Recipes for Ingredients That Might Go Bad Soon (2024)

Leftover Item: Avocado

Soft scrambled eggs and creamy avocado slices make for a delectable vegetarian breakfast sandwich. Since this sandwich only calls for one quarter of an avocado, it's the perfect way to use up leftovers from the previous night's dinner.

Recipe: Egg-and-Avocado Sandwich

Leftover Item: Avocado

Use this tangy, creamy cilantro-avocado dressing on a salad of romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, and black beans, with crumbled tortilla chips or toasted pine nuts on top.

Recipe: Creamy Cilantro-Avocado Dressing

Leftover Item: Tofu

Tofu isn't only for stir-fries. Mango, pineapple, and lime flavor this tropical smoothie. Silken tofu adds staying power.

Recipe: Tofu Tropic Smoothie

Leftover Item: Tofu

If you have a partial package of tofu leftover from last night's stir fry, one creative way to use up the remains is as a garnish. Fry up any leftover cubes and use them to top soups or salads for an extra burst of flavor and lean protein.

Recipe: Red Lentil Soup with Fried Tofu and Chile Oil

Leftover Item: (Ripe) Banana

A banana gives this milk shake texture without packing on the calories while a pear sweetens the deal. Added bonus: This healthy breakfast (or snack) only takes 3 minutes to prepare. Overly ripe bananas will work just fine in a recipe like this one, as they will just be easier to blend.

Recipe: Banana Pear Milk Shake

Leftover Item: (Ripe) Banana

Everyone's heard of baking a loaf of banana bread to use up extra, nearly rotten fruit, but why not bake up a batch of cookies instead? Crunchy oats add texture to these soft, sweet banana cookies.

Recipe: Banana Oat Cookies

Leftover Item: Sour Cream

Sour cream is a wonderful topper for all kinds of savory dishes like chilies and tacos, but adding a little to a sweet dessert like this one adds extra richness and keeps the cake super moist. Topped with tangy lemon cream, this Classic Pound Cake is dotted with fresh blueberries within.

Recipe: Blueberry-Sour Cream Pound Cake with Lemon Cream

Leftover Item: Sour Cream

A dollop of sour cream is an easy and delicious way to add a luxurious texture and deep flavor to puréed vegetable sides like mashed potatoes.

Recipe: Mashed Potatoes with Sour Cream and Scallions

Leftover Item: Yogurt

If you have the ends of a large container of yogurt lingering in the fridge, consider using it up in a healthy marinade, which also help keep meat moist and succulent. No need for a heavy oil marinade to create a tasty chicken dish; this version imparts all the flavor you need, saturating the chicken in a mix of plain nonfat Greek yogurt, garlic, and cumin.

Recipe: Yogurt Chicken Kebabs with Tomato Salad

Leftover Item: Chicken Stock

A bit of chicken stock is an easy and expected way to add richness and meaty flavor to all kinds of dishes, including vegetable-based ones like this hearty mushroom sauce.

Recipe: Mixed Mushroom Ragout

Leftover Item: Chicken or Vegetable Stock

Braising vegetables fills them with flavor and makes them incredibly tender, and it's also a great way to use up a bit of leftover chicken or vegetable stock before it goes bad on you. You can braise in almost any liquid you can think of, so if you don't have as much leftover stock as the recipe calls for, combine what you do have with other flavorful liquids, like wine, or even a little bit of water.

Recipe: Braised Early-Spring Greens

Leftover Item: Tomato Paste

Adding a tablespoon or two of paste to canned and/or fresh tomatoes is a quick way to make a homemade tomato sauce with real depth of flavor. Believed to have Tunisian origin, shakshuka are eggs simmered in a tomato sauce and traditionally served in a cast iron pan with bread to soak up all the flavors.

Recipe: Shakshuka (Eggs in a Spicy Tomato Sauce)

Leftover Item: Tomato Paste

Use a dollop of leftover paste to add even more rich, umami flavor to any of your favorite soups and stews. Apple cider and tomato paste form the base of this simple chicken stew, which gains flavor from smoky light kielbasa.

Recipe: Chicken-Sausage Stew

Leftover Item: Coconut Milk

A leftover half can of coconut milk can go a long way to adding bold taste to any number of recipes, especially if you substitute it where you might normally use plain old water. A meager cup makes this rice extra flavorful and fragrant.

Recipe: Coconut Jasmine Rice

Leftover Item: Coconut Milk

With the addition of unsweetened coconut milk, this dish is like an Asian version of creamed spinach.

Recipe: Asian Stir-Fried Spinach