Sensational Leftover Makeover with just 4 ingredients …. I wish I could hand deliver freshly made ones to you so you can see how good they are! These Pasta Fritters can be made with any type of leftover pasta.
Is it just me who always has leftover pasta? It seems impossible to make just enough. I seem to be able to manage it with many other things. But I always make too much pasta!
I once read an article about how everything tastes better when it’s eaten the next day. There was all this science behind the logic. I have to say, I don’t care what the science is, there are some things that simply do not taste as good the next day.
Like fish. Stir fries. And noodle soups. Somethings are just meant to be eaten fresh off the stove. And pasta is right at the top of that list. There is a very good reason why Italian mama’s holler for their family to be seated at the dining table, ready to tuck into pasta the minute it comes off the stove. It’s because after 15 minutes, it just isn’t as good.
All the great chefs of the world will tell you that. Lidia Bastianich has been preaching this for decades, and finally the world is listening. 🙂
The reason is simple – pasta continues to absorb liquid after it comes off the stove so it becomes soft and squishy, rather than al dente. And the liquid in the sauce gets sucked into the pasta, leaving a dry coating of what was once a luscious rich sauce on the spaghetti.
So what to do with all that leftover pasta? Turn it into these absolutely scrumptious fritters. Look at them! Look at that crunchy brown crust…..oooohhhh…..I just couldn’t stop eating these….I ate way too many of these!
The beauty of these is that you can make them with any type of pasta – bolognaise, alfredo, cabonara, creamy tomato, macaroni, penne/ziti, shells, fettucine. For the photos, I made this using leftover Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Spaghetti.
All the flavour of your delicious pasta is packed into these fritters and ramped up with some cheese (optional) and fried until crisp. The brown crunchy crust is the best!!
These also freeze really well. I pop them in the oven to reheat them so I get the crunchy crust again.
You can also make giant ones of these, which is what I do if I have a lot of leftover pasta. Fry it up into one big fritter, then cut it up into slices. But I didn’t quite have enough for a giant fritter today so I made little ones.
So – have I got you more excited about having leftovers for dinner tonight? 😉 – Nagi
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Leftover Pasta Fritters
Ingredients
- 3 cups (packed) cold leftover pasta (sauce and pasta mixed together), packed (Note 1)
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 to 1 1/4 cups breadcrumbs (I used panko breadcrumbs)
- 1/2 cup grated cheese (optional) (Note 2)
- Salt and pepper , to taste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Roughy chop the pasta (I placed the pasta in a bowl and cut it with scissors).
- Add the eggs, breadcrumbs (start with 3/4 cup) and cheese. Mix and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Scoop up a ball and flatten it slightly to test if it holds together ok. If required, add more panko. (Note 3)
- Heat olive oil in a fry pan over medium high heat.
- Scoop up a level 1/3 cup of the mixture (packed well) and place in the fry pan (tap the bottom of the cup to get the mixture to drop out into the pan). Use the bottom of the cup measure to pat the mixture into 1 cm / 2/5" thickness. Repeat to make however many fritters you can fit in the pan.
- Cook the first side for around 2 minutes or until it turns a dark brown and crispy. Turn, then cook the other side until crispy (around 1 to 1 1/2 minutes).
- Remove from the pan onto a paper towel to drain. Repeat with remaining batter.
- Serve immediately. Garnish with finely chopped parsley leaves and freshly grated Parmesan, if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition
I made these last night with leftover baked ziti. I didn’t add the cheese because the ziti recipe called for so much already. One thing I did do differently–I mixed about a 1/4 cup each of grated Parm cheese and Panko bread crumbs in a dish and patted both sides of several of the fritters in the mixture. Those seemed to cook up better, crispier than the ones I did not put in the mixture. But they were all good. Thanks for the idea, Nagi.
It’s the day after Christmas and I had a platter full of baked ziti. I tried this recipe exactly and it was really good! And my super picky son loved it too!! Thank you so much because the ziti was so broken from re-heating it and it was so much leftover that it would have been a shame to throw out. But now I’m going to make more to freeze.
Just made these tonight and they were scrummy!!!! Thanks for sharing your idea! 🙂
I’m so pleased to hear that Angie! Thank you for letting me know – N x
I was looking for something to liven up leftover spaghetti and just tried this out. Absolutely delicious! I served them with a sunnyside egg on top. Thank you!
That’s so fantastic to hear Julie! Thank you for letting me know! N xx
Hi Nagi, love your site. The other night I cooked a beautiful slow roasted pork shoulder and made a ragu with the left overs. It was wonderful. Now, after seeing your idea for the leftovers, I am going to do these fritters. I think I will try to add shredded zucchini to the mix as I have a bit left from the zucchini chocolate chip muffins I made this morning.
So glad you enjoy my recipes Kim, thanks so much for letting me know! I do hope you try these, they are SO crazy good! N x
Could these be made with macaroni and cheese, with the macaroni replaced with spaghetti noodles?
Absolutely Finny!! 🙂
Great idea Nagi,
Like Marissa i used to make frittata with the pasta and fritters is a good alternative.
Compliments, You are very creative throughout your site.
Thanks Simone! The crunchy cheesy crust is SO GOOD, that’s why I love making these even more than fritters!!
Nagi! Just came across your site. Honestly, I’m at a complete loss as to which post to comment on. You’re a magician I tell you. Such clever and creative ways with everyday foods. My family seem to have hollow bones as there’s never pasta leftovers. Next time round I’m making double just so I can make these!
Hi Di! Thank you so much for your wonderful message, you made my morning! I’m so glad you like the look of these, I am absolutely obsessed with them. A few weeks ago I made pasta just so I could make these – I kid you not!! This is really delicious even made with the plainest of pastas. 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to leave a message for me! 🙂
These look incredible! I don’t know what it is about leftover pasta but it’s always so good the next day. I think I might have to cheat on my paleo thing one of these days soon so I can pig out on these. 🙂
YES this is totally worth breaking your paleo diet for!! 🙂
This is a genius idea! At first I thought you gonna use the leftover pasta sauce to create a new dish. Never expected that I can use all the leftover pasta!
The fritters look seriously delicious. I’d love to serve them with my favorite garlic yogurt sauce 🙂
Ooh, YES! Yoghurt sauce would be great for these 🙂 Though they are so packed full of flavour they are just fab eaten plain too!
Oh my gosh! This seriously sounds amazing, Nagi. I made your slow cooked beef ragu last week, and it was absolutely delicious. I froze the leftover sauce without pasta, of course. Now, I just want to cook some pasta and make this fritters!
Oh wow Shinee! Please tell me you’re going to share it on your blog! I’d LOVE to see your take on the ragu! 🙂
I’d have loved to share it on my blog, but it was just our dinner last week. It was perfect as is!
What? I love this idea but even more – I’d put it in a bun and eat it as a sandwich. 🙂
Double carb hit – love it!