Holiday Recipes admin June 7, 2026 0 Comments

Leftover Vegetable Curry – Donnadundas.co.uk

When it comes to preventing food waste, this leftover vegetable curry ranks among my top go-to recipes. Simple, speedy, and packed with flavour, you can add all your leftover vegetables and potatoes to help reduce waste while also cutting costs.

Disclaimer: Although I try to be as precise as I can, any guidance in this article—including, but not limited to, cooking times, amounts, nutritional details, plus storage and freezing recommendations—is based on my own personal experience. Make use of your own abilities, understanding and common sense, and check the latest food safety information.

For Sunday lunch, I always end up making far more vegetables than we need.

I’m completely in love with roasted potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and other vegetables, too—especially cauliflower. If there are only a few left, we simply warm them through in the oven the following day and serve them as a side dish alongside whatever we’re having for lunch or dinner.

Occasionally, we turn our leftover vegetables into bubble and squeak. However, another wonderful choice—particularly when you’ve got lots left over—is this leftover roast vegetable curry recipe, which is ideal for keeping waste to a minimum.

It’s quite gentle in flavour and wonderfully creamy, thanks to the added coconut milk, making it just right for children.

This leftover vegetable curry recipe is also really straightforward, so it’s perfect for a Monday evening meal.

Curry Is the Best Way to Use Up Leftovers

No matter whether you have leftover potatoes, meat, or vegetables, curry is often the ideal option because:

When you serve it with rice and naan, you can still create a leftovers curry with plenty of sauce—even if you don’t have much meat or veg.
If your meat is a touch dry, letting it gently simmer in a curry sauce is a brilliant method to ensure it’s tender by the time it reaches the table.
A simple curry sauce recipe is incredibly quick.
This curry made with leftover vegetables is mild and suitable for the whole family, though you can include extra seasoning if you like.
You can basically put almost anything you’ve got leftover into a curry.

Ingredients for Leftover Vegetable Curry

I use this easy curry sauce recipe with lots of different components, including leftover roast veg. I use:

Leftover Vegetables and Potatoes– I usually reach for carrots, potatoes, parsnips, and perhaps cauliflower or broccoli. Occasionally I’ll include a little swede. Butternut squash also works brilliantly.

Ghee– You can swap in butter, or use cooking oil such as olive oil instead. If you want a lighter vegetable curry, cooking spray is perfectly fine too.

Onion

Garlic

Ginger Puree

Red Chilli Puree– I really like taking a shortcut and using purees. They’re easier to handle and great to keep in the fridge. If you’d rather, you can replace them with finely diced red chilli and 1 inch of grated root ginger.

Tinned Tomatoes

Coconut Milk

Water

Tomato Puree

Curry Powder– If you don’t have curry powder, Garam Masala is a great substitute.

Turmeric

Paprika

Are There Any Leftover Vegetables That You Can’t Use in a Curry?

Ideally, you should use vegetables that are fairly solid.

If you’ve got broccoli or sprouts that have been cooked thoroughly, and they’re quite tender, they may completely break down even if you add them right before serving.

I also wouldn’t bother with leafy options like cabbage either, because the texture may turn a little odd.

What Veggies are Best in A Leftover Vegetable Curry?

I really enjoy roasting vegetables and adding them to curry.

Roasted potatoes, carrots, and parsnips work wonderfully in curry. Simply cut them into smaller pieces while they’re cold, then stir them in at the end just to heat through, so they don’t go too soft.

Swede is fantastic too, and curried cauliflower is delicious, as long as it isn’t too mushy.

If you don’t have much leftover veg and want to include something like cauliflower, chop it up and add it to the simmering sauce about 10–15 minutes before serving, so it has time to cook.

Can You Add Meat to Leftover Roasted Vegetable Curry?

Absolutely!

This is actually the same sauce I use for my leftover roast pork curry.

If you’ve got leftover meat, feel free to add it to this curry—either on its own, or together with vegetables.

Just be sure to include the meat earlier, and let it simmer for at least 20 minutes, making sure it’s steaming hot when you serve.

How to Make Leftover Veg Curry

This dish is incredibly straightforward!

Cut your vegetables and potatoes into small, bite-sized pieces. Cook the onions and garlic, mix in the sauce ingredients, simmer until it thickens a little, then add the vegetables for 5–10 mins before serving—so they warm up without becoming overly soft.

Enjoy it with rice, naan bread,dips,poppadom’sand any other sides and add-ons you enjoy, for a tasty, filling family meal.

Is This Leftover Roasted Vegetable Curry Healthy?

Well, it includes coconut milk, so it has some fat. However, it also has plenty of vegetables, meaning there’s lots of nutrients too. Overall, it’s a fairly healthy option, depending on what you pair it with.