21 brilliant ideas to use leftover bread - To Be The Perfect Mother (2024)

You will read here 21 brilliant ideas to use leftover bread.

Bread is one of the most consumed food in the world. In many cultures around the world, bread is considered sacred and never thrown away as according to their beliefs, throwing away stale bread is a sin that can lead to bad luck and lack of prosperity.

But sadly, still many people bin the leftover bread. Globally, almost 900,000 tonnes of bread is wasted annually. Source
Throwing food away wastes all the resources ( land, water and labor).

So, if you want to go Zero waste, you definitely need to look for ways to use leftover breads.

I wrote earlier a few posts about how to reduce your waste to protect the environment, prevent pollution, preserve natural resources, and of course, save money. You can check out these posts:

•35 unexpected benefits of orange peels
•20 amazing reasons to keep silica gel packets
•16incredible health benefits of pomegranate peel
•20 ways to reuse used coffee grounds
•14 clever ways to reuse empty toilet paper rolls
•8 brilliant uses of egg shells.

How long does bread last?

According to USDA, the general shelf life of commercially manufactured bread is 2 to 4 days at room temperature, 7 to 14 days in the refrigerator, or up to 3 months when frozen.

Can you eat leftover breads?

Leftovers can be kept for 2 to 4 days in the refrigerator. After that, the risk of food poisoning goes up. If you don’t think you’ll be able to eat leftovers within four days, freeze them right away. Frozen Leftovers will stay safe for a long time.

How to keep bread fresh longer?

Storing your bread on the countertop in a plastic bag ( or well-sealed plastic wrap) will help keep it from going stale.
If you want to keep the bread fresh longer, freeze your bread. Freezing bread is the best way to preserve that crusty loaf for the longest time possible. Wrap tightly in a freezer bag, either whole or sliced. You can put wax paper between slices when you freeze, as this makes it easier to take out just what you need.

How to refresh day-old bread?

Before we start with these 21 ideas to reuse leftover bread, you need to know how do you make stale bread fresh again?
To refresh day-old bread, wrap the loaf tightly with aluminium foil, place it on the middle rack of cold oven, and set the temperature to 300 degrees. After about 30 minutes, remove the foil and return the loaf to the oven for about 5 minutes to crisp up the crust.
Another way to revive your bread is to wet a paper towel, wrap it around the bread, and heat on high in the microwave for ten seconds. Check and repeat until the desired result has been achieved.

21 brilliant ideas to use leftover bread | How do you recycle old bread?

Use leftover bread to feed animals:

#1: leftover bread for chicken:

Stale bread and leftover bread can be dried and mixed with other leftover food for animal feeding. One of the best many saving tips is having some chickens in your backyard. You give them the leftover food including stale bread, and they give you free organic eggs.

#2: leftover bread for ducks:

If there is a bond or a lake in your area, then it is a good idea to collect the leftover bread and feed the ducks and geese. If the pond is stocked with fish, you’ll find that they also enjoy a nice chunk of bread once in a while.

#3: leftover bread for backyard birds:

A leftover bread can be used to feed backyard birds. Here is an idea of stale bread bird feeder.

#4: Make breadcrumbs:

The first thing that comes to my mind about using leftover bread is making breadcrumbs. You can use any kind of bread to make homemade breadcrumbs to add extra flavour and texture to dishes . Simply follow these steps:

1- tear the bread into pieces and drop it into a food processor fitted with blade.
2- Grind down bread in the food processor.
3- spread in a single layer on a baking sheet.
4- bake it on 300F for 10 minutes or until the colour golden brown. Then Let it cool.
5- use immediately, or place your bread crumbs into snaplock bags and store in the freezer for up to three months.

#5: Make bread sauce:

Bread sauce is a great way to level up roast chicken. Make your own breadcrumbs, combine with some milk, double cream, onion, and aromatics like Bay leaf, nutmeg, and clove to really ramp up the flavour.

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Use leftover breads to make some snacks and desserts:

#6: Homemade Croutons from stale bread:

This melt-in-your-mouth Homemade Crouton Recipe is so easy to make right at home and tastes a million times better than store-bought! Learn How to Make Croutons from scratch with this easy, delicious, and completely customizable recipe.

Use these croutons to top a soup or salad. I made these croutons along with thecreamy red lentils and mung beans soup. It was a hit for my entire family!

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#7: Bread pudding muffins:

Turn stale bread into something truly scrumptious! Bread pudding muffins are quick and easy, and individual portions make them perfect for dessert, snacks, or packing in picnics or lunches.

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#8: Cinnamon raisin bread pudding:

Full of raisins and walnuts, this Cinnamon Bread Pudding Recipe is an easy dessert to make and a great use for day-old bread!

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#9: Lemon blueberry bread pudding:

Leftover bread is perfect to use for Lemon Blueberry Bread Pudding! The dried, toasted bread is perfect to soak up a delicious dessert custard.

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#10: Capirotada:

Capirotada is made of layers of broken or sliced crusty bread, dried fruits and nuts, covered in either a sugar syrup or a creamy milk mixture then baked.

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#11: Chocolate chip and vanilla bread and butter pudding:

It is just chocolate pudding heaven! It’s an easy leftover bread and butter pudding recipe with an indulgent twist which makes a memorable dessert!

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#12: Torrejas:

Torrejas is a type of Mexican French toast that’s made of leftover bread and a fluffy egg mixture. Fry and drizzle with syrup before serving.

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#13: Overnight French toast casserole:

Turn leftover bread into the most incredible breakfast ever with this delicious Overnight French Toast Casserole recipe.

Dinner recipes with leftover bread:

#14: Ribollita Italian bean soup:

Whip up a hearty, healthy, and delicious meal with Ribollita Italian bean soup, made with a variety of vegetables, beans, broth, garlic, and seasonings. Also known as Tuscan bean soup or Italian bread and vegetable soup, this simple Italian soup recipe is a great way to use up any veggies in your salad drawer or anything approaching the end of its prime.

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#15: Bread upma:

Also known as bread poha, it is an easy and flavorful Indian recipe made with leftover bread.

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#16: Roasted winter panzanella salad:

This Roasted vegetable panzanella combines root vegetables with dried cranberries and crispy bread to create a delicious salad!

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#17: Chickpea fatteh:

Chickpea fatteh is a great way to use up leftover pita bread as a tasty snack, with crisp bread chips, garlicy yogurt and herbs.

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#18: Sopa de ajo:

Sopa de ajo is a simple Spanish soup that uses up leftover bread, and combines it with broth, garlic and a few other ingredients. It may not use many ingredients but it has great flavor.

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#19: Vegan sweet and sour cabbage soup:

Vegan sweet and sour cabbage soup is a hearty bowlful of cold-weather comfort. This classic gets a bit more heft with homemade croutons nestled into each serving.

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#20: Homemade mini pizzas:

These homemade mini pizzas are made with a leftover sourdough-bread crust, making them the perfect quick and easy dinner recipe.

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#21: Stuffed cheesy chicken Ciabatta!

Got leftover ciabatta? Make the most amazing 15 minute meal out of it: cheesy chicken stuffed chiabatta. It’s so easy and delicious, a favorite with kids and adults alike.