Easter leftovers recipes: Family-friendly ideas to fight food waste

Whether you’re planning an egg hunt, a springtime brunch or an indulgent feast for the family, Easter can be an indulgent time of year. Shield your eyes, Easter Bunny: last year, over 8,000 tons of food was wasted, including more than 6 million hot cross buns.

With these recipes from British Lion Eggs, there’s no reason for all those delicious pastries, lamb joints and eggs to go to waste. Make the most of your Easter leftovers – and pack in plenty of protein and essential nutrients – with these fun recipes that will get the whole family involved.

Easter eggy bread

An egg-cellent recipe to rustle up this Easter. Use up your hot cross buns for the eggy bread and get creative with your toppings! What’s more the whole recipe takes just 10 minutes.

Serves: 2

Prep time: 5 mins| Cook time: 5 mins

Ingredients:

2 medium eggs

3 tbsp milk

2 tsp caster sugar

A pinch of cinnamon

2 hot cross buns

A few drops of vegetable oil

225g mixed berries – strawberries, blueberries and halved strawberries

2 tsp caster sugar

Greek yoghurt and honey to serve

Method:

In a wide shallow bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, sugar and cinnamon. Use a bread knife to horizontally slice each hot cross bun into three.

Place the bread in the egg mixture and leave to soak for 5 minutes, turning occasionally until all the egg has been soaked up.

To make the compote, cut the strawberries into halves or quarter and place in a small pan with the raspberries and blueberries. Add the sugar and mix well. Place over a gentle heat and slowly bring to the boil. Simmer for 2 minutes, before spooning into a serving bowl or jug and leave to cool.

Heat a medium non-stick pan, then add a couple of drops of oil and swirl around the pan. Pick up the hot cross buns and cook in the pan for 2 minutes until the base is golden.

Turn over with a spatula and repeat until both sides are golden and crisp.

Transfer to serving plates. Serve three slices per person and spoon over the warm compote. Serve with yogurt and honey.

Lamb biryani

Our lamb biryani is an all-round great recipe and is ideal for using up any Sunday roast leftovers to minimise food waste.

Serves: 3-4

Prep time: 8 mins | Cook time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, sliced

Salt and ground black pepper

5 medium eggs

2cm piece root ginger, grated

1 clove garlic, crushed

175-225g cold roast lamb, beef, chicken or turkey

225g cooked vegetables we used cauliflower, broccoli and peas

3 tbsp medium curry paste

1 (200g) sachet of cooked basmati rice

3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

50g pomegranate seeds

Method:

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok. Add the onions and a pinch of salt, then cook over a medium heat for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are golden brown.

Remove half the onions and set aside. Cook the remainder over a low heat until they are golden and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper.

Whilst you cook the onions, place the eggs in a small pan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil and cook for 5 mins. Drain the eggs, rinse in cold water, tapping the shells all over. When cool enough to handle, peel away the shells and set aside.

Return the soft onions to the pan with the ginger, garlic and curry paste and cook over a medium heat, stirring for a few seconds. Add the roasted meat, vegetables and rice with 4 tbsp water.

Continue to cook, stirring frequently to mix everything together until all the ingredients are piping hot. Stir in half the coriander and season to taste.

Transfer to a serving platter topped with the crispy fried onions, remaining coriander and pomegranate seeds. Cut the eggs in half and place on top. They should still be slightly soft inside.

Cooks tip: Use up your Sunday roast leftovers in this quick supper dish. You could use roasted lamb, beef, chicken or turkey, which ever you have left over. Break it into bite sized pieces.

Lemony hot cross bun pudding

A zesty take on a classic, our lemony hot cross pudding has just the right amount of sweetness, perfectly complimented by the sourness from the lemons.

Serves: 6

Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

5 medium eggs

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

4 tbsp lemon curd

4 tbsp caster sugar

150ml single cream

200ml milk

4 hot cross buns

2 tsp Demerara sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas mark 6. In a large jug, beat the eggs, lemon zest, lemon curd and sugar together until smooth. Add single cream and milk and mix well.

Slice the hot cross buns vertically. Place all the end pieces over the base of a 1.2L shallow ovenproof dish. Neatly arrange the other slices on top, then drizzle over the lemon juice.

Pour the egg mixture over the sliced buns, then use a fork to lightly press the bread so that it soaks up the custard mix. Leave to stand for 5 minutes.

Place the dish in a roasting tin, then pour boiling water from a kettle around the dish to come halfway up the outside. Scatter the Demerara sugar on top of the pudding then bake for 25 minutes or until set with a slight wobble and the top is golden.

Remove from the roasting tin and serve warm with a little more cream poured over.

Sunny egg, tomato and pepper pizzas

Let eggs take centre stage in these tomato and pepper pizzas and what’s more they take less than 10 mins to cook.

Serves: 2

Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 6-8 mins

Ingredients:

6 tbsp tomato pasta sauce

8 pitted green or black olives

6 cherry tomatoes

2 wholemeal tortilla wraps

2 eggs

50g grated Cheddar and mozzarella cheese

1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into sticks

Method:

Preheat the oven to 220C/ Fan 200C / Gas Mark 6. Lightly oil a large baking tray big enough to hold two tortilla wraps.

Put the pasta sauce in a bowl. Roughly chop the olives, cut the tomatoes into quarters then stir both into the pasta sauce.

Spoon half the pasta sauce mixture over the two tortillas, then use a spoon to spread it to the edges leaving a 3cm clear border. Use a spoon to make a hollow in the centre of the sauce and crack in an egg.

Scatter half the cheese around the egg, covering the sauce, then lay pepper sticks around the egg. Bake in the oven for 6-8minutes or until the egg has set. Leave to cool slightly before transferring to plates to eat.

Easter bunny crumpets

Playing around with different coloured veggies to create cute faces is a clever way to get the kids eating a more nutritious Easter option this year.

Serves: 2

Prep: 5-8 mins | Cook: 15 mins

Ingredients:

2 crumpets

2 medium British Lion Eggs

Ground black pepper

½ tsp dried oregano or mixed herbs

1 tsp olive oil

25g grated cheddar or mozzarella

Toppings of your choice such as sliced olives, sliced mushroom, peppers etc

Small bunch of chives

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas mark 6. Crack the eggs into a jug. Add a little black pepper and the herbs, then use a fork to beat everything together.

Pour ½ tsp of olive oil into two little ovenproof dishes (12-16cm across) and brush it around the base and sides. Place a crumpet in each dish then pour an equal amount of eggs over each crumpet so it fills up the holes. Leave it to soak in for at least 5 minutes.

Sprinkle grated cheese over the crumpets. Next, decorate each with your choice of toppings to make ‘Easter Bunny’ faces. When you’re done, stand the dishes on a baking tray and carefully put in the oven.

Bake for 15 minutes until the egg has set and the crumpets are golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes.

Use the chives to make ‘whiskers’ then they’re ready to serve.

Spinach and egg burgers

Eggs are a great alternative source of protein to meat, so swap your regular burger for these spinach and egg burgers.

Serves: 4

Prep time: 10 mins| Cook time: 15-20 mins

Ingredients:

250g potatoes, peeled

4 spring onions, finely sliced

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 (80g) bag spinach

4 large eggs

Salt and ground black pepper

Pinch of dried chilli flakes (optional)

4 brioche burger buns

To finish, your choice of:

Tomato chutney or relish

Little gem lettuce,

Sliced tomatoes and red onion

Sliced gherkins

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas mark 6. Carefully butter the inside of a 4-hole Yorkshire pudding tin and stand it on a metal baking sheet.

Coarsely grate the potatoes. Heat a non-stick frying pan then add the oil, followed by the potatoes. Cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Roughly chop the spinach on a board, then stir into the potatoes with the spring onions and garlic. Increase the heat and continue to cook until the leaves are wilted and most of the liquid has evaporated.

Remove from the heat and season well with salt and pepper and chilli. Crack the eggs into a large jug, then beat together using a wire whisk or fork, add the potato mixture and stir well.

Divide the mixture between the four holes in the tin and bake for 15-20 minutes until the burgers are golden.

Remove from the oven, loosen the edges with a palette knife and leave to cool slightly.

Toast the inside of the buns then fill with the spinach and egg burger along with your favourite burger ingredients.

For hundreds more quick, easy recipes to transform the great British egg into delicious meals, visit the British Lion Eggs website, here.