20 hours Ago By [email protected] (Jay Wilson)
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. If you're not using bologna as a breakfast meat, you're getting it wrong. We tend not to think of bologna as something we can serve before noon; generally speaking, this deli meat is tucked into sandwiches at lunchtime or as an afternoon snack, or placed on charcuterie boards to be enjoyed alongside a few drinks.
However, it's worth thinking about sneaking a couple of slices onto your breakfast table too. There's a lot of uncertainty around what bologna actually is , with people not realizing that it's actually a spicy sausage product that rivals the flavor of breakfast links and sausage patties. It can also be a great substitute for bacon, and brings a meaty, savory flavor to many breakfast dishes.
As for what those breakfast dishes are — well, where do we start? Waffles, hash browns, pancakes, and potato hash can all be improved by the addition of bologna. Other proteins like eggs and cheese can also be boosted by its flavor, while elsewhere it can be incorporated with grits, popped onto a breakfast pizza, or even mixed into a quiche. Ready to employ that leftover bologna in a tasty treat first thing in the morning? We've got you covered.
1. Make bologna breakfast sandwiches Bologna has been added to sandwiches on a regular basis for decades , but this tends to happen later in the day. One thing that people aren't telling you, though, is that it's just as good in a breakfast sandwich, where it provides a pop of savoriness and saltiness that rivals bacon or breakfast sausage (and can also complement those ingredients, too).
To make a bologna sandwich more appropriate to breakfast, you just have to think about any other breakfast ingredients you can include in it. Try popping it alongside an egg patty or an over-easy fried egg, with the latter's yolk providing some all-important moisture, or throwing a hash brown in. That hash brown can be used elsewhere, too.
One bologna sandwich breakfast upgrade you need to try is skipping the bread entirely, and using two hash brown patties in its place. This will give your sandwich additional crispiness and an extra pop of fat, which keeps everything super moist. 2.
Top it with a fried egg If you want one of the easiest ways to upgrade store-bought bologna and add it to your breakfast, we've got a simple solution for you: Put it on your plate, and place a fried egg on top of it. It might sound basic, but you'll be surprised by how effective the combination is. Placing bologna under a fried egg will boost the savoriness of the latter, and will provide some much-needed seasoning to the egg from underneath it.
The egg, meanwhile, will provide some textural contrast and a certain creaminess that the bologna doesn't have. Of course, you don't have to just stop with the combo of these two things. You can place the duo of bologna and a fried egg on toast, or slice some sliced avocado underneath both of them for a secret bit of freshness.
You can sprinkle the top of your fried egg with chopped herbs for a touch of greenery and some vibrant flavor, or some crispy fried onions for some extra savoriness. For a little extra spice, try squirting on some hot sauce or sprinkling them with a pinch of chili flakes. 3.
Serve bologna with your waffles or pancakes It probably won't surprise you that bologna goes well with both waffles and pancakes. This sharp, salty sausage is the ideal accompaniment to these two breakfast foods, with the umami note of the bologna acting as a counterpoint to the slightly sweet carbs. The soft texture of the bologna also offsets the crispiness of waffles nicely — and complements the pillowy nature of your pancakes.
Plus, the syrup or honey used on both breakfast foods brings the bologna to life even more, with the sweetness helping to balance out the salty meat, in exactly the same way that it would with bacon or a sausage patty. As for how you combine the two ..
. well, it's kinda up to you. With pancakes, you can either fry the bologna or serve it straight from the package (frying it gives it some extra texture and flavor and warms it up, but it's not essential).
Then, layer the bologna onto your pancakes, or just serve it alongside them. When serving bologna with waffles, we prefer to make the two into a breakfast sandwich, and double up on the bologna slices in the center to give it a bit more bite. The syrup goes in the sandwich itself, on the bologna in place of a sauce.
4. Combine it with your scrambled eggs If you want to boost your breakfast's protein content and make a meal that'll keep you full for hours, then a combo of bologna and scrambled eggs is the way to do it. The beauty of using bologna with scrambled eggs is that unlike other proteins, you don't have to serve it on the side.
Instead, you can finely slice your bologna up into strips or chunks, and then fry it up. Then, take your scrambled egg mix, and pour it straight into your pan, cooking the two together so that the meat and eggs are well-incorporated with each other. If you're doing this, though, you'll want to take it easy on the seasoning.
Bologna can be incredibly salty: A single slice of Oscar Meyer Original Bologna has 280 milligrams of sodium, or 12% of your daily value, and weighs in at just 28 grams. If you're adding salt to your scrambled eggs before you cook them, your meal can end up tasting briny and unpleasant. We'd hold off until your eggs are cooked and you can taste them before adding any extra salt.
5. Substitute sausage for bologna in a breakfast casserole There are times where you really want a breakfast casserole , but just don't have the sausage to make it. Instead, all you have in the fridge is a couple packs of bologna.
Well, folks, don't despair: You can use that as a substitute for your sausage, and produce an awesome breakfast. Bologna hits many of the same flavor notes as ground sausage, given that it's, well, sausage. It has all of the savoriness and saltiness that you'd expect from ground-up links or patties, and it also sometimes has a touch of spiciness that can add a little bit of flair to your casserole.
Additionally, one advantage of using bologna instead of sausage in a breakfast casserole is that you have greater control over its texture. If you want it to resemble finely ground sausage, you can mince it up; if you prefer your bologna to have a little more bite, you can slice it into cubes or rectangles. Plus, you can skip the browning step that you have to do with sausage with bologna, and just throw it straight in with your other ingredients.
We'd always recommend frying it off in a pan to give it some extra flavor, but hey: Not all of us have the time. 6. Make a bologna hash Whether you're starving first thing in the morning, enjoying a big breakfast in the knowledge that you're gonna have a small lunch, or just a tad hungover, a breakfast hash always hits the spot.
It might surprise you to know, too, that the humble hash is a great way to use up your excess bologna. Simply cube it up and add it when you throw in your potatoes — the two will brown together, and the fat released from the bologna will season and flavor the taters wonderfully well. If you don't have any bologna to hand, you can also use other deli meats in its place.
Ham, salami, mortadella, and pepperoni can all be great substitutes here. Just bear in mind that they all have slightly different fat contents, and so may brown slightly differently from each other. Pepperoni, for example, will turn crispy while remaining juicy, while ham can have a tendency to dry out a little more, so it's best to add it later on in the cooking process.
7. Upgrade a breakfast pizza with bologna Making a breakfast pizza is a great way to upgrade your everyday breakfast – and it doesn't have to be difficult, either. If you have a store-bought pizza base lying around, making one might actually be easier than whipping up a plate of scrambled eggs.
Just add anything you have in your fridge onto the pizza base (after topping it with a smear of tomato sauce), and then pop it in the oven until everything's cooked and crispy. Oh, and don't forget the cheese, either. Bologna is the perfect choice for a breakfast pizza, as it retains its flavor and texture pretty well under sustained heat.
While it will brown and get crispier, it won't lose its juiciness. Plus, if you're squeamish about your food being properly cooked, you don't need to worry about that with bologna. Because you can eat it straight out of the pack, you don't need it to cook through on your pizza: Any additional cooking it undergoes will just improve how it tastes.
8. Make scones or biscuits with bologna You know what goes well with biscuits and scones? Sausage. You know what's actually sausage? Bologna.
We need to get rid of the idea that you can only use sausage patties in dishes that involve scones or biscuits, folks. Bologna works just as well, and because it's already cooked, you can use it in a far more versatile way. For scones, you can incorporate the bologna directly into your dough and bake them into each bite.
Just slice them into strips and mix them into the dough alongside some grated Grana Padano cheese for some extra savoriness, and then throw them in the oven for about 15 minutes. These scones make a great on-the-go breakfast item, with a good amount of protein in each bite. The same principle applies with biscuits: Mix bologna straight into biscuit dough, and then cook it dolloped onto breakfast casseroles or on their own.
Alternatively, you can use bologna in place of regular sausage in a gravy, which you can then ladle over plain biscuits. It'll achieve all of that savory flavor, and you won't have to worry so much about everything being fully cooked. 9.
Top your grits with bologna and eggs Bologna and grits may not seem like a match made in heaven, but we think you'd be surprised at how well the two work together. The mild sweetness of grits pairs excellently with the salty, savory flavors of bologna, creating a flavor contrast that's unexpectedly dynamic. Additionally, the difference in texture between the two can be super pleasing, and the grits can deliver some bonus moisture to the bologna.
We'd recommend frying your bologna before combining it with grits: Doing this will give it a deeper flavor, and prevent it from feeling so pale and sad. You can mix it into your grits, serve it next to them, or top a bowl of grits with your slices — the choice is up to you. Plus, you don't have to stop at just these two ingredients.
Throw on a fried egg, pop on some bacon slices, or drizzle on a little bit of syrup (yep, trust us on this one, it'll taste delicious). 10. Whip up a bologna quiche Cooking a quiche at the start of the week is a great way to ensure that you have a hearty breakfast for the rest of it.
This dish is primarily composed of eggs, cheese, and pastry — all classic breakfast foods — and you can add whatever else you want into the mix. If you're anything like us, that should include bologna. Bologna adds an easy savory note to quiche, and it doesn't require any additional cooking, meaning that all you need is for your quiche to set.
It also seasons the quiche from within, adding saltiness into the mix effortlessly. You generally only need a couple of ounces of bologna per quiche, but you can add more if you like yours to be a little meatier. Just be wary of how much extra salt you add to a bologna quiche.
Between the meat and any cheese you're adding, the sodium content can add up quickly and turn the dish into an unbelievably salty affair. You'll want to put in just a pinch or two for additional flavor. 11.
Create bologna breakfast sliders Breakfast sliders are one of the tastiest options out there for the first meal of the day — as well as the cutest. You can stuff anything into these mini sandwiches, and their single-portion nature makes them perfect for feeding a crowd. Bologna is a natural fit for breakfast sliders, with its salty, umami-rich nature packing a punch in the morning.
Just place a slice of bologna in each slider, top it with a scrambled egg or a little bit of cheese, and then serve. You can also warm them through in the oven if you like, to make them a bit more comforting. As well as this, bologna breakfast sliders offer you the opportunity to make a breakfast that's a little bit healthier.
Rather than opting for egg or cheese, try crowning them with some sliced avo, or some cucumber and some Einstein Bros Everything Bagel seasoning . For a slightly more acidic twist, fork on some pickled sliced onions, or even just regular old pickle slices. Don't be afraid to add a touch of lettuce, either.
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