666 stale recipes

Chinese shrimp balls (pai chiao hsia chiu) rolled in stale bread cubes and double-fried until shatteringly crisp. Served with Sichuan pepper-salt dip. 30 pieces.

Add some sophistication to your dinners with this scrumptious pasta dish you will love.

Turn stale bread into chewy, cinnamon-spiced cookies packed with plump raisins and crunchy nuts. Breadcrumb cookies are a clever zero-waste baking trick your grandma probably knew.

Homemade garlic croutons baked from thick slices of stale French bread brushed with crushed garlic and olive oil. Large, golden, and crunchy with real garlic flavor in every bite.

Pear bread pudding with rum-soaked raisins, butter-sauteed pears, and a rich egg custard baked until golden. An autumn dessert that turns stale bread and ripe pears into something extraordinary.

Herbed whole wheat bread crumbs use up stale bread with basil, thyme, chervil, garlic, and shallot. A pantry-saver that beats every store-bought crumb on flavor, freezer-friendly for months.

Bread cakes made from soaked stale bread mixed with flour and a whipped egg white, cooked on a hot griddle like pancakes. A Depression-era recipe that turns leftover bread into breakfast.

To Do Tarts: small pecan cookies bound with ground stale bread, orange zest, and stiffly beaten egg white. Five-ingredient nut cookies with no flour and no butter, ready in 30 minutes.

Chilled pappa al pomodoro with crab meat crostini, a Tuscan bread-and-tomato soup served cold with a lemony crab-topped baguette float. An elegant no-cook summer appetizer that turns stale bread into something special.

Broken corn tortillas layered with chicken, Rotel tomatoes, melted Velveeta, and sour cream, baked into a bubbling Tex-Mex casserole that feeds eight. Big flavor, minimal effort.

Beer and cheese soup blends sharp cheddar with a bottle of ale, mirepoix, mustard, Tabasco, and Worcestershire. A Wisconsin tavern classic with a velvety bite of malty heat.

When making that famous chicken dinner, try this delicious stuffing that's extremely easy to make!

Smoky corn and zucchini au gratin with chipotle peppers, Monterey Jack cheese, and a crunchy tortilla-cheese topping. A spicy Mexican-inspired vegetable casserole baked golden.

Diet blueberry bread pudding made with fresh blueberries, diet bread, skim evaporated milk, and minimal sugar. A lighter take on classic bread pudding with bright berry flavor.

Old-fashioned scalloped oysters layered between buttery bread and saltine crumbs, moistened with oyster liquor and cream, then baked until golden. A classic holiday seafood casserole with a crisp top and plump, tender oysters.

Make-ahead bread pudding layered with currants and soaked overnight in vanilla-nutmeg custard, then baked golden and served with a fresh homemade strawberry sauce. A gorgeous holiday dessert.