Cooking an entire roast meal from scratch can be a mammoth task - but it is absolutely worth it! A classic roast beef with crispy baked potato and vegetables or a leg of roast pork or lamb with mashed potatoes and gravy is the type of Sunday roast the whole family will love. After all, there is something about cooking a perfect roast that brings people together.
But all that effort for just one meal can seem like a waste. Luckily, last night's dinner leftovers makes an excellent meal the next day.
Whether you turn Sunday roast into Monday pie or soup, there are so many options to make your leftover roast beef, lamb, chicken or turkey last another meal. Phew!
We've put together some of our favourite recipes to use leftover roast meat and vegetables. Read on for some great ideas!
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After a long day at work, the last thing you feel like doing is cooking up a whole meal. But then you remember - there's leftover roast chicken from last night's roast dinner. What could be better?
By serving up your leftovers, you're ensuring you reduce food waste and you're saving yourself some valuable hours in the kitchen.
Try one of our tasty leftover meat recipes below featuring either chicken or turkey.
This recipe for turkey and avocado rolls is a great way to use leftover turkey. It's also a super customisable dish, using only a few ingredients. You can mix and match whatever you have in your fridge or pantry - switch the mayonnaise for aioli or dijon mustard and add your choice or vegetables. We love adding melted cheese, chopped tomatoes and sour cream for a Mexican take on turkey roll ups.
Everyone knows that chicken soup makes the best comfort food - and the same can be said for this delicious recipe for Thai chicken soup. The recipe calls for chicken breasts, but any kind leftover roast chicken will work equally well. You can also use leftover chicken stock from yesterday's roast meal if you're organised enough! Add fish sauce for extra tang and some red pepper chilli flakes to make your version extra spicy - the recipe has medium heat!
For the ultimate comfort food try our easy chicken pie recipe. With a crisp filo topping and creamy filling, this quick recipe is bound to become your new go-to. Pop in leftover roast chicken or any leftover roast vegetables. You can also cook the filling ahead and store it in the fridge to save you time on the day.
If you're looking for a quick and easy salad to use up some leftover roast chicken or turkey, try our delicious Chicken and tabbouleh salad. Packed with finely chopped fresh herbs, cherry tomatoes and olive oil, the salad has a distinctly Mediterranean taste. Season liberally with black pepper before serving.
A small amount of leftover chicken goes a long way in this delicious chicken and asparagus quiche. Use tinned asparagus if it is not in season and sprinkle with plenty of shredded cheddar cheese.
Fried rice makes one of the best leftover meals. This recipe uses leftover chicken but you can use any leftover meat in yours - leftover prawns, leftover steak, leftover cooked beef and even leftover pork all make amazing additions.
Gently fry everything together in a big pan or work for a quick and easy meal that the whole family will love.
Looking for more of our latest recipes using fresh seasonal produce? Check out our Taste the Season guide.
Roast beef and roast lamb are Kiwi staples. They both make regular appearances on dinner tables all across New Zealand and many families enjoy them for Christmas day lunches and dinners.
Since we love roast meat so much, it's no wonder that we also love leftover roast beef and lamb. If you're looking for inspiration to use up your leftover lamb or beef, try one of our great recipes.
This leftover beef dish is versatile recipe that can be used as a filling for wraps or pita pockets as well as being served as it is. It makes a particularly good filling for roast beef enchiladas when sprinkled with smoked paprika and paired with fresh herbs like chopped parsley and coriander.
You could also swap the chickpeas for cannellini or butter beans if you like (or even baked beans at a push!).
If you're looking for fab food that will please the whole family, Cottage pie is one of the most tried and true leftovers recipes in the book. This dish has been fed to Kiwi families for ages and just happens to be one of the best uses for beef leftovers or lamb leftovers.
Our recipe keeps things simple with cooked roast beef, olive oil, finely chopped onion, beef stock, diced carrots and celery, and a mashed potato topping. But some recipes also suggest adding tomato puree and red wine to the beef mixture for an extra kick. If you're extra organised, you could also use leftover beef broth from last night's roast beef.
Our Roast meat salad is one of the lighter leftover roast beef recipes. Packed with veggies and protein, the salad is the definition of "good food" - and a meal that you can serve to the family knowing it's full of nutrition.
If you're looking to make the salad slightly heartier, toss in some freshly cooked egg noodles or include mozzarella or feta cheese.
We've been talking all about leftover roast meat - and with so many leftover beef recipes and leftover chicken dishes, it would be unfair of us to leave out those who are vegetarian!
Here are a few of our favourite meals that include leftover roast veggies. They're all super easy to cook and completely vegetarian.
