rice bowls, soups, salads, sandwiches, quesadillas, and easy one-pan dinners.
If you want to stretch your grocery budget, reduce food waste, and make busy weeknights easier, these leftover meal planning tips will help you use what you already have and make dinner feel a whole lot less stressful.
Leftover Meal Planning (10 Tips for How to Use Up Leftovers)
What Is Leftover Meal Planning?
Leftover meal planning is the simple habit of planning ahead to use extra food from one meal in another meal later in the week. Instead of letting leftovers go to waste, you can repurpose cooked meat, rice, pasta, vegetables, potatoes, casseroles, and sauces into easy dinners like tacos, soups, rice bowls, baked pasta, quesadillas, salads, and sandwiches.
This saves money, reduces food waste, and makes weeknight dinners easier because part of the meal is already cooked.
How to Plan for Leftovers Before You Cook
One of the best ways to make leftover meal planning work is to think about leftovers before you even start cooking.
Instead of accidentally having random leftovers, you can cook a little extra on purpose and give that food a job later in the week.
Here are a few simple ways to plan ahead:
Cook extra meat.
If you’re browning ground beef, go ahead and cook two or three pounds at once. Use one portion for tacos or spaghetti, then save the rest for chili, soup, pasta, or a casserole.
Make extra chicken.
Cook extra chicken breast, shredded chicken, or rotisserie chicken so you can use it later for quesadillas, chicken salad, rice bowls, soup, or BBQ chicken sandwiches.
Double easy sides.
Make extra rice, potatoes, roasted vegetables, or pasta so you already have part of another meal ready.
Plan one leftover night each week.
Add a “leftover night” or “clean out the fridge night” to your meal plan. This helps you use what you already paid for before buying more groceries.
Store leftovers where you can see them.
Clear containers make it easier to remember what you have. If leftovers get pushed to the back of the fridge, they are much more likely to be forgotten.
Write leftovers into your meal plan.
Instead of just hoping you’ll use them, write down exactly how you’ll use the extra food. For example: “Monday: roast chicken” and “Wednesday: chicken quesadillas.”
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.
How do you plan meals around leftovers?
Plan one or two meals each week that purposely make extra food, then schedule another meal that uses those leftovers in a new way. For example, make shredded chicken one night and use the extra chicken for quesadillas, soup, salads, or rice bowls later in the week.
What are the best leftovers to use for meal planning?
The best leftovers for meal planning are cooked chicken, ground beef, rice, potatoes, roasted vegetables, pasta sauce, ham, turkey, casseroles, and soups because they can easily be turned into new meals.
How can I make leftovers taste better?
Add a fresh sauce, cheese, seasonings, tortillas, rice, pasta, salad greens, or bread to make leftovers feel like a new meal. Turning leftovers into tacos, bowls, soups, sandwiches, or casseroles can make them more appealing.
What can I do if my family doesn’t like leftovers?
Try repurposing leftovers instead of serving the exact same meal again. For example, turn leftover chicken into nachos, leftover rice into fried rice, leftover ground beef into taco soup, or leftover ham into grilled ham and cheese sandwiches.
How often should I plan a leftover night?
Most families can benefit from planning one leftover night each week. This helps clean out the fridge, reduce food waste, and save money before buying more groceries.
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 help making dinner easier this week?
If planning dinner feels overwhelming, grab my free 5-Day Dinner Rescue Kit. It gives you five simple dinners planned out for you so you can stop wondering what’s for dinner and start using a simple plan that actually works for real life.
Want a full month of simple dinners planned for you?
The Stress Free Dinners: 30 Day Meal Plan gives you 30 easy, budget friendly dinner ideas so you can save time, spend less, and make weeknight dinners feel easier.
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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