Cook Once, Eat Twice: 10 Leftover-Friendly Recipes

By Jenn Segal

Even if you enjoy cooking, making every single meal every single day can get tiring. From ratatouille to spaghetti pie, these leftover-friendly recipes are not only delicious right after serving, but a day (or three) later.

Ratatouille

Ratatouille is a bright and chunky summer vegetable stew, rich with olive oil, garlic, and herbs. Leftovers can be added to pasta, folded into eggs, spooned or toast, or just eaten cold from the fridge.
Asian Slaw with Ginger Peanut Dressing

Cool and crunchy, this flavorful Asian slaw is a delicious way to eat your colors. It makes a lot so you’ll have plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day.
Gail Simmons’ Epic Spaghetti Pie

Spaghetti pie is a big affair, impressive in both stature and ingredients — perfect for a hungry crowd or feeding your crew for days.
Italian Meatloaf

This Italian meatloaf is basically one big giant meatball. Leftovers make scrumptious meatloaf sandwiches.
Char Siu Chicken

Andrea Nguyen’s savory-sweet char siu chicken is hard to resist, and it reheats beautifully.
Spinach Frittata

Stuffed with baby spinach and two kinds of cheese, this spinach frittata makes a lovely brunch, lunch, or light dinner.
Grilled Salmon with Creamy Cucumber-Dill Salad

This grilled salmon with a tangy cucumber salad makes a light and easy weeknight dinner — and the leftovers are good cold.
German Potato Salad

In this German potato salad, the typical American mayo dressing is replaced with pickled onions and a tangy vinaigrette.
Crustless Broccoli Quiche

Omitting the crust cuts down on prep time, cook time, and carbs — and the cheesy custard is the best part anyway. Make two so you’ll have extra to reheat throughout the week.
Stacked Beef Enchiladas (AKA Mexican Lasagna)

With layers of corn tortillas, spicy ground beef, salsa and cheese, this stacked beef enchilada casserole is a huge family pleaser — and it reheats well, too.