How to Reduce Your Waste this Pancake Day 

Whether you like your pancake toppings savoury or sweet, they can be an indulgent treat. However, did you know people traditionally made pancakes on Shrove Tuesday to use up indulgent ingredients before fasting for lent? We love the less waste message. Here’s how to reduce your waste this Pancake Day.

Work Out Portion Sizes

You’ve found some amazing pancake topping ideas online. However, don’t get carried away and buy enough ingredients to feed an army. They’ll just go to waste. Work out how many pancakes you and the family will realistically eat and buy ingredients accordingly.

Reduce Your Waste by Freezing Your Leftovers

Pancakes will keep for months in the freezer. Separate them with greaseproof paper and place them into a freezer bag. This way they won’t stick together when the time comes to cook them. Just defrost and rewarm them any time you fancy a treat. In our humble opinion, pancakes topped with maple syrup and a side serving of bacon is a Sunday brunch to die for. 

Get the Most Out of Your Main Ingredients

If you want to reduce your waste on Pancake Day, start with your main ingredients.

Eggshells

Eggs are one of the main ingredients in pancakes. Lots of eggs mean lots of eggshells. Yes you can put them in your food caddy, however, they are also;

• A great addition to a compost heap. They decompose fast and contain lots of lovely minerals for your soil.
• A deterrent for slugs and snails. Just crush them and scatter them around your plants to keep pests from eating them.

Lemon Skins

Love a traditional sugar and lemon juice pancake topping? You might be left with lots of leftover lemon skins. Instead of dumping them in with the rubbish;

• Grate them to make zesty toppings for cakes;
• Place them in the bottom of your wheelie bin to keep it smelling fresh.

Got Leftovers? Reduce Your Waste on Pancake Day with these Recipes

Misjudged your portions and drowning in leftover pancakes? Why not try these easy recipes?

Quesadilla Pancakes

Pancakes. Mexican-inspired. Quick and easy. Great for kids. What’s not to love?

What you’ll need

• 2 red peppers, chopped into small pieces
• 140g Red Leicester cheese, grated
• 4 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
• 8 pre-made pancakes
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 400g can kidney beans, drained
• juice 1 lemon
• 1 red chilli, sliced (optional)
• 2 avocados, sliced
• 2 Little Gem lettuces, sliced

How to make it

Step 1

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4. Scatter the peppers, cheese, and coriander over four of the pancakes. Season and cover each pancake with another one to make a sandwich. Place the quesadilla pancakes on baking sheets. Cook for about 5 mins (or until the cheese starts melting) in the oven.

Step 2

Heat the butter in a saucepan. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the cumin and beans. Stir the mixture for 2 mins then mash it. Season well and stir through half of the lemon juice. Spoon it into a serving dish and top it with the chilli. Toss the avocado with the rest of the lemon juice. Serve the quesadillas with beans, lettuce, and avocado.

Mini Muffins

Got extra pancake batter? Save it from the bin and reduce your waste this pancake day by making these tasty muffins. Here’s what you need to do:

• Add a cup of sugar, a cup of oil, and three cups of milk to your batter. It should look like a runny cake mix. If your batter looks thin, add some flour to thicken it up.
• Add blueberries or chocolate chips to the batter.
• Grease a muffin tray or line it with cupcake paper. Pour batter into each space.
• Bake the muffins on a medium heat.

If your muffins are small, they’ll be done in as little as 15 minutes.

Bon Appetit! For more interesting articles on reducing waste and sustainability, check out the rest of our blog.