We all do it – stock our cupboards to bursting over the festive season, only to end up with a mountain of leftovers once Christmas dinner is over. But while picking away at cooked veggies and cold cuts straight from the fridge is a holiday high point for many of us, there are many other ways to turn the bits and pieces remaining from the Christmas feast into something truly special. We've rounded up our favourite ways to transform those leftovers into brilliant breakfasts.
Click our scroll through our gallery to discover 29 genius ways to turn festive leftovers into delicious breakfasts for Boxing Day and beyond.
If the guests at your Christmas table shunned the sprouts this year, worry not – you can always bake them up into this brilliant Boxing Day breakfast. Our savoury scone recipe makes a rightful star of these bright green brassicas, and it's also the ideal way to use up odds and ends from your festive cheeseboard. Serve the scones warm, with plenty of butter, for a tasty start to the day.
Low effort, satisfying and versatile, shakshuka is a winner of a brunch dish at any time of year. To give it a festive slant, make the tomato, onion and garlic base as usual. Then, once the sauce has thickened, lay cooked leftover vegetables on top – halved Brussels sprouts and wedges of roasted parsnips and carrots would work a treat. Crack in the eggs, and finish cooking as usual.
Should you find yourself with leftover mincemeat – either homemade or shop-bought – give these pancakes a go for an ultra-festive, sweetly spiced breakfast treat. Stir spoons of the fruity mix through your batter, then serve your pancakes lightly drizzled with honey. Top with chopped nuts and sticky-sweet dates for a meal that tastes as good as it looks.
Breakfast strata, or layered casserole, is the ideal way to use up leftover stuffing, cooked meat (think sausages, ham or turkey) and vegetables such as Brussels sprouts. Take the recipe below as your base, then let the contents of your fridge determine the rest!
For a seasonal spin on the classic brunch dish, replace English muffins with stuffing when making your eggs Benedict, and keep the festive magic alive for a little bit longer. To do so, form leftover stuffing into flat patties, then fry on each side until crisp and golden. Top with poached eggs and a generous cloak of hollandaise sauce to serve.
Cheesy, gooey, heavy on the carbs and served with a fried egg on top – this might just be the ideal Boxing Day breakfast. Leftover Christmas ham takes this croque madame recipe to the next level and, even better, a crème fraîche sauce replaces the traditional béchamel, making it easier to prepare.
Add leftover turkey, ham, smoked salmon and/or any vegetables you like to a frittata mix for a protein-rich start to the day. It’s up to you whether you cook up one big frittata and serve it cut into wedges, or whether you whip up a clutch of smaller, individually portioned versions like the ones pictured. Use our below recipe as your guide and just throw in whatever leftovers you like.
If you have panettone on the cusp of going stale, whipping up an easy French toast dish is a no-brainer. Soak thick slices of the fruity Italian bread in a whisked egg, cinnamon, milk and sugar mixture, then fry them in butter for a minute on each side. Serve with a light dusting of icing sugar and, if you're feeling indulgent, offer whipped cream or crème fraîche on the side.
To give your morning porridge a bit of festive flair, simply add a sprinkling of classic gingerbread spices (like ground cinnamon, ginger and allspice) to the oat mix, then drizzle with plenty of honey to serve. It's an easy way to use up leftover fruit, both fresh and dried; slices of figs, segments of clementines, fresh or dried cranberries or even cranberry sauce can all be piled on top.
A brilliant breakfast idea for families, this tear-and-share edible wreath won't last long once it's on the table. To make yours, use the cinnamon roll recipe below as a base – but replace the pistachio and dark chocolate filling with leftover mincemeat and cranberries, and form the rolls into a wreath shape before baking. Serve warm.
Put leftover smoked salmon or gravadlax to delicious use by serving it inside these savoury muffins. Split the muffins open while they're still warm from the oven, spread them with cream cheese, then layer them up with the salmon. Add a squeeze of lemon and a good crack of black pepper for a fabulous breakfast or brunch dish.
Kedgeree, the much-loved Anglo-Indian dish featuring gently spiced rice rippled through with smoked haddock, is a breakfast fit for a king. It’s also very adaptable; add some shredded turkey instead of fish, up the vegetable quotient with a few handfuls of roughly chopped leftover greens, and you'll have yourself a gem of a seasonal meal. Just don’t forget the all-important hard-boiled eggs.
Make the most of leftover cooked parsnips and potatoes by transforming them into hash browns. Squeeze out any excess moisture from the vegetables, mash them well, then add diced onions and garlic and enough beaten egg to bind the mixture together. Then, form the mixture into patties and fry for 4-6 minutes on each side (or until warmed through and crisp and golden on the outside). A fried egg perched on top certainly wouldn’t go amiss here.
Use up a whole host of festive leftovers in one go by building the ultimate holiday breakfast toastie. Mix and match the meat depending on what you have to hand (we’re thinking shredded ham or turkey), then add stuffing, veggies and any odds and ends you may have left from your festive cheeseboard. Finish with a generous dollop of cranberry sauce or Christmas chutney for a truly lip-smacking sandwich.
The days after Christmas are the perfect time to fill sweet muffins with the festive, fruity flavours of stollen, the classic German bake. Making this delicious treat is an ideal way to use up leftover dried fruit, marzipan and spices. Simply take the muffin recipe below as your starting point, omitting the blueberries, and customise it to your heart’s content.
Pancakes are an eternal crowd-pleaser – and the ultimate vehicle for a whole host of toppings. Add a swirl of cranberry sauce to the batter and, once the pancakes are cooked, stack them up high, shower them with icing sugar, then drizzle them with cranberry sauce. The tartness of the cranberries will balance the sweetness of the sugar perfectly.
For an elegant breakfast, fill glasses with natural or Greek yogurt, then swirl in a little leftover cranberry sauce. For a crunchy topping, toast oats sprinkled with cinnamon in a dry frying pan until golden, then sprinkle them on your yogurt pots to serve. Gorgeous!
If you've used beetroot for a vegetarian main or cooked some as a side dish, don't let any surplus go to waste. Instead, give the earthy vegetable a new lease of life by adding it to a spiced breakfast muffin batter. Serve these comforting bakes warm from the oven for a real treat.
Combine leftover mashed potatoes, sweet potato or yams with beaten eggs and chives (or any other herbs you have lying around), form the mixture into patties, then shallow fry for a festive take on classic potato cakes. For a hearty breakfast, serve your creations with bacon, sausages, slices of ham or pigs in blankets – if they haven't been eaten already, that is.
Green bean casserole – made with green beans, creamy mushrooms and fried onions – is an American holiday staple. If you've made some and the bowl hasn't been scraped clean the night before, try re-imagining the dish as breakfast. Simply warm it through in a frying pan, adding leftover shredded ham or crispy bacon, then serve it with fried eggs on the side. You can also do this with plain green beans, or any other green veg, for that matter.
Spanish omelettes are not only easy to make, but they become even more delicious when loaded with Christmas dinner leftovers. From shredded turkey and ham to diced roast parsnips and carrots, handfuls of Brussels sprouts and braised red cabbage – not forgetting chunks of cheese – you really can get creative here, with fabulously tasty results.
Cold mashed potatoes can be transformed into warm potato waffles – all fluffy on the inside, and crunchy on the outside – with the greatest of ease. Add chopped herbs, egg and cheese to your mash, then cook the mix in a waffle iron. For a hearty meal, serve your waffles with crispy bacon, or leftover slices of smoked salmon or gravadlax.
Overnight oats are a great healthy option for breakfast – and they can be prepped ahead, saving you time and hassle in the morning. To give your oats a seasonal twist, mix jumbo oats with plain yogurt, apple juice, cinnamon, allspice and ground ginger, divide between serving glasses, then leave in the fridge overnight. To serve, toast nuts to scatter on top, crumble over some leftover Christmas cake or plum pudding or spoon over some cranberry sauce.
This clever idea allows everyone to get stuck in and build their own breakfast. Place a stack of crêpes in the middle of the table along with bowls of re-heated greens, braised red cabbage, cranberry sauce, cheese and even stuffing – then encourage your guests to help themselves. What leftovers?
If only a full English will do, you can still sprinkle some festive sparkle (and put your leftovers to good use) by swapping bacon for baked ham, and switching sausages for pigs in blankets – plus, you can add some crispy stuffing patties for good measure. A dollop of cranberry sauce works rather well with this hearty breakfast, too.
Bubble and squeak (traditionally made with mashed potato and cabbage) is a Boxing Day classic. Up the ante a little this year by incorporating roughly chopped sprouts, roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots, chestnuts and bread sauce. You can either pile the mix into a single pan, or make smaller bubble and squeak patties. Either way, they're best served with fried or poached eggs.
Fancy a hearty, easy breakfast packed with flavour and texture? Our recipe for turkey, chorizo and avocado hash is the answer. The combination of filling potato, spicy chorizo, creamy, fresh avocado and bright, bold coriander is an absolute winner.
A thing of absolute beauty, the Christmas leftovers sandwich epitomises festive leftovers, and it's wonderful as a breakfast treat. Feel free to build your sandwich as you wish – but if you’re looking for inspiration, the recipe below includes all the tastiest bits of a vegan roast, layered between fluffy white bread and spread with cranberry sauce.
Get the recipe for a vegan Christmas leftovers sandwich here
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