17 Recipes That Are Even Better As Leftovers
Fall feels like a whirlwind, whether your schedule is packed with sports practices and school meetings or social plans and work projects or all of those things at once. By the time you get to dinner, time is tight. Here at Epicurious, we often talk about solving the problem with “nextovers”—that is, purposefully cooking extras of some element of a dish—sometimes a big-batch protein, but sometimes a vegetable—so that the next day, you can transform those bonus, already-prepped ingredients into a whole new dinner. Slow-cooker pork works in tacos or a stir-fry; you can roast a huge squash for vegetarian ramen and layer the extra into fantastic squash sandwiches with pickled onions and sharp cheddar. Marinated lentils are great on a main-course salad, but also can bulk up this pasta sauce; hunks of orange-and-chile roast chicken work well as a second-day torta with pickled jalapeños and creamy avocado. Still, sometimes you can’t find the energy or the time for that kind of reworking, and you just need a full dinner that everyone in your household will be happy eating as is for two days in a row. Scroll down for some staff favorites from the Epicurious recipe archives, including cozy soups, luscious braises, and even a cake that gets better overnight.
Photo by Elena Heatherwick1/17Confit Tandoori Chickpeas
Lots of chickpea recipes taste even better after a night in the fridge; the legumes soak up their cooking liquid and become truly permeated with flavor. Here, you’ll slowly cook the chickpeas in olive oil with ginger, tomatoes, chiles, turmeric, and cumin. A big panful is a delight to eat for several meals, paired with rice or flatbread or just scooped up with a spoon.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton2/17Instant Pot Lamb Haleem
This Pakistani stew made from long-simmered lentils, barley, and bone-in chunks of lamb or goat is remarkably silky and deeply comforting. An Instant Pot makes quick work of the process.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton3/17Simple Turkey Chili With All the Toppings
Joseph De Leo5/17Miso–Butternut Squash Soup
This vegan soup gets its deep savory character from white miso, sesame oil, ginger, and maple. Top each bowl with salted, roasted peanuts, your favorite chili crisp, and fresh cilantro.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich7/17Instant Pot Chicken Rendang
“Rendang always tastes better the next day,” writes cookbook author (and Epi contributor) Pat Tanumihardja. This version starts with boneless chicken thighs and comes together quickly in a pressure cooker.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson9/17Slow-Cooked Pork With Chickpeas
This pork stew is the ideal weekend project, braising for a couple of hours in your oven. If you don't feel like chickpeas this week, you could substitute canned white beans. Garnish with lemon zest and chopped parsley just before serving.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Pearl Jones10/17West Indies Shepherd’s Pie
People tend to think that all casseroles work well for make-ahead cooking, but the truth is that some fare better than others. We’re not huge fans of mushy leftover baked pasta, but a shepherd’s pie like this one, made with ground chicken, makes fantastic leftovers. Adding ginger, habanero chile, and lime, as well as aromatic Angostura bitters gives this comforting dish loads of warming flavor.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Megan Hedgpeth, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich11/17Confit Turkey With Chiles and Garlic
Photo by Isa Zapata, Prop styling by Tim Ferro, Food styling by Taneka Morris13/17Just-Keeps-Getting-Better Lentil Salad
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton15/17Eggplant Parmesan
This is one of our favorite dishes to bring to tired new parents—but you might as well make a batch for your own fridge while you’re at it.
Photo by Colin Price16/17Brown Butter Steel-Cut Oatmeal
For many of us, the truth about oatmeal is that we’re never going to eat it if it's not already cooked. Especially the slower-cooking steel-cut oatmeal, which offers fantastic texture and flavor, but requires a bit of a time investment if you're cooking on the stovetop. The answer: these Instant Pot oats, which cook in just 12 minutes, but also keep beautifully in your fridge for the rest of the week.
