How to make use of holiday leftovers is something we all struggle with. How many hot turkey or ham and cheese sandwiches can you eat? Let’s not forget that after weeks of decorating, baking, shopping, and general preparing, we’re tried and want some easy options for dinner. That’s why today we are sharing a super simple creamy gluten-free leftover pasta recipe with you.
Know that this creamy gluten-free leftover pasta recipe is easily adaptable to a number of leftovers. So you can make this recipe using ham, chicken, turkey, or a meat replacement as your protein. The vegetables are also super easy to adapt- so you increase what you have and make this dish that will wow any crowd. Let’s not forget you could skip the meat entirely and make this as a vegetarian offering.
Our recipe was inspired by eatinghealthyspendingless.com.
Creamy Gluten-Free Leftover Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
•1 package (approximately 400g) gluten-free pasta of your choice.
•2 Tbsp. butter
•1 onion, diced
•1 shallot, minced
•3-4 cups chopped ham (or turkey, or chicken, or meat substitute)
•2 cup frozen peas
•4 Tbsp. corn starch
•3 cups milk
•1 cup grated aged white cheddar cheese
•salt and pepper
Directions
•Dice onion and set aside.
•Mince shallot and set aside
•Chop ham and set aside
•Grate aged cheddar cheese and set aside
•Put pot of salted water on stove and bring to a boil.
•While water is coming to a boil, get a separate pot and melt butter.
•Once butter is melted, cook onion and shallots until tender.
•Put ham (or protein) in with the onion and shallot mixture and heat through.
•In a mixing bowl, whisk corn starch and milk together and add to the ham. On medium low heat the milk through, until it starts to thicken. Stirring constantly.
•Cook the pasta in the boiling water. We recommend slightly undercooking your pasta at this stage. You want just slightly firmer than you would usually enjoy.
•Once the milk mixture has thickened add in the frozen peas and stir. Allow to cook for two minutes then add in aged cheese. Allow the cheese to melt and mix well.
•Add in salt and pepper to taste.
•Using a measuring cup scoop out 1-2 cups of pasta water and set aside. Then, drain pasta and add it to the creamy sauce mixture.
•Toss pasta with the sauce allowing the pasta to finish cooking for a minute or two so it can adsorb and incorporate into the sauce.
•Serve and enjoy. You can always top it with extra grated cheddar or Parmesan cheese.
Tips
If your pasta get too thick after it has sat on the table add in a little of your reserved pasta water to thin it out without adding more milk. If you have leftovers, add in some pasta water before putting it away, so the dish won’t be dry when you reheat it. Only use as much pasta water as you feel you need. There is no need to use all that you have set aside.
When it comes to gluten-free pasta I prefer Rummo or Catelli brand. Though both President’s Choice and Great Value also make excellent gluten-free pastas. You can use long or short pasta depending on what you have on hand with this recipe. The pasta in the picture is Rumo Mezzi Rigatoni No.51. To me, the Rummo cooks the most like traditional pasta and doesn’t fall apart like other (corn based) gluten-free pastas.
As stated earlier, you can adapt this dish with any cheese or vegetable that you have on hand. Simply sauté your vegetables in the early stage after you’ve cooked your onions and shallots. This pasta has worked well with mushrooms, broccoli, and asparagus ( not all together)… so the sky is the limit with this easily adaptable recipe. I added the frozen peas in later because I didn’t want them to get mushy- as frozen peas tend to do. If I had fresh peas, I would have added them in earlier with the ham so they would have time to cook though.
This recipe will feed about four people so you can easily boil two packages of pasta if need be to feed more people. Also, you can up the meat and vegetables to cut back on your pasta consumption, but keep the dish filling.
So there you have it, an easy creamy gluten-free leftover pasta recipe you can toss together any time of the year that uses up what you have on hand. Enjoy!
Do you have any favourite easy leftover recipes ?
Did you give this recipe a try?
Leave us a comment below letting us know what you think.