The best recipe ideas to use up Christmas leftovers

26 December 2023 , 04:45

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With our delicious recipe ideas, Christmas dinner leftovers are too good to waste (Image: Getty Images)

Everyone hates the idea of wasting food, but honestly, sometimes it’s hard to feel inspired by a fridge full of leftovers. Luckily, the twixmas period is the perfect occasion for a festive use-up day.

“It’s the perfect time to take stock of festive leftovers and cupboard essentials you already have at home to cook nutritious and filling meals with food that may otherwise have been wasted,” says Jamie Robinson, executive development Chef at Tesco.

New figures from climate action NGO, WRAP, have shown that each year the average UK household wastes about £1,000 worth of food that’s perfectly good to eat. And Christmas is a peak time for food waste.

A recent industry report revealed that last year during the festive period, an estimated two million turkeys, five million Christmas puddings, and 74 million mince pies were thrown away despite being edible.

That’s around almost seven million bins worth of wasted food, or 270,000 tonnes, disposed of despite being good to eat.

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This year, Tesco is helping customers reduce waste by making the most of Christmas leftovers.

"The most-commonly wasted festive foods are ideal to create delicious meals which can be enjoyed straight away or kept frozen for January," says Robinson.

Findings from the study show that over a third (34%) of us will throw away chilled Christmas leftovers because we’re unsure whether it’s fit to eat, while 14% of us aren’t sure about what can be safely frozen.

“At Tesco, we believe good food should never go to waste,” says Robinson.

That’s why Tesco is supporting customers, working closely with suppliers and innovating its own operations to help reduce food waste, and has committed to halving food waste in its own operations by 2025 - five years earlier than the UN global target.

Are your Christmas leftovers safe to eat?

For more leftovers makeover inspiration, visit Tesco’s recipe generator

George Gaston