10 money saving hacks to use up food leftovers

I owned a café in Bristol for over 12 years and it was there that I first began to really focus on the financial importance of not wasting anything. In a small business, the old adage ‘look after the pennies and the pounds look after themselves’ is something you need to think about every day. Every raw ingredient that came into the business had to be used with maximum efficiency. We developed all sorts of tricks; we’d turn any bread leftover at the end of each day to make croutons for soup the next. We’d use every single bit of the free-range chickens the butcher delivered; making stock from the carcass and crisping the skin up into ‘chicken crackling’ for sandwiches that our customers went wild for.

When I closed the café in 2018 and started writing recipes full time, I had a real understanding of avoiding food waste but a whole new problem. I was buying ingredients to test recipes and would often need to buy specific things when I really didn’t need to go shopping at all. Ingredients would build up in my fridge and I had to get very good, very fast, at using stuff up so that nothing got wasted.

What started as a way to save money and reduce waste in my own home quickly turned into a passion for helping others do the same in theirs. Along the way, I discovered not only how much I could save but also how satisfying it is to transform odds and ends into delicious, resourceful meals. My #RolloverLeftovers series on Instagram has been going since May 2023 and I share how I really cook at home, day to day.

These 10 money-saving hacks are tried-and-tested tips I’ve learned that make it easy to stretch your budget while embracing a zero-waste kitchen.

Tip 1: Soup is your friend

Soup is your friend when it comes to using up both leftovers and gluts of produce. Spot a bag of carrots with a yellow sticker? Make a soup! Bought a bag of onions as it was the only way they came, despite only needing one? Use the others to make a soup. Got some leftover vegetable curry? Add some stock and coconut milk and make a soup. Both cooked and raw leftovers can be used in soups and things like lentils and beans will stretch out meagre leftovers and transform them into a filling meal.

Check out all of our easy soup recipes for inspiration, from quick veggie ideas to comforting noodle broths.

Tip 2: Leftovers pizza

Make a leftovers pizza – even tiny amounts of ingredients are worth saving and a pizza is a great place to use them. I like to buy margherita pizzas and use them as a base to use bits and pieces up. Four olives left? Slice them up and you’ll have plenty to scatter over a pizza. Try a tiny bit of red onion (slice very thinly and scatter over before cooking) or a little rocket (even if it’s wilted) – thrown over the cooked pizza before serving. You could also make a dip for your crusts using leftover dairy ingredients like soured cream and fresh herbs like chives.

Check out our best pizza recipes to get flavour inspiration.

Tip 3: beat the takeaway cravings

Craving a takeaway? Using up leftover cooked rice to make egg fried rice always scratches that itch for me! Check out olive's 18 different fried rice recipes, taking inspiration from all over the world and using up a wide variety of ingredients. I love making a simple egg fried rice with frozen peas when the fridge is severely lacking in fresh veg, but there are so many other options. Both cooked and raw ingredients (as well as frozen) can find a home in a fried rice dish, and it will make a fantastic place for using up everything from the end of a bottle of hoisin sauce to some leftover roasted chicken.

Tip 4: save your bananas

A smoothie from a café can cost upwards of £5. Save yourself cash and food from getting wasted and make your own at home. If bananas are going brown, peel them and freeze them then add the frozen bananas to a blender, along with the other ingredients. They add thickness and fibre and sweetness and give you a cold smoothie without watering it down with ice. I love frozen banana with spinach (a great way to use a bag up) and oat milk. If you don’t fancy a green smoothie, try this kefir, banana, almond and frozen berry smoothie.

Tip 5: turn leftovers into breakfast

If you’re after more breakfast on the go options, to stop you spending money on your way to work or on a train journey, what about a frittata? Perfect for those who commute, as you can make a frittata to keep in the fridge then just grab a slice or two as you run out the door. I use six eggs to make a frittata of eight generous slices, always using sliced cooked potatoes (either fried slices of cooked new potatoes or sliced up leftover roast potatoes) and cheese. You can grate all sorts of hard cheeses into the mixture or use up soft cheeses in spoonfuls on the surface (or both).

Discover our best frittata recipes to get started.

Tip 6: pasta bakes

Combine leftovers with pasta, add a sauce and bake, for a comforting dish that’s great for using up leftovers that need to be bulked out to make a full meal. Combinations that work well include broccoli and cheese in this broccoli pasta bake recipe (use leftover cooked broccoli if you have some to use up, rather than cooking from scratch – just add in at step 3) or this meatball pasta bake is great for using up leftover mascarpone, crème fraiche, cream or even soft cheese.

Tip 7: batch cook

Batch cooking and freezing portions individually will save you so much time and money, as well as energy. Increase the savings by utilising leftovers in your batch cooking and making things like soffritto. If you’ve got celery to use up plus onion and carrots, they can all be very finely diced (you want two parts onion, one part carrot, one part celery) and then either freeze raw or sauté until soft (and the onion is translucent) in olive oil and freeze in portions. This hugely speeds things up at the start of so many recipes – try using it to save you time in a classic spaghetti bolognese.

Tip 8: use leftovers for your packed lunch

'Save cash by taking your own sandwiches to work' is not really rocket science, is it? But remembering that leftovers sandwiches can be absolutely epic, rather than a sad, unexciting option, is important. Consider ideas such as coronation chicken (using up leftover roast chicken) or this egg mayo sandwich which uses up all sorts of things in jars you might have hiding at the back of the fridge, like pickled walnuts, silverskin onions and cornichons.

Tip 9: save your bread

Don’t buy breadcrumbs, make your own. I save the ends of sourdough loaves, wait until they are a day or two old and dried out and then blitz in my food processor until I have fine crumbs. I keep the breadcrumbs in a bag in the freezer and use straight from frozen for things like pangrattato or coating pieces of fish to make homemade fish fingers. This comforting butterbean stew uses breadcrumbs fried with sage for a crispy topping. Soft bread (from a sliced loaf) is great for things like meatballs and bread and butter pudding.

Tip 10: stick to a list

Before going shopping, make a list. And before making a list, do a fridge audit. Make a full and complete list of absolutely everything, put a star next to things that need using up first and then work out what you can make with those items. A meal plan that leaves spaces for eating up leftovers is a wise move. Always remember to prioritise using anything in the fridge up first, before things that will be fine left in the freezer or cupboard. Checking what you’ve already got and not mistakenly buying duplicates will save both food waste and money.