It may not always feel like it when you’re four pancakes deep and have maple syrup all over the place, but Pancake Day is an event steeped in waste prevention… sort of.

The day’s proper name, Shrove Tuesday, comes from shrive, meaning absolution for sins by doing penance, with Christians trying to be 'shriven' before the 40 days of fasting or similar exhibition of discipline that takes place during Lent.

The pancake’s association with the day came much later as a way of using up rich foods, like eggs, milk and sugar before Lent, when people would deny themselves such luxuries and would otherwise have to consign them to the food waste bin (or relevant disposal unit of the time).

And so, in the spirit of the holiday, we’ve brought together some nifty recipes to help you use up leftovers or bits and bobs you may have lurking around the home.

Bon appetite!

Leftover squash pancake

Jamie Oliver has a solution for you if you’re struggling to get rid of that butternut squash in the veg rack. Within 15 minutes, you can turn a roasted squash into a nifty Pancake Day dinner topped with grated cheese (above). And only 79 calories per pancake (if made to the regulation size, of course)!

The recipe can be found at jamieoliver.com.

Cheesy mashed potato pancakes

If you like to break with tradition, prefer a thicker, American-style ’cake, and happen to have some mash lying around then why not give these things a go?

Justataste.com says that about 500 grammes of leftover mash can make about 12 pancakes, ready to go in 25 minutes (including prep). You can bung in any little bits and pieces of veg that you have in your fridge and top it all off with a dollop of sour cream for a Pancake Day like no other.

Find the recipe for mashed potato pancakes at justataste.com.

Sparkly wine pancakes

Oh no. You’ve promised yourself that this year you won’t touch a drop of alcohol for Lent, but it’s Tuesday evening and you’ve just cracked open a bottle of fizz.

Well, worry not. America comes to the rescue again. About a third of that bottle – 200ml of wine/champagne – and some strawberries can be used to make some fluffy pancakes that won’t see you pouring the bubbles down the drain.

The recipe can be found on allrecipes.com.

Cream of leftovers pancakes

If your vegetable drawer is heaving with things you’re just not going to fit into a recipe and you have a food processor to hand, then this hot pot pancake of broccoli, onions, potatoes, rice, tomato, cheese, kitchen sink could be a winner.

The recipe is available on commonsensehome.com.

Lots of ideas from Love Food Hate Waste

Not content with coming up with one way to make the most of your pancakes, WRAP has a whole list of them on its Love Food Hate Waste site.

It seems that anything you have for dinner could be used to create a savoury reimagination of the next day’s pancakes: leftover bolognaise for a mince pancake, pesto, ham and leftover vegetables for a lovely green pancake or you could even try making a chicken stir fry pancake.

All the recipes for those wonders can be found at lovefoodhatewaste.com.

If you have any ideas for leftover pancake recipes, let us know!