40 Kitchen Scraps You Should Never Throw Away – And The Genius Ways To Reuse Them

You’ve spent the last 20 minutes chopping up every last ingredient to make your dinner. That explains the pile of peelings and other assorted food waste that sits atop your cutting board. Now, your instinct might be to throw all of them into the garbage – but we say, not so fast. There are so many genius ways to reuse your leftover bits of food. Your spoils can clean tarnished silver, feed your precious pets and even make it so that you never have to buy salad greens again. So, before you trash your scraps, make sure they’re not one of these 40 super-handy items that you can re-use...

40. Soured yogurt can taste delicious

If you’ve got out-of-date all-natural yogurt, you’re actually in luck. The sugar- and additive-free varieties of yogurt will start to sour, but they offer you a strong, tangy flavor that you can fold into cake batters or whip into salad dressings. And there’s no harm in eating it sour, either: in fact, you still get all of the probiotic benefits that come with eating unexpired pots of yogurt.

39. Shove scraps in the freezer

If you can’t use your veggie scraps right away, throw them into a bag and pop that into the freezer. That way, you can pull it out and add veggie bits to your stocks and broths whenever you want. On that note, you can start a second bag full of leftover herb leaves and stems. You can add them to soups, too. Or, you can blitz these unneeded bits into pestos, sauces and spreads while they’re still fresh – it’s up to you.

38.Old garlic, new garlic

Let’s say you’ve cracked into a garlic bulb and you’ve used all but one or two of the cloves. You can use the remaining pods as seeds to grow a new garlic plant! Just sow the cloves with their roots facing down, making sure they’ll get plenty of sunlight. In a few days, you should see a green stem poking through the soil – and, eventually, that’ll be a new garlic plant. 

37. Sugar up your unruly hair

Your hair’s a mess, so you throw open the medicine cabinet in search of your gel but, unfortunately, the bottle’s empty. Thankfully, if you have a teeny bit of leftover sugar in your pantry, you’re not entirely out of luck. Dissolve a teaspoon of the sweet stuff into a cup of warm water, and you’ve got the perfect alternative. This home-made solution is particularly handy for spiked-up looks. 

36. Preserve your guac with… the avocado pit

Frugal lifestyle pro Lauren Greutman told website Eat This that we shouldn’t be tossing the avocado’s stone after we crack open the fruit to make guacamole. Instead, she said, “Store the avocado pit in a jar with the guacamole. It will keep it from turning brown, and can even help store-bought varieties maintain their color longer.” We’ll do anything to extend the life of our favorite dip! 

35. Get creative with leafy greens

Carrots, beets and other veggies often come with leaves still dangling from their tops. Now, you could chop this bit off and throw it into your compost pile. But you could also chop up these greens and cook them as you would kale for a nice dinnertime side. Or, you could blend up the foliage to create a unique variety of pesto.

34. Get yourself into a pickle

So you’ve just scooped the last tasty morsel of vinegary veg from the pickle jar. But don’t go dumping the juice down the drain, now. Instead, you can reuse the mixture to pickle more cucumber spears, or onions, or whatever. Simply drop some new snacks into the liquid, leave them for a few days and voila! If you’re feeling culinarily adventurous, try pickling carrots, radishes or green beans.

33. Throw your fruit for a loop

Let’s say you’ve noticed a slice of lemon or a few straggler strawberries in your fridge. They look like they’re just about to go off, but you don’t want them to go to waste. Here’s an idea for putting these and other fruits to good use: drop them into a pitcher of water, then leave the combo to sit in the fridge overnight. By morning, you’ll have a lightly flavored, very refreshing jug of H2O.

32. Dust your houseplants with a peel

Your leafy green house plants bring color and freshness to your abode – that is, until their leaves start to gather dirt and dust. Of course, a quick cleaning session can keep their foliage in pristine condition. Rather than reaching for your feather duster, though, try wiping them down with a banana peel, which has natural oils that polish the leaves.

31. Fix damaged furniture with coffee

Have you noticed a gouge in your gorgeous dark wooden furniture? If so, brew yourself a cup of coffee and get to work. You won’t be using the resulting liquid to fill in the line, though. Instead, you’ll grab the grinds and rub the imperfection with them. This will transfer just enough color to camouflage the line.

30. Soften brown sugar with more sweets

You have somehow managed to miss the final few marshmallows in a bag at the back of your pantry. What can you do with those puffy little treats? Turns out, if you pop them into a bag of brown sugar, they’ll ensure that the sweet stuff doesn’t go rock hard, as it otherwise tends to do over time.

29. Moisturize your hair with veggie peels

Don’t worry: we’re not saying you should cover your locks in veggie scraps. Instead, save up the discarded peelings from about ten carrots in your freezer. Once you have a bag full of them, throw them into a slow cooker and cover them with coconut oil. Let the mixture simmer for a full 24 hours, then strain out the vegetable shavings and you’ve got a reparative, strengthening, growth-inspiring hair oil on your hands.

28. Keep ants at bay with another veggie’s peel

Did you know that you can protect your home from pests with the skin of a humble cucumber? Research has shown that the veggie’s natural makeup kills the fungi that attracts ants. So, if you put cucumber peel near the entryways through which the bugs get into your home, you can repel them naturally.

27. Don’t walk on eggshells – plant in them

When you next make a plate full of eggs for breakfast, be sure to carefully crack their shells. If you manage to pop off the top and keep most of the oval intact, you can fill it with soil and use it as a seed starter. Once you repot your plants, crush up the eggs and sprinkle them into the dirt, too. They infuse the earth with a bit of calcium, which will help your garden grow.

26. De-grease your grill grates

The lemon you squeezed over the fish you fired on the grill? You can use it to scour the grates when you’re finished. A citrus half can help you out if you have grease on the metal bars. Meanwhile, if you have onion slices laying around after dinner, you can use the bulb to wipe away residue, including rust.

25. Turn wine into vinegar

There may be a time or two that you forget to drink that last glass of red wine in your kitchen. It doesn’t have to be a tragedy, though. Instead, you can learn to transform sour grapes into an even more sour concoction: vinegar. A quick Google search will pair you with a recipe, although most will take a few months to ferment and come to fruition.

24. Don’t waste a bit of your jack-o-lantern

When you carve pumpkins, the instructions will tell you to scoop out the fruit’s innards. Of course, that step’s a must if you want to etch a face into it. But you shouldn’t throw away the gourd’s guts. You can dump them all into a blender to create a pumpkin puree – the base for any good pie.

23. Tea-fresh refresh

After you finish your morning cup of tea, toss the bag not into the trash, but into the fridge. Once the little square cools down, it can help you reduce pesky dark circles around your eyes. The tea bag’s coolness-and-caffeine combination will de-puff the skin and constrict blood vessels around your peepers. All it takes is a few minutes on your eyes and voila.

22. Boiling veggies? Hold onto the water

Whether you’re blanching green beans or boiling potatoes, remember not to dump out the leftover water. Instead, store the veggie-infused H2O, and you have a fresh base for your next batch of soup. Experts say that the leftover water will have more flavor and nutrients than a store-bought stock – you may never look back.

21. Pineapple upside-down garden

If you don’t buy pre-cut pineapples from the grocery store, then you’re already stronger than most of us. Once you slice up the tropical treat, you can take the literal fruit of your labor and turn it into another pineapple plant. You just have to plant the top, horizontally-sliced part of the fruit – the section with the spiky leaves. That should grow into yet another pineapple, a two-for-one deal with every one you buy!

20. “Heel” your art

For some reason, wall-hung paintings seem to actively attract dust, and it’s hard to clean them without doing any damage. So try this waste-free method with your next stale bread heel. Turns out, if you grab the stale piece of sliced white bread, its doughy center can gently lift away dust. Just pat it across the canvas and watch it work its magic.

19. The morning grind = a facemask

After you brew your morning cup of coffee, you may have enough used grounds laying around to make yourself a face mask. A quick web search will help you find a DIY recipe that’ll transform the remains of the crushed beans into an exfoliating skincare mask. For example, we found one that brings together coffee with unsweetened cocoa powder, milk and either lemon juice or honey, depending on whether you have dry or acne-prone skin.

18. Feed Fido with your scraps, too

We’re not talking about those little treats you sneak under the table at dinner. You can boil bones, veggie scraps and even meat bits until they cook into a very tasty food for your dog. Just make sure everything you put in is safe for your four-legged friend. And, even if you don’t have a pooch, your scraps can still feed our animal buddies. Chickens, bunnies and hamsters, for instance, will eat leftover veggies – or you can donate them to a local farm or shelter for the very same purpose. 

17. Lemon limescale-buster

You’ve juiced half of a lemon for a recipe. What will you do with the rest so that it doesn’t go to waste? Try squeezing that half, too, and then pouring the tangy liquid into your kettle. Leave the juice to sit for about an hour or two, then fill the vessel with water and bring it to a boil. When you dump out the H2O, any stuck-on limescale should come out with the water.

16. Grind up your eggshells one more time

It’s widely known that a ground-up eggshell can go a long way in your garden. Its calcium content can help your beloved plants to thrive. But did you know that the very same mineral makes your favorite morning protein into the perfect bathroom cleaner? Yes, ground-up eggshells can fight limescale build-up; the crushed shell works as a gently abrasive cleaner.

15. Go against the grain

No dinner would be complete without some grains – at least, that’s how we feel. If you want to mix up your next batch of quinoa, rice or barley, then dig out that lingering bit of lemon in your fridge. Or, save lemon peels in your freezer ‘til it’s time to use them and make your grains more interesting. If you put the zesty bit in to boil with your carby side, then it’ll imbue the bowl with that citrusy flavor. No more boring rice, people!

14. No bones – er, lots of bones – about it

After a roast dinner or rib night, you might have lots of bones on your hand. Chuck them all into your biggest pot, cover them with water, bring it all to the boil and then let it simmer. Soon enough, you’ll have a massive batch of bone broth, which you can enjoy on its own or as a base for soups.

13. Bring home – and hold onto – the bacon

This is another one of those foods that probably doesn’t go bad in your house. But you might not have any idea what to do with bacon grease except for, you know, dumping it in the trash. We suggest that you pour it into containers and use it sporadically to add some flavor to pasta and veggie dishes. There’s the kick you were seeking.

12. Dye that looks a-peeling

The uber-pigmented veggie peels in your pile can do double-duty as dyes. Think beets, red cabbage and yellow onions: these remnants create purples, blues and oranges, respectively. You can also use none other than coffee to dye gray hair, so long as your other natural shade is brown.

11. Roast your cauliflower offcuts

You chop up cauliflower florets and, to do so, you might cut away their surrounding leaves. If you know how to cook them, though, this foliage can taste just as good as the veggie’s crowning tufts. Sprinkle the leaves with spices, then roast them in the oven. You’ll soon have a crispy, flavorful treat.

10. Mask the vinegar in your DIY cleaning supplies

Vinegar’s a powerful all-natural cleaner, but it also has an incredibly strong scent. So, toss your unused citrus peels into a jar, then add some white vinegar on top. In just half a month, the fruit will have infused the acid with its much more pleasant scent – and you don’t have to skimp on cleaning quality, either.

9. Cheesy soup? Sign us up.

Here’s a broth-boosting option you might not have thought of: your cheese rinds can go into the pot, too. Yes, the edges of your favorite variety – Parmesan works best – can lend so much flavor to your next batch of soup or stock. The rind will never melt all the way, so you can just pluck it out when it’s time to serve your stew.

8. Clean cast iron without fear of damaging it

You already know the no-nos when it comes to cast iron. The heavy pots can’t go in the dishwasher, nor can you wash them with soap. And that’s precisely why they’re such a pain to clean, especially when full of grease. If you have a leftover piece of bread, though, you can use it to get rid of these oils. Just dip the bread into the greasy corners and let it soak up the sludge.

7. A new leaf on life

You don’t eat your lettuce right down to the stem, and that’s good news for you, value-wise. That’s because as it turns out, if you place the bottom inch of your lettuce cluster in water and set that container in direct sunlight, the plant will start to regrow its bushy, nutrient-laden leaves.

6. Feed birds with your leftover oil

You’ve probably got a very incorrect visual playing in your head right now. No, we do not suggest that you toss oil into the air for backyard birds as you would breadcrumbs. But you can use leftover cooking fats to make suet feeders. These provide your avian friends with the fat – and warmth – they need to survive winter. Search for instructions online on how to make one yourself. Good news: it’s easy!

5. Cook the most mouth-watering roast chicken ever

Your current barbecue can beget a beautiful roast dinner, so long as you hold onto your corn cobs. Foodies have found you can lay chicken thighs on the cobs before roasting them. Moisture from the maize will steam up into your poultry, making the meat extra moist. Meanwhile, the skin gets the perfect amount of crispy. Insert a massive chef’s kiss here.

4. Scour your sink with a spud

Post-mashed potatoes, you have tons of the tubers’ peels laying around. Surprisingly, you can use them for your cleaning. Just make sure you hold them with the fleshier side down. Then, rub your mirrors and sinks with the skins and let the potato juices sit for a couple of minutes. Then, wipe down your mirrors with a soft towel so they shine. Use a moistened cloth and do the same to your sinks.

3. Don’t cry over soured milk – clean with it

The last thing you’d think to do with expired milk would be to clean with it. And yet, your carton of out-of-date dairy can help restore your tarnished silverware to a shine. Soak the utensils in a milky bath, then rinse. Once you see your reflection, you’ll know just how well this beverage can do the job.

2. Everyone’s favorite scent: coffee

Put a jar next to your coffeemaker and fill it with your leftover grounds each day. Once it’s full, stick that into your fridge uncovered and let it soak up all of the questionable scents wafting through it. You can also scoop some coffee out of the container after chopping garlic or onions to neutralize those odors, too.

1. Polish it off with…

Don’t let this tip slip – use your banana peels to polish your shoes. Dip the inside of a leftoer peel into shoe polish, then rub it onto your favorite footwear. You can only use the yellow scraps on smooth leather, though – it will ruin your suede.