15 Recipes For Leftover Spaghetti Sauce – easy ways to use a leftover jar of pasta sauce – tasty and delicious meal ideas for what to do with a leftover jar of marinara sauce or leftover meat sauce.
Recipes For Leftover Spaghetti Sauce
These recipes for leftover spaghetti sauce are all quick and tasty ways to make the most of any leftover sauce and enjoy fresh, new meals.
Be sure to store any leftover sauce in the jar or in an airtight container in the fridge and use within the time recommended on the bottle in any of these easy recipes that the whole family will enjoy.
The good thing is that there are plenty of ways to turn whatever you have leftover into a multitude of new and old favorite meals.
1. Best Ever Chicken Bake
To make this easy chicken casserole, place a pack or two of chicken drumsticks, legs or thighs into a baking dish. Pour over leftover sauce and add on any other ingredients you like, including chopped garlic, any vegetables, seasoning and even cheese.
Toss well to combine, top with grated mozzarella cheese for a chessy topping, then place into the oven which is preheated to 180C/350F for 30 to 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and top is golden brown.
2. Vegetable Gratin or Casserole
As with the chicken casserole, another great way to enjoy leftovers is to make a leftover spaghetti casserole – combine together your choice of vegetables including cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini or any other you like, along with with leftover sauce and spaghetti or any other pasta you have in a casserole dish.
Top with bread crumbs and cheese, such as parmesan cheese, and place into the oven at 180C/350F for 35 to 45 minutes or until cooked through and done to your liking.
3. Pizza
Probably the best way to take perfect opportunity of leftover sauce is to use it in one of the best ever family favorite meals – pizza.
Top a homemade or store bought pizza base with leftover pasta sauce plus your toppings of choice and cheese, then bake according to recipe instructions. You could also swap the pizza base for portobello mushrooms for carb free cute mini veggie pizzas. (Here’s how.)
4. Zucchini Noodle or Cabbage Noodle Bolognese
If you’ve used up all of your spaghetti or pasta and want to use leftover sauce in a similar meal, then heat the sauce with zucchini noodles (with the help of a spiralizer) or cabbage noodles for a veggie full and lower carb fool-proof weeknight meal.
In the above pictured cabbage noodle bolognese, a half a head of cabbage is chopped into noodle shaped pieces, then fried until softened. Once soft, add any leftover sauce as well as any leftover cooked meat, then serve with plenty of parmesan.
5. Dip
An easy way to use leftover sauce it to mix it with sour cream or mayo for a Russian Dressing inspired dip that you can serve with burgers or as a side with roasted chicken or meat.
6. Stuffed Vegetables
Hollow out and stuff your choice of zucchini, eggplant or bell peppers with vegetables sauteed in olive oil and leftover sauce, top with cheese then place in the oven at 180C/350F for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
7. Sausage Casserole
A great recipe to use up leftover tomato sauce is to make sausage casserole. Heat butter or oil in a large saucepan and, when hot, add in chopped onion, garlic and leek, cook until starting to soften then add in chopped sausages, such as Italian sausage, and cook until browned.
Pour over leftover sauce, chopped broccoli, any other chopped vegetables you like and then add water to cover. Bring up to the boil, lower the heat then gently simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until cooked to your liking.
8. Soup
Stir leftover sauce through soup for added flavor and nutrition, like in the above pictured oxtail soup.
9. Meatballs
A fun game day or next day meal with leftover sauce is to make meatballs. To make the meatballs, combine together beef mince, chopped onion and garlic, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, black pepper and any other seasoning you like in a large bowl.
You can add in an egg and 1/4 cup flour to help bind the meatballs together, if needed. Then, form into meatballs and cook in a large frying pan until browned on all sides.
Add any chopped vegetables you like, such as zucchini and mushrooms, then pour over leftover sauce, plus a little tomato paste for a richer flavor.
Then, it’s just a matter of bubbling the meatballs and sauce until cooked through. Serve with any leftover spaghetti noodles and enjoy.
10. Shakshuka
I adore having breakfast for dinner and this is the perfect hearty meal to enjoy any time of the day to use up leftover sauce.
Simply fry up tomato, peppers, onions and any other vegetables until softened, pour over the sauce, heat through then crack over 2 to 3 eggs per person. Cook until the eggs are set, crumble over feta, then serve.
11. Pizza Omelette
Another yummy use of your leftover pasta sauce is to make a pizza omelette. Simply whisk together 2 to 3 eggs per person, along with heavy cream, until smooth.
Then, cook the omelette batter in a frying pan and, when set, fill with leftover sauce, cheese and whatever other ingredients you usually enjoy as pizza toppings. Cook until the cheese has melted and omelette is perfectly cooked.
12. Toasted Sandwich
For the next easy recipe, enjoy a comforting toasted sandwich or quesadilla by spreading leftover pasta sauce or hot sauce over bread, a tortilla or even leftover garlic bread.
Then, top with any cheese you like including cream cheese, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, cheddar cheese, mascarpone or a combination of cheese choices.
You can add in any vegetables or leftover meat or chicken you have in your fridge to create an indulgent, gourmet toastie. The sandwich can be heated in a toasted sandwich maker, sandwich press or heated on a frying pan.
13. Jacket Potatoes
Top baked potatoes with leftover sauce, sour cream and cheese for simple sloppy joes. My method for making foolproof baked potatoes is to place whole potatoes onto a baking tray, carefully mark the top with an X using a sharp knife, then shake over salt and drizzle over olive oil.
Toss the potatoes to coat them in the salt and oil then pop into the oven which is preheated to 200C/400F for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, toss the potatoes, ensuring the X is facing up then place back into the oven for a further 20 minutes.
You can bake for a total or 40 to 60 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes and how crisp you’d like them to be. Then, serve with your toppings of choice.
14. 3 Ingredient Lasagne
This 3 Ingredient Tortellini Lasagna couldn’t be simpler – layer leftover sauce with a package of tortellini and grated cheese, then bake in the oven at 180C/350F for 35 to 45 minutes or until golden and crisp on top.
15. Simple Pasta Meal
And the final in this collection of Recipes For Leftover Spaghetti Sauce, create a fresh pasta dish by cooking fresh vegetables and beef mince in leftover sauce then serve with any pasta you like.
As you can see, there are so many different ways to transform leftovers into new favorite ways to enjoy a budget friendly jar of spaghetti sauce.
More Easy Dinner Ideas
10 Quicker Than Takeaway Meals
Oven Baked Chicken Thighs Recipe
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