Celebrity chefs share easy ways to transform leftover pasta into exciting new dishes

Anneta KonstantinidesApr 21, 2020, 05:02 IST

Celebrity chefs have told Insider their tips and tricks for transforming leftover pasta into new and exciting dishes.Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock

Pasta has been a pantry staple for families across the country as we continue to stay at home and cook more.
So Insider asked "Chopped" judges Amanda Freitag, Scott Conant, and Aarón Sánchez how they transform leftover pasta into completely new dishes.
Freitag and Sánchez love turning day-old pasta into noodle salads, or adding it to soups.
Conant is a big fan of pasta bakes, and recommends turning leftover spaghetti into a pasta frittata.
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Pasta is the ultimate comfort food. It's quick and easy to make, always there to comfort us on a chilly night or after a long day, and tastes absolutely delicious.

It's a pantry staple that many of us have turned to while we're stuck at home, but even the most dedicated pasta lover probably doesn't want the same spaghetti three days in a row.

So, Insider asked "Chopped" judges Amanda Freitag, Scott Conant, and Aarón Sánchez for their tips to make leftover pasta taste exciting and fresh again.

Read the original article on Insider

If you had spaghetti and meatballs the night before, Conant recommends using your leftover meatballs to create a brand new sauce for the next day.

You can chop up yesterday's meatballs to create a bolognese sauce the next day. Atsushi Hirao/Shutterstock

Sometimes even just using a different sauce the next day can help make your pasta dish taste fresh again, said Sánchez.

Sánchez recommends switching up the sauce to make your leftover pasta taste new. Yuriy Golub/Shutterstock

But Conant's favorite way to use leftover pasta is to turn it into a frittata.

Conant loves transforming his day-old pasta into a frittata. Kiian Oksana/Shutterstock

Freitag recommends topping your leftover pasta with some Parmesan to turn it into a baked mac and cheese, or adding some ground beef or veggies to "zhuzh it up a little bit."

Freitag throws on Parmesan cheese to create a new baked mac and cheese with her leftover pasta. Kiian Oksana/Shutterstock

Freitag recommends topping your leftover pasta with some Parmesan to turn it into a baked mac and cheese, or adding some ground beef or veggies to "zhuzh it up a little bit."

Sánchez loves adding leftover pastas to soups to "beef them up a bit," while Freitag and Scott Conant recommend taking those day-old noodles and sticking them in the oven.

Baking leftover pasta the next day turns it into a completely different dish. Elena Veselova/Shutterstock

Sánchez loves adding leftover pastas to soups to "beef them up a bit," while Freitag and Scott Conant recommend taking those day-old noodles and sticking them in the oven.

Both Aarón Sánchez and Freitag are fans of turning leftover pasta into noodle salads the next day.

Freitag also loves adding tuna to day-old pasta to give it a fresh spin. Al1962/Shutterstock

If you're trying to spice up your leftover noodles with some beans, Freitag recommends turning to one of her favorite Tuscan pasta dishes.

Freitag recommends mixing leftover pasta with beans. Di Gregorio Giulio/Shutterstock

Amanda Freitag told Insider that pasta is one of her favorite things to make, so she always has some in her pantry just in case.

There's always pasta in Freitag's pantry. Eugenia Lucasenco/Shutterstock

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Celebrity chefs share easy ways to transform leftover pasta into exciting new dishes

If you had spaghetti and meatballs the night before, Conant recommends using your leftover meatballs to create a brand new sauce for the next day.

Sometimes even just using a different sauce the next day can help make your pasta dish taste fresh again, said Sánchez.

But Conant's favorite way to use leftover pasta is to turn it into a frittata.

Freitag recommends topping your leftover pasta with some Parmesan to turn it into a baked mac and cheese, or adding some ground beef or veggies to "zhuzh it up a little bit."

Sánchez loves adding leftover pastas to soups to "beef them up a bit," while Freitag and Scott Conant recommend taking those day-old noodles and sticking them in the oven.

Both Aarón Sánchez and Freitag are fans of turning leftover pasta into noodle salads the next day.

If you're trying to spice up your leftover noodles with some beans, Freitag recommends turning to one of her favorite Tuscan pasta dishes.

Amanda Freitag told Insider that pasta is one of her favorite things to make, so she always has some in her pantry just in case.