Turning leftover vegetables into new dishes is both tasty and exciting. Get creative and start cooking with everything, cooked or raw, you have left in your fridge. And one of the best additions to any leftover vegetables? Rice! We give you five of our most delicious rice recipes stuffed with almost any type of vegetable. It is the perfect way to reduce waste by never throwing anything away but always creating something new. So, keep reading and get inspired!
1. Risotto
We cannot mention rice and vegetables without mentioning risotto – the culinary queen of all that is creamy, rich, and versatile. Its incredible versatility means that you can add a heap of leftover roasted, steamed, cooked, or raw vegetables, like bell peppers, courgettes, aubergines, and butternut squash. For example, you can add grilled vegetables such as asparagus, mushrooms, or onions for a smoky and charred taste, or roasted vegetables for a slightly caramelised flavour. Also, steamed broccoli and cauliflower taste great in a risotto, while cooked carrots or sweet potato can be mashed or pureed and stirred into the dish. Try, for example, our classic mushroom risotto – mushrooms and risotto are a match made in heaven!
2. Rice bowls
Like risotto, rice bowls feel tailor-made to use up any leftover vegetables you might have. You can easily mix your cooked rice with leftover spinach, kale, and green beans that were steamed the night before. They can be reheated and added to the bowls. Roasted sweet potatoes, carrots, and bell peppers need only be chopped into smaller pieces, reheated, and then added to the dish. You can also use leftover raw vegetables in different rice bowls like this easy Buddha bowl or delicious poke bowl . You can also use grilled vegetables such as courgettes, aubergines, and asparagus. Slice them into smaller pieces and decorate your rice bowl to make it beautiful and irresistible to look at. For inspiration, see our easy chicken bowl made with broccoli and mushrooms, and add to it with other good leftovers.
3. Stuffed vegetables
Stuffed vegetables with a filling of rice, other vegetables, and savoury seasonings are a fun and tasty way to put your leftovers to good use, and there are plenty of ways to do it. Try a selection of colourful bell peppers or other vegetables large enough to contain filling, for example, courgettes, aubergines, tomatoes, and cabbage leaves. Sometimes, we tend to also have leftover shredded cheese or parmesan in the fridge – consider sprinkling that on top of the vegetables so it melts in the oven. You can easily check our recipe for delicious stuffed bell peppers for inspiration. You can easily fill these with rice as well as other vegetables. And if you are more curious, you might enjoy our article on how to get the most out of leftover vegetables, storing them correctly, and reducing waste.
4. Casseroles with rice
A brilliant way to clean out the fridge is with a big, creamy casserole served with rice. Cooked or uncooked, almost any vegetable will do. Just consider that the cooking time will differ depending on whether the vegetables are raw or already cooked when you add them to the casserole. Broccoli, bell peppers, cauliflower, and carrots are all perfectly suited for casseroles as well as lighter vegetables like peas, corn, and spinach. For example, try our pork tenderloin casserole with mushrooms , which is delicious with added bell peppers, carrots, and the like, too, and served with a side of rice. This, too, is our spicy beef stew with bell pepper, which gives you both savoury meat, colourful vegetables, and a delicious bed of rice.
5. Fried rice and stir-fry
Pan-fried is a classic way of using leftover vegetables. Traditional dishes come from Asian cuisine with quick and easy fried rice or savoury noodle stir-fry. Rice and noodles in a pan are the perfect companions to most vegetables, which means that you can put anything from carrots and bell peppers to broccoli, peas, and courgette into the mix. Anything your heart desires. The cooking time is brief, but you need to keep in mind that some vegetables require less time in the pan than others – this also depends on whether you use already cooked or raw leftover vegetables. Nevertheless, these are prime dishes if you need to throw together a bunch of tasty leftovers with rice to make a quick meal perfect for lunch or dinner.
Use leftover rice for the best result
For the best fried rice, you should use leftover rice! This specific type of rice has lost some moisture, which makes it perfect for stir-frying. It is drier and firmer, so it does not get mushy or turn into sticky clumps of rice. Day-old rice is also great at absorbing sauces, soaking up and adding a lot of flavour to the dish.
