5 easy ways to make soup from leftovers

Don't let your leftovers go to waste when they could be transformed into a tasty meal in minutes. Most leftover meat and vegetables can be boiled down to make a delicious and nutritious stock, while long-forgotten tins and cans can form the base of a belly-filling broth. Read on for our cookery team's top tips for making a meal out of your storecupboard scraps and forgotten fridge remains...

Transform remnants of a roast

It couldn’t be easier to turn the remains of last night’s roast chicken into something beautiful. Pop a star anise and a handful of cracked vermicelli into a bubbling pan of chicken stock. Add chopped fennel and the leftover cooked chicken. As soon as the pasta is soft, the soup is ready to be served.

For a richer alternative, try our roast chicken soup with a tangy swirl of garlic cream and cheesy scones on the side.
 

Revive a neglected curry

Blend leftover vegetable curry with that can of coconut milk hiding in the back of the cupboard to make a deliciously fragrant soup.

Our curried coconut & bean soup is another brilliant way of using up spices and tins that have been nestled away for months.
 

Root about for forgotten vegetables

A miscellaneous array of random vegetables is all you need to produce a really quick and healthy soup. Use a good chicken stock cube or some miso paste to create a hearty broth. Add in finely chopped veggies, any will do but we suggest carrots, courgettes and mushrooms. Let them cook for 5-10 minutes until al dente. Some chopped spinach or nori pieces and ready-made noodles will add substance, if you have them to hand.

A loitering leek can swiftly become a belly-warming classic, leek & potato soup. Or make our incredibly popular butternut squash soup, if you happen upon a stowed away squash.
 

Discover your freezer’s bottom drawer

If your freezer finds include a pack of frozen peas, you are less than half an hour away from enjoying a bowl of nutritious soup. Our minty pea and potato soup takes just five minutes to prepare and makes for a substantial dinner.

Top tip: Bacon and gammon flavours work beautifully with peas, so next time you boil a gammon, save the liquid to use as stock.
 

Grab a tin or two

Tomatoes are usually canned at their sweet and juiciest prime, so use a tin for an especially tasty soup base. Throw in some chopped, cooked chorizo sausage and tinned beans or chickpeas for depth of flavour and texture. Stir through the remains of a jar of pesto and some sour cream, as we have done in our rich tomato soup recipe, for an added level of luxury.

See our soup recipe collection for more brilliant blends.

Have you been bowled over by any of our ideas? Keen to share some tips of your own? It would be souper to hear from you below...