10 Easy Hash Recipes To Use up Every Kind of Leftover

With so many options for easy meals, you've never been so grateful for leftovers.

By
Sara Bir
Sara Bir
Sara Bir
Sara is a chef, culinary educator, and author of three cookbooks, The Pocket Pawpaw Cookbook, Tasting Ohio and The Fruit Forager's Companion. The latter won a 2019 IACP Cookbook Award.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Updated December 06, 2023
Sara Bir

Hash is what leftovers dream to be. It's what I like eating more than the original meals in the first place.

For every big roast, there's a hash you can whip up from it. Keep this list handy for those times when you have a full-to-the-gill fridge and a house of hungry guests to feed. Some hash recipes are vegetarian. Use up all of that food in meals that are equally well-suited for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Corned Beef Hash

Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker

You can tweak these recipes based on what you have on hand: swap roast beef for shredded turkey, or throw in a handful of baby spinach. Add a few spoonfuls of gravy at the end of cooking for extra flavor and richness, almost like a glaze. Hash is friendly that way.

  • Roast Beef Hash

    Traditional Roast Beef Hash
    Elise Bauer

    This is a classic roast beef hash with finely minced roast beef, cooked potatoes, and onions. It was once traditional to grind the ingredients in a hand-cranked meat grinder, but a knife and patience (or artful pulsing in a food processor) do the job just as well. Serve with ketchup, of course!

    Get Recipe

  • Ham and Potato Hash

    A plate of ham and potato hash with a fried egg on the side
    Elise Bauer

    A pinch of thyme and a diced green pepper add some flair and color to this wonderfully homely hash. You can start with raw potatoes or dice up leftover cooked ones.

    Get Recipe

  • Corned Beef Hash

    Corned Beef Hash

    Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker

    A diner classic that you can embrace at home. It's also way less greasy that way. If you don't want to wait until after your annual St. Patrick's Day corned beef and cabbage, but some thickly sliced corned beef from the deli counter.

    Get Recipe

  • Sweet Potato Hash Browns

    A plate of sweet potato hash browns
    Elise Bauer

    If you bought a big bag of sweet potatoes and only used a few of them in your sweet potato casserole, make a batch of these sweet potato hash browns to finish them off. They're a colorful and tasty change of pace from the regular potato hash browns.

    Get Recipe
    Continue to 5 of 10 below.

  • Red Flannel Hash

    how to make red flannel hash browns with corned beef, beets, and potatoes
    Elise Bauer

    "Red flannel hash is just corned beef hash with the addition of beets," writes the author, Elise Bauer. "It's traditionally made in New England for breakfast, with leftovers from a boiled dinner the night before, and gets its name from the somewhat obvious similarity of its colors to red flannel plaid cloth."

    Get Recipe

  • Salmon Hash

    Smoked Salmon Hash with a fried egg on a plate
    Elise Bauer

    This recipe is for smoked salmon hash, but you can use any kind of cooked salmon. It's great to make the night after a party. I make extra salmon when we have it as a main for a weeknight dinner so I can whip this up a day or two later.

    Get Recipe

  • Bubble and Squeak

    Bubble and Squeak Patties on Cast Iron Skillet

    Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

    In the U.K., bubble and squeak is a traditional meal on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, when you fry up a cake of diced-up bits of potatoes and veg served with the previous evening's roast. It's also made all year long with the leftovers from a Sunday roast. Sometimes it's in one big cake; for easier handling, you can make it in multiple smaller ones instead.

    Get Recipe

  • German Farmer's Breakfast

    A plate of German farmer's breakfast
    Elise Bauer

    Also known as bauernfruhstuck, this meal may not be pretty to look at, but it's quick to make and sticks to your ribs. Imagine ham and potato hash with eggs scrambled into it and you've got the idea.

    Get Recipe
    Continue to 9 of 10 below.

  • Broccoli Hash

    Easy broccoli side dish with browned efges on the side of a plate with sauteed cabbage to the left.
    Alison Bickel

    If you have tired green veg like broccoli, cabbage, or Brussels sprouts in your crisper, here's a fine way to put it to good use. Chop up that broccoli (including the stem) and throw it in a skillet until it gets lightly browned. I also add sliced kale stems and minced cauliflower cores to this. It's a side that goes with virtually anything!

    Get Recipe

  • Easy Pork Fried Rice

    A skillet with cooking pork fried rice
    Nick Evans | Art Banner Credit: Andy Christensen

    Fried rice is just hash based around rice instead of potatoes. Chop up leftover pork roast and use it instead of the raw pork this recipe calls for. Or make it with leftover turkey! Chop up any leftover cooked vegetables you have, too. It's almost like a meal kit that magically appears in your fridge.

    Get Recipe