13 Easy Leftover Spaghetti Recipes

Upgrade boring leftovers with these fun and easy recipes. From lasagna to carbonara, there’s a leftover spaghetti recipe for everyone!

Spaghetti is such a versatile food that’s hard not to love from children to adults. It is a dish loved by so many around the world and is a staple food in so many pantries. And there are so any different variations (like baked chicken spaghetti, which is constantly a part of our dinner menu).

What’s great about spaghetti is that it’s easy to make in big quantities. And being cheap and easy to make doesn’t mean it’s boring to eat. There are so many things you can do with the leftovers!

So why not upgrade your leftover spaghetti with these fun and easy leftover spaghetti recipes? As easy as it is to make too much spaghetti, it’s just as easy to use it up the next day with a variety of different, tasty leftover spaghetti recipes.

So get to cookin’ and bon appetit!

How to Save Leftover Spaghetti

Spaghetti is notorious for having a lot of leftovers because it’s so easy to make too much. It’s not always the easiest to store without drying out.

Take plain noodles (without sauce) after cooking and put them in a plastic sealable bag or container. Then, keep them in the fridge for up to five days or in the freezer for up to three months.

When you’re ready to use them again, reheat them in boiling water. Or put them in a recipe with lots of sauce so the noodles can soak up some of the liquid.

Another option is to leave the pasta in a closed container with a little bit of oil or leftover pasta water. (If you used broth or put a bouillon cube in the water, then definitely save some leftover water to keep your spaghetti fresher).

This helps it remain full of flavor but keeps it from being dried out in the cold fridge.

Easy Leftover Spaghetti Recipes

1 — Spaghetti Balls with Meat Sauce

For an opposite take on the traditional spaghetti and meatballs, this recipe takes leftover spaghetti and makes them the balls of the dish with the meat sauce serving as the base.

Take the leftover spaghetti and mix it in with a ricotta filling. (The ricotta from this recipe is great). You can also use pesto or a combination depending on the flavor profile you are aiming for.

When it’s all nicely mixed together, make giant spaghetti balls with an ice cream scoop (or use your hands if you like to get down and dirty in the kitchen). Then, lightly fry them in oil or spritz them in oil and then, bake them.

The fried spaghetti balls are then placed on top of a red sauce. You can use ground beef, Italian sausage, leftover meatloaf, or go vegetarian, depending on your preference.

2 — Spaghetti Lo Mein

Spaghetti lo mein may sound weird, but it’s quite delicious. Depending on how “Italian” the spaghetti is with spices, it can be remade into a classic Chinese dish with just a few ingredients!

This is best for nights when you make too much pasta. So, leave some pasta aside for spaghetti lo mein tomorrow night! It’s great as a main dish or even a side dish with our easy orange chicken recipe.

3 — Leftover Pasta Frittata

If your kids (or husband, for that matter) hate vegetables and love pasta, then this pasta frittata is a great way to make them happy AND help them get their vegetable intake for the day.

Plus, it makes for a great breakfast, lunch, or dinner! Frittatas are essentially very sturdy omelets.

Simply add your desired vegetables like mushrooms, potatoes, spinach, or tomatoes to a hot skillet, mix in cheese and eggs, and voila! Your leftover spaghetti is now soft and chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside.

4 — Carbonara Frittata

This frittata recipe uses the white sauce from leftover carbonara. However, it can totally be revamped if your leftover spaghetti contains red sauce.

This dish is kind of like a combination of an omelet and a quiche. Combine the ingredients together, bake, and ta-da! Your frittata is ready.

Since this recipe is baked, there is no need to have oil or butter in it… which means it’s healthy, right?

Serve this for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or any snack. If you’re looking to eat it in the morning, it pairs nicely with orange juice and fresh fruit.

5 — Spaghetti Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Talk about yum! This grilled cheese sandwich has all of the makings for a delicious plate of spaghetti but with a little extra garlic bread. Because cheese and sauce oozing out of the sides only make it better!

It’s a beefy bolognese sauce and leftover pasta that is sandwiched in between layers of fresh mozzarella and topped with parmesan garlic bread. The melted mozzarella cheese actually helps keep the spaghetti (somewhat) contained. Carb on carb is maybe the best way to eat spaghetti.

6 — Leftover Spaghetti Boats

Similar to the spaghetti sandwich, this spaghetti boat recipe is a boatload of delicious, cheese-soaked carbs from bread and spaghetti.

Because of its design, it is great for kids and is less messy since it uses hollowed-out french bread instead of two slices of garlic bread.

7 — Spaghetti Cheese Casserole

Casseroles are a wonderful way to use up leftovers, and leftover spaghetti for a spaghetti cheese casserole is no exception.

Consisting of only eggs, milk, dry mustard, flour, Monterey jack cheese, and leftover spaghetti, this recipe is easy to put together if you don’t have time to run to the store.

You can also swap out that Monterey jack cheese for your preferred pasta cheese like parmesan or mozzarella too. To take things up a notch, make this easy side dish with broccoli, chicken, or ham.

P.S. If you’re a fan of casseroles, then you’ll love our keto breakfast casserole dish.

8 — Baked Spaghetti Pie

Spaghetti pie is exactly what it sounds like, a pie made of spaghetti. It’s chock-full of amazing veggies, and the pie design makes it easy to hide veggies in it for picky eaters.

This spaghetti leftover recipe also features ground beef (optional), regular tomato spaghetti sauce and seasonings. It’s very easy to make on busy weeknights or makes a great comfort food for when you’re tired and need to carb up

9 — Spaghetti Salad

Um, what? We know, it sounds strange. But think “pasta salad” and stay with us.

Imagine a cold leftover spaghetti dish that has some delicious ingredients added to it and mixed around to be served as a side.

For example, shredded chicken (if the pasta didn’t use meat initially), cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchinis, regular or capriccio olives, and shredded cheese on top (optional).

Top it with some homemade Italian sauce or a creamy tomato sauce. It’s a healthier variation of spaghetti. And just like pasta salad is the perfect side dish to take to a barbecue or potluck with its short macaroni, longer noodles are just as delicious!

10 — Leftover Spaghetti Lasagna

Lasagna is good. Spaghetti is good. And together they are great! This leftover spaghetti recipe takes on the design of traditional lasagna by layering leftover spaghetti noodles in a dish with velvety white ricotta cheese sauce, meat sauce (optional), and parmesan or mozzarella cheese.

This combination of spaghetti and lasagna lets you enjoy the best of both meals while also using up your leftovers.

11 — Spaghetti Pizza

If you’re already eating Italian, why not make it Italian squared? While it isn’t traditional pizza as we normally know it, it’s still great.

Heat the noodles with sauce, oil, eggs, and cheese until crispy. Just shape the spaghetti noodles into a pizza shape and press them together, so they stick well while it’s cooking. Flip it off the plate, and suddenly, a no-bake spaghetti pizza is all yours!

Top it off with some melted cheese or use a creamy white sauce or pesto instead of the traditional tomato sauce to change up the flavor profile.

12 — Spaghetti Meatball Muffin Bites

These spaghetti muffin bites are a great way to use leftovers for party appetizers or small-bite snacks since it is served in individual portions and easy to hold.They sport the size and shape of a muffin but have the classic spaghetti and meatballs flavor.

It’s easy to customize this to your liking with different meats for the meatballs (ground beef, Italian sausage, lamb, etc.) or topping it off with a different type of melted cheese on different batches.

Regardless of how you decide to put it together, these spaghetti meatball muffin bites will be a winner at any event you take them to.

13 — Spaghetti Donuts

Similar to the idea of the muffin bites, spaghetti donuts involve morphing leftover spaghetti into another favorite food shape.It just requires eggs, grated parmesan cheese, marinara sauce, spaghetti noodles, and bacon (optional).

Form the mixture into a donut shape and bake until firm (roughly 15 minutes). Top it off with additional marinara sauce and melted cheese.

More Leftover Dinner Ideas

If you love these creative ways to reinvent yesterday’s dinner, check out more of our favorite leftover recipes and new recipes below —

Please note that we may earn a commission for some of the above affiliate links. However, products featured are independently selected and personally well-loved by us!

4 Comments

puananiila99 says:

April 16, 2022 at 1:49 am

i really love this article, thank you for sharing with us

1. Sugar & Cloth says:
  
  April 17, 2022 at 11:11 pm
  
  You’re welcome!
  
Start eCommerce Store says:

April 15, 2022 at 8:55 am

Yami Spaghetti Pizza Looks Amazing!

1. Sugar & Cloth says:
  
  April 17, 2022 at 11:11 pm
  
  Thanks!