30 Recipes That Take Humble Foods To The Next Level

There are plenty of ingredients out there that look impressive at first glance. Caviar, oysters, lobster: They're often prepared simply, and they instantly make your spread feel luxurious. However, you don't need to spend a ton of your hard-earned money on fancy-feeling ingredients just to make an incredible and impressive meal. In fact, some of the most delicious dishes are based around rather humble ingredients, from potatoes to oats to grits. Although these foods may not seem particularly impressive on their own, when you know how to prepare them well, they can form the basis of dishes that are bound to make you feel like you're eating something luxurious.

We've collected some of our favorite recipes that call for rather humble ingredients but are prepared in such a way that they really shine. So, save yourself some money, and stock up on a few humble ingredients so you can make next-level dishes that seem way more expensive than they may at first appear.

Whether you don't eat meat or you just don't have any on hand, these vegan meatballs can ensure that your next bowl of pasta tastes heartier than ever. This recipe calls for a can of black beans, which you might even have in your pantry at this moment. Add in beets for an earthy flavor and that bold pink color for which the root vegetable is known, and you have an incredibly flavorful addition to all kinds of dishes.

Recipe: Vegan Beet and Black Bean Meatballs

Cabbage is just starting to get the attention it's always deserved, but for a long time, it's been regarded as a super humble vegetable. That may make sense considering its relatively low price compared to other veggies in the produce section, but it actually delivers a lovely subtle bitterness that inches toward sweetness once it's been cooked. This Southern-style cabbage gets even more delicious when you fry it with bacon, along with plenty of butter and Creole seasoning.

Recipe: Southern-Fried Cabbage

If you're not from the South, you may not have eaten grits very many times in your life. This humble ingredient can taste rather bland if it's not prepared with many other ingredients, but when it's combined with lots of cheese and seasonings, it really shines. That's just what you'll get when you make this easy grits casserole. It's perfect for when you're serving a crowd for dinner, and it might just make you rethink your opinions about grits.

Recipe: Cheese Grits Casserole

Polenta, another corn-based dish, is another one of our fave carb sources, although it's often deemed too humble to serve guests. That's definitely not the case when it comes to this polenta with roasted root vegetables, though.

The sweetness from the roasted veg complements the mild flavor of the polenta nicely, and topping it all with toasted pine nuts makes for an especially impressive dish. And the best part? You can use whatever root vegetables you already have on hand.

Recipe: Roasted Root Vegetable Polenta

Chickpeas are one of the most versatile ingredients you can have in your kitchen. Whether you choose to use the canned version or you decide to cook them from scratch, they can be used in an almost limitless number of recipes.

One of our favorites just happens to be this chickpea salad that's inspired by Moroccan cuisine. There are no bland chickpeas here: Just beans marinated in a flavorful combo of sauces and spices that'll make your lunch more interesting than ever.

Recipe: Moroccan Chickpea Salad

Peanut butter is one of the cheapest ingredients to keep stocked in your pantry, but that doesn't mean that it's not also one of the most delicious. This recipe for peanut butter pie proves that this humble ingredient can make a show-stopping dessert that your guests will be talking about for days to come. Covering the pie in a layer of whipped cream and finishing it all off with some chocolate shavings really elevates the base dish, transforming it from a budget dessert to one that looks like a million bucks.

Recipe: Decadent Peanut Butter Pie

There have probably been a few times when you've reached for an egg sandwich when you had nothing else in the fridge to throw together, but this Japanese egg sandwich is a big step up from a basic fried egg on whatever stale bread you have lying around. The combination of egg salad, a whole hard-boiled egg, and that soft, squishy bread makes for an egg sandwich that feels unbelievably luxurious. It can be enjoyed as a breakfast sandwich, but we think it's delicious at any time of the day.

Recipe: Japanese Egg Sandwich (Tamago Sando)

If you're trying to get more veggies into your diet — or you just want to find a use for those potatoes you need to eat up — this breakfast hash featuring poblano peppers and potatoes may be just what you're looking for. It's packed with veggies and black beans, making it nutrient-dense and full of fiber. Although it doesn't call for an egg, you can add a fried or poached one on top of the finished dish to make it even more filling.

Recipe: Poblano Potato Breakfast Hash

Forget about the same potatoes au gratin recipe you've already made a thousand times, and try this cabbage au gratin instead. It's rich and creamy, but it still helps you get more veggies into your diet. It also has a lovely sweetness to it that you may not expect from cabbage if you don't eat it regularly. It's a bit lighter than the potato version of the same dish, and it offers the perfect decadent side for your next dinner party.

Recipe: Cabbage Au Gratin

Who doesn't love waking up to a breakfast that's ready to go as soon as they're ready to walk out the door? That's just what you'll get when you make overnight oats. But you don't have to settle for a basic, boring version of this dish when you can make this strawberry-infused one instead. It promises a subtle tartness from the fresh berries, along with a lovely sweetness from the combo of honey and strawberry jam.

Recipe: Strawberry Overnight Oats

Potatoes don't have to be boring. If you're looking for a recipe that packs all the crispiness of well-cooked fries without having to do all that peeling and cutting, you've found it. By smashing small Yukon gold potatoes and baking them with avocado oil, you'll get a crispy, luscious texture that elevates an otherwise super humble ingredient. Serve it alongside some dipping sauce, or drizzle it with pesto or chimichurri for a show-stopping dish.

Recipe: Crispy-Edged Smashed Potatoes

There are few ingredients more humble than stale bread. While some may consider it trash, you know better. Stale bread is actually the key ingredient in panzanella, a bread-based salad that's both juicy and super filling. This panzanella recipe calls for heirloom tomatoes, and if you can get them fresh from the farmers market, you'll be in for an even bigger treat. Yes, this is a humble dish, but it's also one that packs a surprising amount of flavor into every bite.

Recipe: Heirloom Tomato Panzanella

There's a time and a place for baked sweet potatoes and even sweet potato fries. But if you happen to have this root vegetable on hand, you should try making mashed sweet potatoes. You'll be amazed at how rich and creamy they turn out, especially when you add as much butter as this recipe calls for.

The garlic, though, may just be the star ingredient — it takes a somewhat sweet dish and gives it a mouthwatering savory touch. Feel free to add even more garlic cloves if you're looking for more flavor intensity.

Recipe: Garlic Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Lentils and eggs are both widely regarded as humble ingredients, but when they join forces in this frittata dish, you'll see that they really can make a deeply impressive dish. You'll use lots of veggies in this recipe, ranging from red onions to olives to tomatoes to zucchini, all of which offer added flavor and nutrients. Serve it alongside some bread, and you have a breakfast, lunch, or dinner that feels fancier than it costs.

Recipe: Mediterranean Lentil Frittata

Sure, oatmeal may be a pretty basic ingredient, but when you combine it with similarly humble peanut butter and banana, you can turn it into a breakfast or dessert you'll want to come back to time and time again. Roasting the bananas is the key to achieving a seriously incredible dish, since you'll be able to harness a complex sweetness that makes this dish feel automatically decadent. Adding chocolate chips to the mix ups the flavor ante even more.

Recipe: Peanut Butter and Roasted Banana Baked Oatmeal

Peanut butter isn't just for your sandwiches and desserts — it can play a role in an array of savory dishes as well. Enter this peanut butter soup. It blends cozy, comforting veggies with peanut butter along with actual peanuts to create a rich and slurpable soup. It's also completely vegan, so whether you're looking for a way to eat more plant-based recipes or just want to save some money on making more meat-heavy dishes, this soup has you covered.

Recipe: Hearty Peanut Butter Soup

Now, not everyone is going to get excited about the prospect of eating liver, but that's probably just because they've never had a delicious liver dish before. This recipe will solve that. It's a simple take on liver and onions, packed with flavor and offering a rich texture that pairs perfectly with mashed potatoes and rice. And since liver tends to be such an affordable cut of meat, you know you're getting some serious bang for your buck with this dish.

Recipe: Classic Liver and Onions

Beans once again take center stage in this ultra-hearty casserole that's especially delicious during the colder months of the year. The sweetness of the pumpkin is tempered by onions, garlic, and lots of different spices. The black beans add some bulk to the dish, while kale gives you extra nutrients. And it only takes five minutes to prep, making it an ideal dinner when you're short on time but still want to eat something that feels healthy and elevated.

Recipe: Hearty Pumpkin and Black Bean Casserole

Not every meal needs meat to feel complete. That's definitely true when it comes to this vegetarian tortilla soup. Black beans are a key ingredient here, but they're bolstered by a slew of other veggies, making this a super nutrient-dense dish. Red pepper, jalapeno, onion, fire-roasted tomatoes, and corn all come together to create a thick soup that's only enhanced by the addition of corn tortilla strips. Make it the next time you're craving something that feels super comforting.

Recipe: Hearty Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

Cabbage, one of our humble food faves, is in the spotlight with this recipe. Carrots, onions, potatoes, and celery join forces with a ton of cabbage to create a light yet still filling soup that's perfect for slurping when you're sick, or you just feel like you need more nutrition to feel your best. It comes together in less than an hour, and you can make a big batch of it and keep eating it for a few days in a row.

Recipe: Old-Fashioned Cabbage Soup

Chicken liver doesn't have to be a humble dish — especially not when you make a fancy chicken liver mousse. This dish may sound intimidating if you're not used to working with chicken liver, but believe us when we say that it actually comes together quite easily. You'll serve your chicken liver mousse alongside a sweet and tart black currant glaze, which adds a whole new layer of complexity to the finished dish.

Recipe: Fancified Chicken Liver Mousse

You may have had shrimp and grits before, but shrimp isn't the only seafood that can pair with this humble ingredient. Catfish — coincidentally, another humble food — makes for a less conventional pairing, but one that's even more delicious than you might expect.

By breading and frying pieces of catfish, you create a crispy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside texture that pairs perfectly with grits. Add some hot sauce on top, and you have an unforgettable meal you'll want to make over and over.

Recipe: Southern Catfish Nuggets and Grits

Lentils are one of the best ingredients in the world. Not only are they packed with nutrients you need to feel your best, but they're also one of the least expensive items at the grocery store. So, why not learn to harness the versatility of lentils to make this incredible tomato lentil soup with roasted veggies? You'll be working with many different flavors and textures in this dish, and when you let them simmer together, they all meld beautifully, creating a warming, comforting soup.

Recipe: Roasted Veggie and Tomato Lentil Soup

Potatoes are an incredibly affordable ingredient, but too many people think that they're bland and neutral-tasting in most applications. When you want to infuse your potatoes with a ton of flavor, though, you can always make top-notch baked potatoes. This recipe calls for bacon, sour cream, green onions, and cheddar cheese for that classic baked potato flavor you know and love. This isn't the quickest recipe, but the time investment is worth it once you taste how good these potatoes taste.

Recipe: Ultimate Twice-Baked Potatoes

Sometimes, you need a hearty, filling snack, but you don't really have any snack foods on hand. What should you do? Well, if you have a can of black beans, you can always make a spicy black bean dip to pair with corn chips. This recipe only takes five minutes to prepare, and it marries the base of black beans with cilantro, red onion, garlic, jalapenos, and lime juice for a bold, flavor-forward dip that's so good you'll want to eat it on its own.

Recipe: Spicy Black Bean Dip

If you live in an "ingredient household," then you know that snacks can be scarce. However, if you happen to have some sweet potatoes, you can make this crispy chili lime-flavored take on sweet potato chips. Using real lime zest gives these chips a zippy flavor that immediately makes you want to go in for another bite, and the fact that you're making your own spice mix means that you can really control the flavor you want here.

Recipe: Chili Lime Sweet Potato Chips

Root vegetables are usually hearty and filling, and they tend to make excellent side dishes. But if you're getting tired of eating root veggies prepared in the same simple, basic way you always make them, you can try this recipe for herbed roasted root vegetables.

By using beets, potatoes, and carrots, you're introducing some variety into the dish, and a slew of herbs and seasonings instantly elevates its flavor. It's an easy side dish that's a bit more interesting than basic roasted potatoes or carrots.

Recipe: Herbed Roasted Root Vegetables

This recipe proves that lentils can be a lot more interesting than you give them credit for. This recipe for Korean BBQ-inspired lentils is great for meal prep, especially if you have a goal of eating more legumes throughout the day (which you should!). Soy sauce, ginger powder, and sesame oil all work together to infuse your lentils with a complex yet approachable flavor that tastes great when paired with rice.

Recipe: Korean BBQ-Inspired Lentils

Think you have to make chicken if you're craving buffalo lettuce wraps? Think again: Humble chickpeas can be used to create a vegetarian version of this refreshing, cooling dish. Not only will you be working with chickpeas, but by adding celery, cilantro, and carrots into the dish, you make it a lot more colorful. And unless you're cooking your chickpeas from scratch, this simple and easy no-cook recipe really only takes 10 minutes to prep.

Recipe: Buffalo Chickpea Lettuce Wraps

Zucchini is inexpensive, but it's a vegetable that can taste pretty boring if you don't know how to prepare it properly. Although it can be excellent when it's cooked, we like it even better in a salad. This specific salad prioritizes herbs to pack a ton of flavor into a dish that's dominated by a pretty neutral-tasting ingredient. Basil, parsley, chives, and dill all join forces here, coming together to create a bold, fresh salad you'll want to eat all summer long.

Recipe: Herby Zucchini Ribbon Salad