Creative dishes to make from holiday leftovers

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January 11, 2026 | 5:50pm

MANILA, Philippines — The holidays are over, but your refrigerator is still stuffed with a lot of leftovers. Ham, Lechon, roast beef, roast chicken are flavorful dishes that taste good and add a deeper dimension of flavor to others.

What dishes can you prepare to make the most out of their festive flavors? Three chefs make creative suggestions.

A feast from Lechon

For Cafe Ysabel's Chef Gino Gonzalez, the Lechon, the unequivocal star of the Noche Buena, can be made into other savory dishes.

“For leftover Lechon,, I usually fry it and make Pritchon out of it instead of turning it into the usual Lechon Paksiw,” the chef said.

Chef Gino serves his Pritchon with either a nice vinegar dipping sauce with sili, onion and garlic or Lechon sauce.

In years when Roast Beef is the main dish on the Noche Buena or Media Noche table, Chef Gino turns leftovers into Salpicado or Beef Stroganoff. If he has Roast Turkey or Roast Chicken to work with, he makes a gourmet sandwich out of it in combination with some lettuce, mayo and mustard.

“As for leftover ham, it can be a sahog (ingredient) for monggo or used as a flavoring for other soups,” the chef shared.

Feel-good meals

Nothing beats a good bowl of comforting dish to start the day.

Chef Zhe O. Jacinto listed her favorite ways to enjoy holiday leftovers.

“Holiday leftovers don’t have to be boring or wasted. With a little creativity, they can turn into easy, feel-good meals,” said the chef consultant and brand ambassador of Easy Brand, Camel Appliances, and Tita’s Special, Pampanga’s Best.

She suggested slicing leftover ham, Lechon and other roast meats, shredding them, or chopping them to be used as ingredient for fried rice, sandwiches, pasta or quick wraps.

Leftover Lechon Kawali, for one, can be “reused” by serving with a stir-fried leafy veggie and boiled egg over noodles.

"Leftovers are a chance to cook smarter, waste less, and enjoy the holidays a little longer without extra spending or effort,” she added.

Portioning is key

For executive chef Winston Jerome Luna, he employs a smart way to maximize holiday leftovers.

“As a person who loves food, the first thing I do with leftovers is to identify which ones can be stored in the freezer, then I portion them in microwavable containers and freeze them. That way, I get to still enjoy the same food on a personal time on my own later, or share it with people in the office or a friend when we see each other,” said the chef of Chefwix Catering Services and chairman of St. Jerome School.

As for food items that he decides not to freeze, he turns them into something new. If he has leftover salad, for instance, he creates sandwiches or pandesals with them to give breakfast a whole new and different twist.

But before he even thinks of how to recycle leftover food, he first considers packing them to share with officemates, condo security guards, or friends whom he will be meeting up with the next day.

“Food,” he said, “is meant to bring people together, even the day after the party.”

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