Inspiralized - How to Use The Spiralized Leftovers

Spiralized Leftovers: What Now?

The first time you spiralize, you find out that whenever you do spiralize, you’ll have...

Inspiralized - How to Use The Spiralized Leftovers

The first time you spiralize, you find out that whenever you do spiralize, you’ll have a leftover “core” that looks pretty funny. It’s a bummer that you can’t spiralize the entire vegetable, but, these leftovers shouldn’t be thrown out.

After polling the Inspiralized community, Facebook, and Instagram, I’ve made a big list of “things to do” with the leftover spiralized cores.

You’ll never toss those funky looking veggie cores out again!

To start, here are my favorite ways to use spiralized leftovers:

1. Chop them up into cubes and place them in an airtight plastic bag or plastic container and save them to use in soups, pastas, salads, rices, casseroles and omelettes. Leftover cubed veggies can last up to 4 days in the refrigerator before getting mushy.

2. Shred them in a food processor and save in the refrigerator (or use immediately) to use in recipes that call for shredded veggies (such as zucchini bread).

3. Dip them in hummus or your favorite vegetable dip.

4. If using apples or pears, cube them up and make a sangria or wine spritzer flavored with fruit!

5. If using cucumbers, cube them up and freeze them in ice cubes and use them to infuse your water.

6. Cube them and throw them right into whatever spiralized dish you’re making.

7. Add them into a juicer with some apple for a sweet green juice.

8. Slice the cores off and save the bottom disc to use as a pizza base. Spread over marinara sauce and melt over a slice of mozzarella and tomatoes. Bake and then garnish with basil! Check out this great recipe via Skinnytaste.com!

Inspiralized - How to Use The Spiralized Leftovers

More suggestions – from readers!

1. Use them as ingredients in pasta sauces. ~ Marian

2. Use them to make a homemade vegetable broth. ~ Cindy G.

3. My dogs love them! Whenever I pull the spiralizer out they are glued to me until they get their zucchini treat. ~ Marisa O.

4. Compost ~ Kathy S.

5. I add my spiralized leftovers to smoothies. ~ Gabrielle Z.

6. I chop them up and use in soup or muffins. ~ Chrysanne H.

7. I like to steam and purée them to make #babyfood so that our little boy can eat what we are eating, too…Works great for seedless veggies like carrots & sweet potato! -Bela L.

8. I like to chop, roast, and throw them in some scrambled eggs! ~ Kim O.

9. My son goes crazy for them – especially zucchini. He would never eat raw zucchini just cut up but if it is a funny, floppy spiralizer core he eats it in 5 seconds flat! ! Sarah B.

10. I cut them into bite-sized pieces, put them in a plastic bag and freeze. When I have collected a bagful of assorted veggies, I cook them and enjoy! ~ Sherill R.

11. I save up different veggies over a couple of days and make a mash out of it! ~ Malene

To get more suggestions, check out this post on Instagram and scroll through the comments:

So tell me – what do you do with your leftover vegetable cores?

 

 

with love, Ali

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comments

  • Great post. I usually just chop the cores smaller and add them to whatever I am making.
    • I do that too! It's easy to add the extras to spiralized rice, or even to save them and use them as a veggie snack later.
  • I throw them all in big ziploc bags in the freezer (along with trimmings, bones, the first and last slice of an onion, etc.) , and once several bags are full, I make stock.
  • I've been throwing them away, but now have some new ideas!
  • I would just chop them up and use them for salad topping the next day.
  • I feed my spiralize leftovers to my dog.
  • I freeze them and give them as treats to my dogs. They love it, specially carrots! PS: your ring is just gorgeous!
    • My dogs love them too! As soon as they see the spiralizer come out, they start hanging around lol!
  • I chop them up and use them in the dish I am making
  • I usually just throw them in with whatever I'm cooking. I can't waste food.
  • I'm liking the ideas that I see here! Haven't gotten a spiralizer yet -but these recipes always look so good -need to get one!
  • I chop 'em and toss them in the dish!
  • I wouild love to make a nice spiralized meal for my friends and have a little dinner party!
  • I just chop them and add to the dish I'm making. Love your site! Congrats on your upcoming book and wedding!
  • I'm with Marisa O.!!! My pup LOVES the cores (and zoodles)!!
  • Compost!
  • I immediately thought keep to make veggie broth or toss in my compost bin!
  • I make smoothies every day so I just toss whatever is left from spiralizing into the smoothie (beets, zucchini, sweet potatoes so far)
  • Unless I have a bunch, I usually just eat them as a pre meal snack.
  • Grrrreat Ideas! I think my dog would really enjoy them too ;)
  • It looks SO good!
  • I would dip them in a bit of salt and eat them!
  • I had to laugh when I read the dog treat comment. My shih tzu is mad for zucchini leftovers!
  • I'm new to this and this is my first time using my Spiralizer. I bought one because of your fabulous website. So excited!
  • never occurred to me not to use them. I chop them up and add to the dish.
  • Until I saw this post, I've been throwing them out. However, now I that I have some excellent suggestions I will use them. Not sure how, right now, but I will find a way.
  • The goats get them.
  • I roasted my stubs, having kept them in a bag in the fridge until I had a different variety. Then I softened an onion and garlic in butter, and blended in the stubs with chopped apple and various spices (cardamom, coriander, ginger, turmeric, cumin) to make a delicious winter roots soup.
  • I roast them with some olive oil and garlic yummmmm
  • My dogs wait adoringly at my feet for them.
  • I was baffled for a while on what to do with these cores. Usually I just slice up the cores and add them to some kind of sauce, but I just realized I could divide them up and give them as a treat to our rabbit.
  • My dog loves the cores! I shape them in a cup to make a zucchini core pretzel and then freeze them. He loves them! Thank you so much for your inpiralation <3
  • I am sure you know this, but not all spiralizers skip the middle. I like mine specifically because I can use the whole vegetable. I have the one I mentioned here: http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2011/12/11/foodie-gift-ideas-aka-my-favourite-things-in-the-kitchen/
    • Yup! The ones that core the veggies work the best for getting the perfect cylindrical noodle, though! But it's all preference!
  • "gnocchi"
  • The husband makes a weekly omelet. Cuisinarted cores make a weekly break from spiralizing/washing the Paderno blades.
  • Just had some Celery Root disks leftover and was so hungry that i microwaved them . A Little Rice bran oil salt and pepper they were awesome .