Clever Christmas leftover recipes to avoid waste – including brie-stuffed potato skins

Christmas is a time for joyous over-indulgence, but many Brits overestimate how much grub they really need – with a shocking 270,000 tonnes of food waste ending up in landfill in December alone

Christmas is a time where many people indulge in delicious food – when there are pigs and blankets available and Yule log, it’s a given. But unfortunately, some Brits overestimate just how many seasonal supplies they need, leading to a huge amount of food waste during the festive season. Shockingly, over a third of people admit that they waste more during the Christmas period.

In December alone, almost 270,000 tonnes of food waste ends up in landfill, not to mention the money you’ll be wasting on delicious food you’re not even able to enjoy. According to Commercial Waste, approximately two million turkeys, 74 million mince pies, and 5 million Christmas puddings are wasted each year in the UK – despite the fact they’re still edible.

Excess waste is a major factor negatively influencing pollution. The Energy Saving Trust reports that approximately 10% of the world’s greenhouse gases are linked to food waste.

Thankfully, HelloFresh has provided some creative recipes to prevent Christmas food waste – so you can still stack your pile high, but also know that there’s a use for even the most controversial of foods (we’re looking at you Brussels sprouts).

Recipe Development Manager at Hello Fresh, Mimi Morley, said: “Why throw away perfectly good food when there are so many ingenious ways to inject life into your Christmas leftovers.

“You could go for a classic bubble and squeak or try something different like following an out-of-the-box TikTok trend that you would never have imagined otherwise.

The HelloFresh team suggested rustling up a tasty potato skins dish with melted brie to make the most of your leftover roasties. Just make sure you load on the cranberry sauce to make it extra festive – move over bubble and squeak!

You could also encase leftover roast potatoes and turkey within filo pastry parcels – these look delicious served with tangy mango chutney and sprinkled with Indian spices.

Or, perhaps you could try a Christmas dinner toastie packed with all the good stuff from December 25, including leftover stuffing, turkey, pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce, and melted cheese.

A homemade festive Yorkshire pudding wrap may be more your thing, however, like TikTok user @joelnwoseh created.

Mimi Morley said: “Yorkshire pudding wraps have been blowing up the past few years but who would’ve thought to get the whisk back out on Boxing Day? It’s so simple and can be ready in no time. The only suggestion I have is to include a touch of cranberry sauce to add to the overall festive-ness of the wrap.”

Croquettes with cranberry sauce could also be a winner for a Boxing Day starter – simply mix flour, egg, one tablespoon of bread sauce, and breadcrumbs into shallow bowls and use your hands to shape the stuffing into the size of a golf ball. Roll in the seasoned flour, then into the beaten egg, coat well in the breadcrumbs, and fry in oil for 2-3 minutes.

And, something for the Brussels sprouts lovers – sprout pancakes with smoked salmon and poached eggs. Simply stir shredded Brussels into a pancake mix and serve with smoked salmon, poached eggs, seasoning, and lemon zest.

Will you be trying any of these leftover recipes? Let us know in the comments.