11 Ways to Glam Up Your Leftover Pasta

Before you throw your leftover pasta into another casserole or stir fry, read this. Your pasta deserves better. Try rolling last night’s macaroni and cheese into a ball and deep frying it or slathering it on top of a pizza. Yeah, it’s a little crazy, but it’s also crazy delicious. Read on for the best ways to give that plain pasta sitting in your fridge a major makeover.

Leftover Pasta Fritters

No, these aren’t your everyday latkes. These crispy fritters can be made with any kind of leftover pasta. Just roughly chop cooked pasta and bind with eggs, breadcrumbs and cheese. (via Recipe Tin Eats)

Fried Tortellini With Creamy Marinara

Sharing a bowl of pasta with friends is a cinch with this recipe. Beware — you might *not* want to share. Next to a bowl of creamy marinara sauce for dipping, these fried tortellinis make for an appetizer that will get everyone dipping. (via Homemade Hooplah)

Fried Mac and Cheese

It’s a fact: deep frying any food makes it better. Such is the case with this mac and cheese. Think about that crunch you get from a mac and cheese bake with a breadcrumb topping. This is like that, except the crunch is in every bite. It’s crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside and oh-so satisfying. (via Spicy Southern Kitchen)

Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese Pizza

This food mash-up of pizza, mac and cheese and barbecue is every picky kid’s dream. Five dollars says it’s yours too. You just didn’t know it yet. Bonus: keep the meat off for vegetarian friends. (via Buns in My Oven)

Spaghetti Bolognese Calzone

Want some carbs with your carbs? DUH! This calzone lets you have your spaghetti and eat it too. It’s a smart and delicious solution to eating spaghetti bolognese on the go. You were looking for a solution, right? (via One Kitchen)

Mac Attack Burger

Say hello to the ramen burger‘s very American cousin, the mac attack burger. Macaroni and cheese is breaded and deep fried to earn its place as the righteous heir to the bun throne. (via Kirbie’s Cravings)

Spaghetti and Garlic Toast Grilled Cheese

There’s something that’s so wrong yet so right about this sandwich sloppily stuffed with spaghetti in red sauce, topped with a layer of cheese and toasted to gooey perfection. That’s probably why it’s so gratifying to devour. (via The Recipe Rebel)

Jalapeño Popper Mac and Cheese Brats

This spicy mac and cheese livens up a plain ol’ brat. Who needs sauerkraut when you’ve got a mac and cheese topping that tastes like a jalapeño popper? (via Melanie Makes)

Sweet Pasta Casserole

If you’re looking in your fridge for a sweet dessert and only finding pasta… that might be your dessert. This traditional Romanian dish might look like your ordinary mac and cheese casserole, but in one bite you’ll swear you’re eating a cheesecake from another dimension. It’s different, and different is good. (via A Little Sweet Life)

Timpana

This extremely comforting food that hails from Malta is essentially pasta pie. Yup, you heard right. Though it’s not a traditional version of the dish, it will certainly make you dream of lunching in the cozy turns and villages. (via Eat in My Kitchen)

Vermicelli Payasam

This Indian dessert is a tasty version of rice pudding. All you need is vermicelli, milk and sugar. To garnish, add dried fruit, nuts and cardamom if you’re feeling fancy, which you most likely are. (via Kitchen Chemistry)