Home chef shares three simple ways to give stale bread a delicious second life: 'No more throwing it out'

Don't toss that stale bread — there's so much you can do with it.

The scoop

Rebs (@rebslightbody) posted a video to Instagram with three quick and delicious recipes that will give your stale bread a second life. 

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"Fight food waste and use these 3 tips to use up your stale bread," Rebs wrote in the post's description.

Rebs shared how to make crostini for dipping, pizza toast, and breadcrumbs with your stale bread, and they only take a few minutes to make.

"I put [the bread] in the air fryer. I only do five minutes, and they come out super tasty and crunchy and are great for dipping," she explained, demonstrating how to season the thin bread slices with olive oil and herbs. 

"Next, I have these pizza subs. Just top with some tomato paste, cheese, and whatever other toppings you want," she continued. 

"And lastly, just simple bread crumbs," Rebs said while putting a stale loaf in a food processor. "These are fantastic to keep in your freezer and are great for cooking."  

How it's helping

Food waste is really bad for your wallet. The U.S Department of Agriculture reported that every year, "the average American family of four loses $1,500 to uneaten food." 

This hack provides a budget-friendly alternative to buying those items separately, though, and helps you minimize your food waste — which is not great for the environment.

🗣️ If you compost your food scraps, what's your primary motivation?

🔘 Improving my garden's soil 🌱

🔘 Saving money on fertilizer 💰

🔘 Helping the planet 🌎

🔘 I don't compost 🚫

🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind

According to the World Wildlife Fund, "In the U.S. alone, the production of lost or wasted food generates the equivalent of 32.6 million cars' worth of [planet-warming pollution]."

This is preventable if we shop smarter. Thankfully, there are many organizations dedicated to helping you reduce food waste and save money. Too Good To Go, for example, allows businesses to list and sell their unsold food at discounted prices. Flashfood provides major savings on food approaching its expiration date.

So if you're ready to save more money, read our guide to change how you buy, cook, eat, and reuse food.

What everyone's saying

Other Instagrammers loved the recipes and were eager to try them out.

"I have a lot of bread like this [that] I need a use for," one user said.

Another user recommended even more recipes that could incorporate leftover bread: "[Ribollita] or Pappa al Pomodoro are great as well."

"Perfect!!! No more throwing it out!" someone else wrote. 

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