28 Recipes to Use Up the Bulk Food You Overbought at Costco

Feeling like you went a little overboard while stocking up on bulk buys at Costco — particularly with all of that perishible produce? While you might have been hoping to eat only healthy foods these days, there's a good chance you reconsidered after you unloaded your bounty at home (or when it was delivered). Don't let your good intentions go to waste and reach for the mac and cheese instead. These tasty, easy recipes can turn that bulk-warehouse miscalculation into a masterful move.

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This clever dish is more of a casserole, calling for green peppers that are already sliced rather than whole peppers for stuffing. You can omit the meat for a veggie version.

Recipe: Food.com

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Carrots and celery combine with a host of hearty ingredients — including always-thrifty kidney beans — in a stew that can satisfy as a main course. It will not only please vegetarians but also provide leftovers for lunch the next day.

Recipe: Food.com

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Shred those carrots, combine them with ingredients already in your pantry, and you'll have a cake in the oven in 20 minutes, thanks to this straightforward recipe. If you're counting calories, skip the cream-cheese frosting.

Recipe: Taste of Home

This recipe leans on peppers, but feel free to experiment with whatever veggies you have on hand for a one-of-a-kind creation.

Recipe: The It Mom

A rich take on cauliflower provides a hearty side dish or meat-free entree that can be prepared the night before.

Recipe: Ina Garten

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Craving french fries? Perhaps you'll settle for carrot "fries" instead, once you taste this clever and healthy baked treat that comes together in a total of 30 minutes.

Recipe: 2Teaspoons

If you like your pasta cold, check out this recipe. It's a perfect, make-ahead dish that's got a bit of heft to it, especially when you add the optional grilled chicken.

Recipe: Spend With Pennies

Related: Prepared Meals at Costco to Feed Your Family

Valerie Bertinelli's recipe is for intermediate-level chefs, but if you want to make the most of that cauliflower, it's time to step up. At least one reviewer praised this as "a wonderful, gluten-free way to enjoy the taste of pizza."

Recipe: Food Network

Go for fresh ginger and you'll be rewarded with a zesty soup ideal for lunch, dinner, or anytime you need warming up. Lemon peel adds an extra kick.

Recipe: Epicurious

Related: Costco's Best Buys for Packing Your Freezer

This quick, thrifty, and tasty recipe transforms tired broccoli into a main course in minutes. (Although the recipe calls for frozen broccoli, you can sub in the fresh florets you have left over.)

Recipe: Budget Bytes

So, brown butter, honey, garlic ... oh, yes, there are carrots in there, as well. This recipe will have you starting to drool before it's done, and it takes only 25 minutes to make.

Recipe: The Recipe Critic

Related: Best Gluten-Free Finds at Costco

Claire Robinson, famous from "Five Ingredient Fix" on the Food Network, offers a rich, tasty — and super simple — treatment for grape tomatoes. Pass the bread!

Recipe: Food Network

This is a simple — simple — recipe that's so highly rated you might want to try it tonight. It can be made in less than a half-hour and requires only the most basic ingredients.

Recipe: Allrecipes

Cauliflower florets go from bland to blazing with an impressive transformation into a Japanese-style appetizer or entree. The recipe is actually British, but Yanks shouldn't hesitate to give it a go, noting that 100 grams of flour equals 7/8 cup.

Recipe: BBC Good Food

Related: How to Live on $500 a Month at Costco

Even with an optional touch of half-and-half, you can feel virtuous as you enjoy this gluten-free, high-fiber, vegetarian soup using broccoli and celery.

Recipe: Eating Well

Martha Stewart has a simple-yet-sophisticated take on basic red peppers. This versatile creation can be a condiment or an ingredient in chicken or tuna salad, pasta, or grilled cheese. A batch will last four days in the fridge.

Recipe: Martha Stewart

Sweetened rice vinegar adds an unexpected level of flavor to an extremely fast and simple recipe, which turns grape tomatoes into an impressive dish.

Recipe: Allrecipes

This recipe was born on a camping trip, so it's pretty straightforward and involves only a handful of basic ingredients. The dish can be finished in an hour.

Recipe: Food.com

Trisha Yearwood shared her broccoli salad recipe on a graduation-picnic episode of "Trisha's Southern Kitchen." It's easy, and savory enough to serve all year.

Recipe: Food Network

This recipe uses up not only cauliflower, but carrots and celery to boot. Cheese and a dash of hot sauce add depth.

Recipe: Taste of Home

Related: Healthy Recipes You'll Never Know Were Made With Frozen Produce

This meatless pasta dish takes advantage of sweet grape tomatoes for its base. If penne's not your thing, sub with a preferred pasta. You can also use cherry tomatoes or larger sliced tomatoes.

Recipe: Cooking Light

Chase winter's chill with this earthy side dish, in which low-calorie and low-carb don't mean less taste. Roasting nicely browns the cauliflower, and the recipe can be made in 35 minutes.

Recipe: Eating Well

Calling leftover peppers of every kind — you're going into this easy, 30-minute recipe that packs a punch of vitamin A. 

Recipe: Pillsbury

This healthy spin on a Southern favorite uses all parts of leftover broccoli florets, not just the stems. It also pares back the amount of mayonnaise for a lighter approach. Dried cranberries can be subbed for currants.

Recipe: The Kitchn

Take that basic celery and serve up a super-simple, restaurant-quality dish that bursts with flavor thanks to cilantro, lime juice, and fish sauce.

Recipe: Bon Appétit

Bet you didn't see this one coming — leftover broccoli can be turned into bread. This recipe is a savory offering with a touch of sweetness, comparable to a cornbread, and loaded with fiber and calcium.

Recipe: Cooking Light

Carrots and celery get a crunchy boost from toasted almonds in this one-pot side dish that comes together in 15 minutes.

Recipe: Taste of Home

Sometimes simplicity is all you need. Turn extra celery sticks into a pleasing side dish with the addition of butter, bouillon, and a few herbs and spices. This may become a new family favorite.

Recipe: Allrecipes 

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