Planned Leftovers: Pot Roast Redux
Nothing makes for a better Sunday dinner than a delicious, slow simmered pot roast. What makes it even better is knowing that pot roast is going to be the base for a quick weeknight meal as well. Planning for leftovers, either for lunches or as additional meals, is a great way to stretch your budget and your time. The next time you are buying a chuck roast, get one just slightly larger. Once prepared, reserve the extra portion before serving so no one is tempted into seconds or thirds. Cube the leftover beef and store it in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to use it as a base for this delicious soup.
This recipe is adapted from a recipe my mother-in-law created to use up her leftover roast beef. This is a great soup for winter: warming and hearty. If you don’t have any leftover roast on hand you can also make it with precooked roast beef from the grocery store.
Beef and Mushroom Soup
serves 4, prep 5 min, cook time 30 min- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 40 oz. beef broth
- 2 cups cooked roast beef, cubed
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- baguette, sliced thin
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- Melt butter in soup pot. Add onions, garlic, and mushrooms.
- Saute over medium high until mushrooms and onions are browned, immediately deglaze the pan with wine.
- Scrap the bottom of the pot and add beef broth. Bring to a boil.
- Stir in cooked roast beef and simmer.
- In a small sauce pan melt 2 tbsp butter. Sprinkle with flour and cook, stirring frequently until flour is golden and lightly browned.
- Stir small amounts of cooked flour into boiling soup until desired thickness.
- Cook a few additional minutes, season with salt and pepper.
- While soup is cooking, preheat oven to 400°F. Melt some butter in a shallow dish or plate.
- Dip one side of each baguette slice in melted butter then place butter side up on a baking sheet.
- Place baking sheet in oven until bread slices are golden, approximately 10 minutes.
- Flip the slices and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella, salt and pepper.
- Return to the oven until cheese is melted.
- Serve soup topped with additional shredded cheese and a couple of toasts.
You can also prepare this soup and store it in individual servings in the freezer. Heated in the microwave, it makes for a great quick lunch.
November 15th, 2008 at 10:36 am
Yes, Sunday and pot roast are like PB&J.
Funny too because I use the juice/stock of my potroast as a base for my chili…it makes a great recipe.
Love this idea.
November 16th, 2008 at 8:13 am
That looks so good!! The other thing I do with leftover pot roast is shred up the beef and stir it (and any leftover juices as well) into a basic tomato sauce – it makes a delicious and hearty ragu for cooked rigatoni. Top with some ricotta and bake for 15 minutes at 400.
November 16th, 2008 at 8:20 am
Wow, these are great ideas! Keep them coming, you can never have too many options for leftover roast!
November 16th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Wow! I really like how hearty it looks! I have no problem having this for a few days!
November 16th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
So luscious and rich looking; I remember Donna Hay did some stories of “one dish, four ways” where she did something like braised shanks, then did three variations of the leftovers. Looks like you’re just as inspired!
Love the idea of setting aside the leftovers to start.
November 16th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Katie, What a great meal this would be on a cold and windy day, like we had here in Chicago today. Rich and satisfying!
November 17th, 2008 at 7:40 am
Love the melted butter dipping technique. I’m a big fan of golden brown toasted bread with lots of fat on it. I’m very toasty and vicariously full now.
November 17th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I did something similar last night, making something that will serve as leftovers or a base for leftovers. To trim my budget, I am a huge fan of making stuff – usually soup – on Sunday that I can take with me all week to work.
Good stuff Katie!
November 19th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
wowzah’s! this is like a stew… looks so good.
November 20th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
That looks like a really tasty way to enjoy pot roast leftovers.
November 22nd, 2008 at 5:17 pm
oh my gawd yes. this looks so good. i want to put it all on a big slice of sourdough and go to town.
July 30th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Since I happen to have leftover pot roast in the fridge, and I wasn’t all that crazy about eating it, I’m glad that I found this post (and even happier that we have a cool summer day).
Love your blog, by the way! I’ve been making my way through all of your recipes and have added several to my list of dishes I want to make.
July 8th, 2018 at 2:33 am
[…] next stop for the pot roast leftovers was a pot roast mushroom soup that I had come across on chaos in the kitchen a while ago. I liked the sound of using the super […]