What to Do with Your Fourth of July Leftovers

No matter how much you love America, no matter how hard your guests belt out the National Anthem, no matter how sparkly your sparklers or sticky your popsicles, there’s a very real chance you’ll have Fourth of July leftovers. Don’t take it personally―or as a reflection of your cooking. We’ll all have leftovers this July 5th. That’s kind of part of the tradition of almost any American holiday: once a year we all shop like mad for the same ingredients, buy far too many of them, and grow almost instantaneously tired of looking at them in our pantries and fridges. 

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Fear not: this year, we thought ahead. Especially since so many of us are budgeting but still want to throw a bit of a party (indoors or out), we’re extra keen to use up every last scrap of our (epic) Fourth of July feast. So whether it’s too many leftover hot dogs, a mini mountain of unused hamburger buns, or too much corn still on the actual cob, here are just a few ways to repurpose all those patriotic leftovers.

Summer Corn Salad

As a nation we get a bit…overzealous about our corn―gathering around giant bins of unpeeled corn, inspecting ear by ear like mad scientists. And yet, somehow, we always end up with extra. Look no further than a summer corn salad. It’s super simple, super flexible, and you can add basically whatever you want to it. Some easy suggestions that you probably already have laying around after your BBQ: fresh tomato, onion, oil and vinegar, as well as any other veggies you want to dump in there will give you an easy meal perfect for hot summer days.

Hamburger Bun Bread Pudding

It’s a sad, sad thing to open the pantry and see that plastic bag of leftover hamburger (or hot dog) buns looking so meatless and alone. But the thing about bread is… it’s flexible. Before the buns turn stale, transform them into a simple dessert. Your favorite bread pudding recipe is perfect here, but the basics are: throw in some eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar, and butter and you’ve got yourself an easy custard. Tear up your buns, pour the custard on top, bake, and boom―bread pudding.

Mediterranean Chicken Salad

When I was a kid these skewers of chicken drenched in Italian dressing seemed like magic to me. They still kind of are. They’re easy to make in quantity―meaning, you’ll probably have even more leftovers. Luckily for all of us, chicken is easy to repurpose. There’s no pressure to make anything from scratch here either: toss your favorite Italian seasoning or dressing with those leftover veggies and dinner is served.

Summer (Berry) Pudding

Sure, we pretend we’re gonna eat the red and blue berries on the Fourth of July table, but as the s’mores goo runs down our chins, it’s okay to accept that we may have leftover berries. Fortunately there’s an easy (no bake, truly, almost no attention required) fix: do like the Brits do and make a summer pudding. Maybe it’s a little un-patriotic of us to suggest a British tradition so soon after America’s 250th birthday, but this is so simple we had to include it here. All you need is some soft white bread, your leftover berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries―whatever you have is gonna be good here), and sugar. You don’t even need to bake this. Throw it in the fridge and you’ll have a dessert worthy of all the whipped cream you’re gonna add to the top.