12 Creative Ways to Minimize Waste and Reuse Kitchen Scraps

Regardless of if you’re on a mission to reduce your daily waste or not, we’ve all run into this one problem before: having heaps of leftover food gone to waste. 

While kitchen waste sadly contributes to several environmental issues like pollution, climate change, and habitat invasion, it also impacts your wallet… badly. How’s this for specific figures: the USDA has found that families waste at least $1,500 in food scraps every year. Think of all you could with that extra cash!

But also, think about how to reuse leftover food so your grocery bill doesn’t go to waste. In this guide, we’re teaching you how to reuse food scraps for tasty, homemade treats that are easy to make!  

1. Turn Stale Bread Into Croutons

One of our favorite ways to turn kitchen waste into delicious snacks is using stale bread for homemade croutons. Stale bread elevates the perfect crispy texture of your croutons since the loaves are already dried out. And, to make this leftover idea even better, homemade croutons are incredibly easy to make, too!

2. Make Citrus Peel Candies

The next time you peel an orange or other citrus fruit, don’t toss the peels in the trash! Instead, make a tasty candy treat that’s also full of nutrients after giving each peel a careful wash in the sink. If you like making homemade mocktails, leftover peels also make a beautiful garnish for the rim. 

3. Start a Compost Pile

Compost kitchen waste for a super simple way to use leftovers. Compost is incredibly beneficial for the soil since it’s made from organic waste like kitchen scraps and certain yard items to create a nutrient-rich matter. And, if you don’t want to get adventurous in the kitchen, a countertop compost bin will be your best friend. All you need to do is toss the acceptable scraps into the bin until you’re ready to transfer it to your compost pile outdoors. 

4. Create Your Own Homemade Broth

A great way to save on your next grocery trip and keep kitchen waste limited is to make your own broth from your vegetable or meat scraps. Plus, this is another easy-to-make homemade recipe. All you need to do is save your vegetable scraps and meat bones, freeze them until you have enough saved up, and then toss them in a pot with water. Pro tip: for an even flavorful broth, make sure you save a variety of vegetables!

5. Infuse Oil or Butter

If you’ve grown your own herbs in your vegetable garden, consider adding them to your cooking oil or softened butter before they can no longer be used. This is a great way to use herbs that are expiring to create homemade compound butter or infused oil that tastes just like the fancy restaurant’s!

6. Use Leafy Tops for Pesto

Whenever you cut the leafy tops off vegetables like carrots, beets, or celery, don’t throw them in the trash. Instead, whip out your food processor and toss in these leafy stems with a few other ingredients to make your own homemade pesto. Or, if you’re not a pesto fan, you can chop these leaves up to make a salad or topping for soups. 

7. Regrow Your Vegetables

Did you know that you can regrow your vegetables? And that it’s easy? It’s true! If you have kitchen waste that consists of several vegetable stalks you don’t plan on using, consider regrowing them for future meals. All you need to do is place the cut end of the veggie in shallow water and place the cup or container near a sunny window. When you see the vegetable has started to grow roots, transfer the plant to your outdoor garden for it to finish regrowing properly for a delicious second use! 

8. Turn Leftover Brine into Marinades

Have soon-to-be empty pickles or jalapeno jars in your fridge? Don’t toss the jar and juice away! Hold onto them to use the liquid for brine or marinades. 

9. Turn Peels Into Homemade Chips

Another excellent way to take kitchen waste and turn them into a money-saving, delicious snack is making your own homemade chips out of vegetable peels. Whether you’ve just peeled a potato, carrots, or something else, find a recipe online that crisps these pills up into nutrient-packed homemade chips. Now, you can save money by keeping store-bought chips out of your bill by making your own healthier chips at home! 

10. Freeze Leftover Herbs

Want to know a great leftover hack for freshly grown herbs? Blending them in olive oil before they go back and popping them in the freezer to use later. Seriously, this is an excellent way to add a burst of fresh flavor to your meals in the future with your favorite herbs that have been preserved instead of tossed in the trash. 

11. Repurpose Dough Scraps

We’ve all run into the issue of leftover dough when making homemade biscuits, pies, or cookies. But instead of throwing away the small amount that’s leftover, consider saving your dough scraps for a totally different recipe! Save your dough scraps by forming them into a ball and saving them in the freezer until you have enough for a different recipe, like another pie crust or cookie batch. 

Get Crafty With Leftovers In Eco-Friendly Bowls! 

Using kitchen waste for delicious repurposed meals is a great way to practice sustainable living. This helps to cut down on the amount of waste that winds up in our landfills or ecosystems that eventually release emissions into the atmosphere. 

As you get crafty with your leftovers, take your sustainable living practice a step further by using eco-friendly kitchenware to help make your creation! Bamboozle has a line of sustainable bowls and prep sets constructed with plant-based plastics to cut down on toxics ingested from traditional plastics. Plus, our kitchenware is biodegradable, so it’s safe for the environment! 

Regardless of what you use to make creative creations, this helpful list is certainly one to keep by for the next time you’re struggling to figure out what to do with leftovers.