A few weeks ago I shared my yummy hidden-veg-stuffed, slow-cooker bolognese recipe, which is a real staple family meal for us. Today I’m going to show you how to convert any leftover bolognese sauce into a yummy curry, with just a few easy additions! This recipe idea was inspired by my lovely mum, who is absolutely brilliant at stretching meals and leftovers as far as possible (feeding seven of us children, she had to be!).
Converting leftovers into new meals like this bolognese curry makes cooking family meals a lot easier whilst avoiding waste and of course helping to keep things interesting all week long! It’s great to build meals like this into your weekly meal plan as it really does save a lot of time the second day when the dinner is partly cooked already. If you don’t want to eat it the day after making your bolognese, you can always pop any leftover bolognese into the freezer until you are ready to use it as it is or turn it into this curry.
I like to serve this curry with a variety of toppings, like a dollop of natural yogurt, mango chutney and a sprinkling of fresh coriander leaves. I’ve found that my kids LOVE adding toppings to their meals, it always makes the meal more fun and can give them a feeling of control over their food as they get to choose and add their own toppings. You could also try other toppings too such as nuts, seeds and fresh or dried fruit.
Leftovers Bolognese Curry
Ingredients (serves 4-5):
- 600g new potatoes
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion
- 2-3 Tbsp mild curry powder
- 1/2 batch slow cooker bolognese
- 200g fresh spinach
To serve (optional):
- rice
- natural yogurt
- mango chutney
- fresh coriander leaves
Method:
Wash the potatoes, then slice into halves or quarters so that they are all roughly the same size.
Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 8-10 minutes until they are just cooked, then drain.
Meanwhile, roughly chop the onion. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion until starting to soften.
Add the curry powder to the pan with the onion and cook for a minute or so until fragrant.
Stir the leftover bolognese into the pan with the onion and cook until heated through.
Once piping hot, roughly chop the spinach and add to the pan. Cook until the spinach is wilted, then add the cooked new potatoes and stir until everything is well combined.
Cook for 5 minutes, then serve with rice and optional toppings of yogurt, mango chutney and chopped coriander leaves.
If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like my veg stuffed slow cooker bolognese, child friendly vegetable curry or multi-purpose hidden vegetable sauce. For more easy family friendly dinner ideas and recipes like this one, check out the Family Friendly Meals section here on the Eats Amazing blog or pop over and follow the Eats Amazing recipes Pinterest board for fresh and seasonal inspiration all the year around!
If you’d like more recipes to use up your leftovers, check out these recipes from some of my blogger friends:
Use up roast chicken in this Chicken Tarragon Pasta Bake from Kavey Eats
Use up roast beef in this Monday Pie from Fab Food 4 All
Use up roast lamb with these Lamb & Spring Onion Hoisin Wraps from Kavey Eats
Check out 5 more ways to use up bolognese sauce from Munchies & Munchkins
Use up leftover veggies or meat with my 5 minute pizza quesadillas
Use up mashed potato in these potato pancakes from Recipes From a Pantry
Do you have any favourite ways of turning leftovers into family meals? I’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments below!
Grace
Use up your leftovers with this quick and easy bolognese curry recipe - it's child friendly and great for saving time and money on family meals!
- 600 g new potatoes
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion
- 2-3 Tbsp mild curry powder
- 1/2 batch slow cooker bolognese
- 200 g fresh spinach
- rice
- natural yogurt
- mango chutney
- fresh coriander leaves
Wash the potatoes, then slice into halves or quarters so that they are all roughly the same size. Cook in boiling water for 8-10 minutes until they are just cooked, then drain.
Meanwhile, roughly chop the onion. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion until starting to soften. Add the curry powder to the pan with the onion and cook for a minute or so until fragrant.
Stir the bolognese sauce into the pan with the onion and cook until heated through.
- Once piping hot, roughly chop the spinach and add to the pan. Cook until the spinach is wilted, then add the cooked new potatoes and stir until everything is well combined.
- Cook for 5 minutes, then serve with rice and optional toppings of yogurt, mango chutney and chopped coriander leaves.
Note: You could also try adding other toppings such as nuts, seeds and fresh or dried fruit.
Love this recipe idea? Why not save it to Pinterest so you can easily find it again!
Camilla Hawkins says
What a great way to give leftover bolognese a tasty makeover, can’t wait to try it:-) Thanks for linking to my Monday Pie:-)
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
What a great way to use leftover bolognese sauce! Thanks for mentioning my potato pancakes!