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. Some things 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 mamas 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 Information:
Eh, I attempted to salvage bombed 1-pot alfredo. Nagi said you could make 1 big fritter, but there’s too much. I thought I could cut it into 4 sections with a grill spatula, but it ended up as pasta hash. Valentina sauce makes almost anything edible, and it worked here.
My mother was one of those in the 70’s to say, “Think of all the starving children in China” to try to get us to eat everything on our plate. A Doonsbury cartoon had a Chinese mother cajoling her son to eat his pickled duck eggs because of all the starving children in West Virginia. Sadly there still too many starving children to think about today when I consider throwing away food. I need a Dozer.
So I nick-named these the “Italian fritter” when I served these to my family last night and all said they were incredible!
I had left over fusilli/penne (in a red sauce) that had been served with sausage and peppers. Naturally the meat/veg was virtually all gone so I decided to do some in a separate skillet to put on top.
For the fritter- I followed Nagi’s recipe, only adding some garlic to the mix and I decided (based on all the comments) to do a blend of cheeses (I did a sharp cheddar, a creamy havarti with spices and some grated fresh Parmesan).
I served it with the fritters on the base, sausage/light amount of peppers on top and then sprinkled with parsley and some more Parm.
This recipe was a total 10 and will be a staple go to for any/all left over pasta. Fast and easy to do and totally Yummy!
Made these using left over mostacioli with small meatballs. I just the pasta and balls with a table knife easy peasy. I used 1 cup paramesan breadcrumbs and frozen shredded paramesan cheese. These were awesome. Fantastic and quick. Thank you so much for the recipe.
How did I not see this recipe?! I am making these immediately!! Thanks again Nagi for another amazing recipe!!
This recipe was quick, easy and very tasty. I definitely would make it again. I love using leftovers
These fritters were so delicious, my family absolutely loved them!
I doubled recipe and made fritters for the week….delicious with a dipping sauce too. Couldn’t seem to get them extra crunchy though, but they turned out yummy
I wanted a creative way to use my leftover baked ziti. I came across this recipe and was skeptical. I didn’t have anything to lose by trying it, so I went for it. Turns out this is a delicious way to reuse pasta leftovers! I love the crisp it adds to the pasta. Even my picky 3.5 year old devoured them! Score!
What if the pasta is not sauced? Could I toss it in a little sauce after chopping then continue as recipe says?
Can these be fried in an air fryer?
I did tonight! 375° for 8 mins, flip then another 4-6 mins depending thickness. I smooshed mine into fritters before putting them in
This was surprisingly delicious. We added a bit of catch-up on it and licked our fingers. Thank you Nagi!
Wow what a great idea. We often have leftover bolognaise and this recipe is the perfect way to use it up. A big hit with the family.
We don’t normally make pasta with tomato sauce, and when we did, we had an insane amount of leftovers! These fritters turned mediocre pasta into something better, although the process was quite messy—maybe needed more eggs and breadcrumbs.
Hi Nagi & Dozer. What else can I say except YUMMY!!!!!
Made these tonight using fettuccine and mushroom ragu. So tasty and so easy too.
Fantastic recipe
Thanks so much Virginia!! N x
Hi Nagi,
I have some leftover broccoli macaroni. Do you think it will make good for these fritters?
Would really appreciate your help on this. Thanks in advance.
To date, whatever recipes I’ve tried have turned out great!! Both in-laws, parents, hubby and kiddo love whatever I’ve tried!!
Hi G, I really haven’t tried but I don’t see why not! Love to know if you give it a go though! N x
Hey N,
I did make these and they turned out yum!! Added a bit of extra cheese!!
Thanks again! Much love
OH SO YUMMY! Made with left-over Pasta in creamy zucchini sauce. Added crispy fried bacon to the pasta. WOW!
These are great, just made them for lunch! But still leftover… can I make the patties, then freeze without cooking? Then I could bake them?
Sure can Barb! N x
I made up this recipe today with left over fettuccine pasta, not in sauce.
So to the scribed recipe added BBQ sauce, Dijon mustard bacon, spring onions and seasoning.
Such a hit with hubby, thanks for sharing your recipe 😊
YUM! Sounds fab Cheryl! N x
So they stuck together great but I didn’t brown them enough, so they had to be eaten with a fork vice in hand. MOTHER OF ALL THAT IS HOLY THIS WAS DELICIOUS. My goal was to just make some for the kids but when I tasted one, I ate four. Oops. So much for my diet today! WORTH IT.
😂 I love hearing this Liz!!!! N x
I have a lot of leftover orzo aka pasta rice. It doesn’t have any sauce in it. I have some leftover vodka sauce in the fridge, should I add some of that? Something else? Thanks in advance