11 Meals That Taste Just As Good The Second Time Around

When you combine the right ingredients in these recipes, you'll have food that proves once just isn’t enough! Just like the Citi® Double Cash card earns you 1% when you buy and another 1% when you make a payment towards your purchases -- big or small.

1. Meat Loaf Leftovers

Courtesy of Heather Christo / heatherchristo.com

The perfect leftover food has a large number of ingredients that build on each other as they sit creating aromatic bliss. Enter meat loaf, arguably the perfect left over food.

Try it as a Meat Loaf Sandwich like the one above.

2. Hearty Stews and Soups

Courtesy of Lee Hersh / fitfoodiefinds.com

The broth is the most important part of any soup or stew. When saved in the refrigerator, broths have a greater chance of being absorbed by the soup/stew's chunky bits. This enhances flavor profile when you reheat them.

Get festive with this Sweet Potato Stew pictured above.

3. Beautiful Fruit Pies

Courtesy of Izy Hossack / topwithcinnamon.com

There's a bit of personal preference with fruit pies, but if you're looking to get the perfect slice (without any runny bits) it's best to let the pie sit before cutting into it. If your pie isn't eaten up instantly, it will hold its shape extremely well for some time at room temperature.

The Bumpy Cherry and Almond Pie is shown above.

4. Any and Every Chili

Courtesy of Katherine Martinelli / katherinemartinelli.com

Like meat loaf, chili is one of those great foods that combines an absurd amount of ingredients (which always produces leftovers no matter how precise the recipe). Refrigerated chili preserves and enhances all the different ingredients' flavors, allowing for that aromatic magic once reheated.

You can't go wrong with the Three-bean Chili recipe shown above.

5. Even More Perfect Pasta Sauce

Courtesy of Carrian at Oh, Sweet Basil / ohsweetbasil.com

Courtesy of Carrian at Oh, Sweet Basil / ohsweetbasil.com

Pasta dishes are often served in overwhelming portions. But one meal's stress is another meal's fortune. Leftover pasta sauce settles in the fridge and soaks into the pasta. When you reheat it every bite is more flavorful than it was the first time around.

Check out the Chicken Tortellini above.

6. Tabbouleh Salad

Courtesy of BudgetBytes.com / budgetbytes.com

Using the same logic as the pasta dish, when you save tabbouleh in the fridge, the acidity of the juice sinks into the grains and vegetables. When you dig the second time around, you'll find each bite has an explosion of flavor that wasn't there before.

Never heard of tabbouleh? Check out this recipe.

7. Saucy Meatballs

Courtesy of Jenny Flake / lovegrowswild.com

Like meat loaf, meatballs are made with great spices and herbs that create flavors which get better the longer they have time to develop. Match with a tasty sauce, and you have a delicious protein snack.

Try out these Florentine Meatballs above.

8. The Famous Cold Pizza

Courtesy of Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez / girlichef.com

It's a no-brainer that pizza is just as good, if not better, as a leftover. One reason is that the garlic creates unique aromatic notes the longer it mingles with the other ingredients in the sauce. The oil from the sauce and cheeses also preserves the pie so it doesn't get soggy.

This is a great homemade Pan Pizza recipe, for those brave enough to tackle that dough.

9. Cozy Casseroles

Courtesy of Yummy Healthy Easy / yummyhealthyeasy.com

By now you know that letting flavors soak into the veggies and starches of a dish makes it that much better the second time around. This is especially true of casseroles, which tend to have a lot of ingredients that can soak up those savory base sauces.

You can't go wrong with the Zucchini Casserole shown above.

10. Good on Ya, Lasagna

Courtesy of Lovely Little Kitchen / lovelylittlekitchen.com

Lasagna combines the benefits of pasta sauce marination with its multiple ingredients to create a powerhouse of aromatic flavor when reheated. It also stays intact in the fridge, making it a nice, neat, leftover meal!

Try the Spinach and Artichoke Chicken Lasagna pictured above.

11. Curry the Chameleon

Courtesy of SeasonWithSpice.com / blog.seasonwithspice.com

Anyone who's made curry knows that it requires an unreal amount of spices. When those spices settle with each other in the refrigerator, the flavors become more powerful and often sweeten overnight. This allows for a surprising yet pleasant leftover meal.

Try the Thai Green Curry recipe shown above.

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