How many days in a row can you go for the same leftovers?

[True Dough]

I enjoy a fresh-cooked meal and I'm happy to have leftovers one more time within the next day or two. That's it. If there's more, it can be frozen.

My wife, on the other hand, can cook a big batch of something on the weekend and then happily take that meal to work almost every day for the week. Too much repetition for me.

How about you?

[Marthe48]

1. 3 days

I need to limit the amount. If I cook something I really like, all I want to do is eat it till its gone. I make soup pretty often. I like soup, but not obsessively. It'll last 3 days.

OTOH, I make cereal a bowl at a time, because it sogs.

[True Dough]

3. Speaking of "sogs,"

I prefer fruit pie when it reaches the soggy stage. As a teen, sometimes my mom would bake two pies for occasions and the second pie would only get half eaten. By day 3 of 4, the blueberry or apple pie was soggy and no one else in our immediate family would be interested in eating anymore.

That's when I'd sit down with a fork and go to town!

[3catwoman3]

6. Oh, me too! The bottom crust saturated with the juice from the filling...

…is the best part of pie. And I vastly prefer the top crust to be on the pale side.

When I watch the The Great British Baking Show and hear the judges comment that a pastry is “underbaked,” I know I would think it was just right.

[True Dough]

19. Cheers!

[catbyte]

2. It depends, but for stuff like

soup, meatless lasagna, and tacos, about 5 days. I haven't gotten sick yet!

[3catwoman3]

4. If there's something I really like, I can happily enjoy it at least 3 days...

…in a row, maybe more. I don’t require variety.

Is this any different than having a favorite sandwich that you make every day? Mine is smoked salmon on a Brownberry slim with just enough mayo and lots of capers. And I can eat potato chips every day.

[True Dough]

20. But are you eating the same flavor and brand of chips daily,

or do you mix it up?

[3catwoman3]

25. I do buy a couple of different brands, but pretty much prefer...

…just traditional salt or salt and black pepper. I don’t go for all the dill pickle, jalapeño, onion, etc varieties. I’ll take mine “straight no chaser” so to speak.

Current fav is Kettle brand crinkle cut with Himalayan pink salt. Costco has a 2 pound bag which lasts a few days - 😋

[malaise]

5. Three

Although it depends on the dish.

I never cook every day.

[3catwoman3]

9. I have a magnet on our refrigerator that says...

Last edited Tue Feb 10, 2026, 10:14 AM - Edit history (1)

…”My favorite thing to make for dinner is reservations.”

We just found a takeout only Thai restaurant conveniently near by that serves with a very generous hand, and we typically get 3 meals out of a single dish. Shrimp pad thai 3 days running is just fine with me. Bring it on!

[malaise]

13. You win the thread

The thing is I am a very good cook. I also know exactly what’s in the food I cook.
I do like eating out but I love my own cooking.

Example. One of my siblings only buys sea salt. So do I, but her cupboard is full of celery salt, garlic salt, etc. none of which include sea salt.
I only use fresh garlic and grate or blend fresh celery.

[3catwoman3]

17. My husband is half Italian from his dad's side, and we lo-o-o-o-o-ove garlic.

If a recipe calls for 2 cloves, we will use at least 6.

I like Himalayan pink salt. I mix it 50/50 with regular Morton's salt to make sure we're getting iodine.

[malaise]

18. LOL

I only use sea salt

[Lochloosa]

26. Well. You have plenty of that.

[QED]

28. All salt is sea salt!

[no_hypocrisy]

7. Depends on the recipe

[Woodwizard]

8. I am the main cook.

Most meals I make last 3 days. But I could eat some of my dishes longer but my wife likes more variety.

My chilli with our local beef I could eat just about every day.

[hunter]

10. Until they are all gone.

My wife disagrees.

When I was a kid we once lived without a refrigerator for a year. My parents had to make sure we wouldn't have leftovers that required refrigeration. That usually meant cooking a little less of the main meal so that all of it was eaten, and then if we were still hungry we'd have foods that did not require refrigeration, for example bread rolls and cheese. When we had pigs dealing with leftovers was easy.

[tanyev]

34. Yep. No food waste and every day of leftovers is a day I don't have to cook.

[MiHale]

11. Depending on what is leftover...

It’s one of my favorite times in cooking. I liken it to jazz…variations on a theme. Cooking for two leaves a lot of room for leftovers…keeping it interesting is the hard part. But in answer to your question probably 3x … 2x if some sort of casserole. Soups we don’t consider leftovers so as many dinners and lunches as we can get….usually make about 6-7 quarts of various soups.

[FoxNewsSucks]

12. I've made things out of week-old leftovers

I don't mind having the same exact dish a few days. So when I cook, I usually plan to have enough lunch or dinner for 2-3 more days. If I can't make a smaller portion of the recipe, I just give half of a big pot of soup or half a casserole to someone from work.

I bring my restaurant leftovers home and use it to make other things. Sometimes I'll have 4 or 5 go-boxes in my refrigerator after a road trip. French fries make a good hash, I cook some garlic, serano, onion and other veg, add some meat, leftover fries, top it with cheese and when the cheese melts into the slop, I put a fried egg on it. It's good with mexican or italian seasonings and cheese.

So then if I use the same leftovers for 2-3 days, I'm not having the exact same dish

[Harker]

14. I cook and eat mostly Asian dishes that don't hold over well.

If I make a soup, ratatouille, vegan shepherd's pie, chili, etc., then I'm content with leftovers for lunch for a few days, but I'll usually fiddle with spices or add another little something on the side to change it up.

[True Dough]

22. Ratatouille

Even if people aren't fond of the taste or texture, it's one of the best names for a dish, IMO. Thanks to the French!

[Harker]

24. Mine's always rat-free!

[marigold20]

15. two more days

Generally, we freeze the leftovers.

[Emile]

16. Chili just keeps getting better as it ages. I

can go 4 days easy with chili. Leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, 3 days max.

[Goonch]

27. ;-{) Chili daily ditto.....

[Sailingdiver]

21. 2 or 3 days

After that, I'm pretty tired of the leftovers.

[quaint]

23. I cook for one but usually prepare for more, depending.

Anything over two meals gets frozen or cooked into something different.
I love food. I love to cook. I really love to eat.
It's every other step in the prep, clean, cook, clean, eat clean, sequence I could do without.

[pandr32]

29. It really depends for me.

I can make pizzas and leave them in the fridge to grab and reheat-then-eat for days. Yum. Also, things like salsa and oven roasted cherry tomatos, but a dish? You are quite right--it is boring. When I make a lasagna or some other dish that will certainly be too much to eat, I freeze it in individual portions.
When the day has been busy and there is little time or energy left to prep a meal I can reach in the large freezer and grab from a variety of choices.
Perhaps your wife doesn't mind repetition?

[Luciferous]

30. 2-3 days, but it also depends on what it is.

[eppur_se_muova]

31. Are we talking chocolate leftovers ?

We never have those.

[True Dough]

32. There's nothing worse

than chocolate that melts and then evaporates into thin air!

[NNadir]

33. My wife is an outstanding cook. She sometimes cooks up a week supply of stuff on the weekend.

This week it was her lentil soup with pasta. I will eat it every night until it runs out, which it will probably do by tomorrow.

[OldBaldy1701E]

35. I was raised too poor to be that picky.

I am too poor to be that way now.

I eat what is available. If it is a week of mayonnaise sandwiches, then so be it. Spoonfuls of ketchup? Better than nothing. Cheese toast? a splurge!

There are people out there with nothing to eat, so I count myself lucky that I have that, at least. I don't fret over being 'bored' with my food.