What to Do with Leftover Hamburger Buns (4 Tasty Ideas)

Share this post:

Do you find yourself with a bunch of leftover hamburger buns, and you aren’t quite sure what to do with them? Perhaps you made cheeseburgers, but you had far more buns than burgers, or maybe you bought them thinking that you would use them for something specific, but you never came around to it.

Whatever is the case, if you have leftover buns, there are several ways to use them before they start getting stale or moldy. This article will provide you with a few ideas for you to start thinking about what to do with those leftover buns.

Keeping Your Buns Fresh

Before we delve into ways that you can use your leftover hamburger buns, let’s take a look at how you can keep them fresh for longer. This is some great knowledge to have if you do not plan on using them right away.

Firstly, keep in mind that you should store your hamburger buns in a cool, dry, dark place. Moisture is mold growth’s best friend.

One big mistake that people make with buns and bread is they put them on top of the fridge. Since your fridge and other appliances let off heat, this is not a good spot for your buns.

Instead, you should keep them in a bread box, in your cabinet, or you can put them in a container or reusable bread bag. You also have the option of wrapping them in aluminum foil or plastic wrap.

If you would like to use your buns more than a few days into the future, you can wrap them up and put them in your freezer. Simply thaw them out in a microwave or on your counter when you would like to use them.

Ways to Use Your Buns

Now that you know how to store your buns until you are able to use them, let’s take a look at just how you can utilize your leftover hamburger buns.

This article will provide you with recipes for a delicious berry-filled bread pudding, an herb-packed bread stuffing, crispy croutons, and a simple crumb coating.

It all begins with the bread pudding.

1 – Double-Berry Bread Pudding With Ice Cream

This bread pudding is an excellent recipe to use your leftover hamburger buns in. You probably already have most, if not all, of these ingredients already in your kitchen.

Here is what you need:

• 1 pound of leftover buns
• ¼ cup turbinado sugar
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 cups whole milk
• ⅔ cup + ¼ cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups blueberries and raspberries
• Whipped cream
• 1 or 2 scoops of French vanilla ice cream

1. The first thing that you should do is preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, grease a baking dish that measures 8 by 11 inches using unsalted butter, and sprinkle the turbinado sugar into the dish.

2. After that, put your heavy whipping cream, ⅔ cup of your sugar, the whole milk, and salt into a pan over the stove. Bring it to a simmer over medium heat.

3. After it begins to simmer, set the pan aside and pull out a mixing bowl. Put your eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla extract in the bowl, and mix them together using a whisk.

4. Once it is combined, slowly add the cream mixture from your pan, using your whisk to stir it up while adding it. After it is all combined, use a fine strainer to strain the mixture into a bowl.

5. Place your berries in a separate bowl along with two tablespoons of sugar, and shake it around to coat the berries. Smash the berries after this, and set them aside for about five minutes.

6. Next, dice your buns into half-inch cubes, add them to your strained custard mixture, and fold the smashed berries into it. Put the mixture into your baking dish, and use the remaining sugar to sprinkle on top of it.

7. Put aluminum foil over your dish, and after the oven is preheated, bake it for 45 minutes. Remove it from the oven, take off the foil, and put it toward the top of the oven for another 20 minutes, or until it is lightly browned.

8. Let your broiler preheat, and put it in there for another five minutes. It should be golden brown when you remove it.

Let it cool, and add your ice cream and whipped cream. Enjoy!

2 – Herb-Filled Bread Stuffing

This yummy bread — or bun, rather — stuffing is full of flavorful garlic and onion, and it also features celery as well as your leftover hamburger buns.

Believe it or not, if your buns are stale, it can work out better for this recipe. You can also toast your buns if they are not stale yet, or you can wait a couple of days.

You can also use a combination of both stale or toasted buns and softer ones. It is up to your personal texture preference.

Here are the ingredients that you will need for this recipe:

• 1½ pounds diced leftover buns
• 3 cups diced sweet onion
• 2 cups diced celery
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 6 cloves minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 2½ cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 2 eggs
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

1. First, you should preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and then grease a baking dish that is 9 by 13 inches. Next, put your diced buns into a bowl, and set it aside for now.

2. Put the cup of butter into a saucepan over medium to high heat. After it has completely melted, add the garlic, onion, and celery, as well as the salt and pepper.

3. Cook the mixture on the stovetop for eight to ten minutes or until the onion and celery have softened. Next, add the rosemary and parsley.

4. Next, cook it for another minute, and then pour in a cup of the stock and stir the mixture. Once it is all combined, pour it over the diced buns, then shake the bowl to get the buns coated well.

5. Take out a different bowl, and mix in what is left of the stock and two eggs. Once you have whisked this well, pour it over the buns.

6. Put your baking dish into the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes. If it starts to get a little burned on top, you can place some aluminum foil loosely over the top to shield it from the heat.

After it has cooled, you can gobble it up.

3 – Crispy Croutons

A very simple recipe to use with your leftover hamburger buns is one for croutons. These are so easy to make and can be thrown on your salad or in a soup.

Take a look at the ingredients, which aren’t many:

• 4 cups diced leftover buns
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt

1. As with all of the recipes included, first you need to preheat your oven. Set it to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Put your diced buns, garlic powder, and salt into a bowl. While you mix these ingredients, slowly pour the olive oil on top of the buns.

Keep mixing up the buns and oil until they have soaked up the olive oil.

3. Once your ingredients are combined and after your oven has finished preheating, spread the oily buns out onto a baking sheet, and put it into your oven for about ten minutes or until they are golden brown and crunchy.

Take them out, and use them as you wish.

4 – Bun Crumb Coating

Here is the easiest recipe that you can use for your leftover buns. You really only need your buns, but you can also pick out any herbs you wish to mix into the breading, such as oregano or garlic salt.

You can either toast your buns, or you can throw them in your oven until they are crispy enough to break into crumbs, which should take about 10 minutes with your oven set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once they are ready, you can either break them into crumbs by hand or use a food processor. Next, throw in any herbs that you want to add to the crumbs.

Now, your coating is ready for you to use. This breading goes great on fish, chicken, pork, or just about anything that you can think of.

Final Thoughts

Now that you know of a few ways to use your leftover hamburger buns, there is no reason not to do so. There is no sense in throwing away some extra buns when you can make such a tasty dessert, such as the bread pudding detailed above.

In fact, after reading about these recipes, you are probably going to find excuses to have some leftover hamburger buns sitting around. It only will leave you with a great excuse to make some savory bread stuffing as a side for your next dinner.

Share this post: