Clean-out-the-drawer frittata
About 22 minutes
Soften the sturdy vegetables, wilt the greens, pour over beaten egg and finish under a lid or the grill.
Leftovers guide
What to do with leftover vegetables
Almost every vegetable in the drawer belongs in one of five dishes: a frittata, a soup, a traybake, a fried rice or a pasta. Sort them into soft and sturdy, then pick the dish that matches what you have most of.
6 things to make with leftover vegetables
Traybake with whatever roasts
About 35 minutes
Cut to a similar size, oil, salt, high heat. Root vegetables and cabbage wedges take the longest, so give them a head start.
Any-vegetable soup
About 30 minutes
Onion base, everything else, stock, simmer, then blend or leave chunky. Finishing with lemon makes it taste deliberate.
Wilted greens pasta
About 18 minutes
Garlic in oil, greens in until they collapse, pasta water to loosen, cheese off the heat.
Fridge fried rice
About 15 minutes
Dice everything small so it cooks in the time the rice takes to crisp.
Quick pickles and slaws
About 10 minutes
Sturdy raw vegetables in vinegar, a little sugar and salt buy you another week and wake up every leftover dish.
Don't pick from a list
Get a recipe for exactly what you have left
Photograph the shelf — or type the items — and get step-by-step recipes that use your leftover vegetables first, with Healthy Hints for conditions you flag.
Keeping it good
- Limp is fine; slimy, mouldy or sour-smelling is not.
- Revive tired greens and carrots in cold water for ten minutes.
- Store cut vegetables covered, and keep onions and potatoes out of the fridge.
- Cooked vegetables keep three to four days refrigerated.
Healthy Hints
Watching salt
Roasting and quick pickling both build flavour without the salt shaker — browning and acid do the work.
Watching blood sugar
Lead with the non-starchy vegetables and add a protein; keep potato and corn to a side portion rather than the base.
Cooking guidance only — Pantry Forge does not give medical advice.
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Common questions
How do I know if leftover vegetables are still good?
Limp, wrinkled or slightly dry vegetables are fine to cook. Discard anything slimy, mouldy, or that smells sour or fermented.
What is the easiest thing to make with random vegetables?
A frittata or a traybake — both work with almost any combination, and neither needs a precise recipe.
Can I freeze leftover vegetables?
Yes. Cooked vegetables freeze well in flat portions, and most raw vegetables freeze fine once chopped if they are destined for soup or a stir-fry.
How do I turn odds and ends into an actual recipe?
Photograph the drawer. The leftover recipe generator identifies what it sees and builds step-by-step recipes around those items, with Healthy Hints for any conditions you flag.
More leftover guides
What to do with leftover rice
Cold rice from last night? Here are six safe, healthy ways to use leftover rice tonight — plus a free generator that builds a recipe around exactly what else is in your fridge.
What to do with leftover cooked chicken
Half a roast chicken or a container of cooked breast? Six easy, healthy leftover chicken dinners, how long it keeps, and a free generator that builds a recipe from what else you have.