As many of us continue to feel the financial pinch of inflation, trips to the grocery store have become more fraught. We want to make sure that we’re only buying what we need—and that we’re using up everything we do buy. After all, it’s easy to forget about that bag of carrots or head of cabbage you have stuffed in the drawer of your fridge until it’s turned into a watery mess. But while you may not be able to revive a cucumber once it’s gone off, that’s not true for every ingredient. Bread is one of those foods that you can use even after it’s past its prime. Of course, if a loaf of bread is covered in mold, you’ll want to throw it out. But if it’s just starting to taste stale or has gotten a bit too tough, there are ways to revive it so you can still get some use out of the loaf.
The following are some of the best ways to use up that stale bread that’s been sitting on the counter for a few days too long. By utilizing these tips, you can cut down on your grocery bill and reduce your household’s food waste at the same time.
1. Panzanella
Who knew that you could turn an old loaf of bread into a salad? That’s exactly what panzanella is, and it may just be the most delicious use of stale bread. By soaking chunks of stale, hardened bread in olive oil and mixing it with juicy ingredients like tomatoes, you can make a bread salad that’s good enough to make a summer table’s centerpiece.
2. Bread Pudding
Bread pudding is the budget-friendly cook’s answer to dessert. Soak some stale bread in eggs and cream, add in some warming spices like cinnamon, and you have a cake-like treat that’s just as delicious for breakfast as it is for dessert. If you want to add a sticky-sweet textural element to the mix, consider including some raisins.
3. Croutons
If there’s one thing I believe with my whole heart, it’s that a salad just isn’t complete without the inclusion of some kind of carb. Croutons are obviously a go-to for this purpose, not just making your salad more filling but also adding an element of crunch. Just tear your loaf of bread into pieces, add some olive oil and toast them lightly, and you’ll have a batch of croutons in a flash.
4. Breadcrumbs
Sure, you can buy a package of breadcrumbs at the grocery store, but it’s so much easier (and less expensive) to make your own. The next time you have a loaf of bread that you’re not going to use up, pulse it in the food processor until it’s broken down into the kind of texture you’re looking for. Creating crunchy toppings and crispy breading has never been easier.
5. Meatballs
Good meatballs require a binder that keeps the meat together, and stale breadcrumbs are perfect for just that. You’ll want to soak them in some milk or water ahead of time so they’re not too dry in the meatball mix, but it’s a great way to ensure you use every last crumb of the last loaf you bought.
6. French toast
Because French toast requires you to soak bread in a mixture of milk, eggs and spices, you don’t have to worry about using bread that’s already starting to turn hard. The French toast batter mixture will rehydrate the bread, and once it’s cooked, you won’t even be able to tell that you used the stale stuff.
7. Ribollita
I love a thick, rich stew, particularly in the colder months of the year, which is why I’m such a big fan of ribollita, a Tuscan soup composed predominantly of white beans and thickened with stale bread. The inclusion of bread makes every bite of this soup ultra-filling, and you don’t even have to add other carbs to make it a whole meal.
8. Meatloaf
Just like you can use stale breadcrumbs to bind and bulk up a meatball recipe, you can do the same for meatloaf. If you’re just trying to make your meat stretch or you want to make sure that the meatloaf doesn’t fall apart as soon as you slice it, adding in some stale breadcrumbs is an easy way to ensure that your dinner is as delicious as possible.
9. Stuffing
You may think of stuffing as a dish that you should only enjoy on Thanksgiving, but I’m a big fan of the bread-heavy side dish all year round. But you don’t have to go out and buy a stuffing mix that comes out of a plastic bag when you could just use up the stale bread you have leftover from last night’s dinner. Tear that bread up into pieces, add some spices and throw it in the oven for an easy dish that’s sure to please.
10. French onion soup
French onion soup features a cheese-covered piece of bread floating in salty, umami onion broth, and since it’s already getting plenty of moisture from the other elements of the dish, you can use stale, slightly hardened bread here to yield better results than you’d get with fresh bread that’s too soft and will disintegrate in the broth.
Samantha Maxwell is a food writer and editor based in Boston. Follow her on Twitter at @samseating.