20 Recipes with Bologna That’ll Change Your Tune About the Hated Meat

Lemons for Lulu
bologna recipes

Like hot dogs, Twinkies, and tater tots, bologna--that familiar lunch meat your mom packed between a slice of cheddar cheese and two slices of Wonder Bread spread with mayonnaise for lunch and sometimes spelled baloney -- is a quintessentially American food. And like hot dogs, Twinkies, and tater tots, bologna has been getting a bit of a bad rap lately, which is why we're sharing some of our favorite bologna recipes.

In an age where kids bring stainless steel bento boxes with quinoa and salmon sashimi to school for lunch, bologna seems decidedly old-fashioned and the opposite of healthy eating.

But we know better. We grew up on smoky fried bologna sandwiches dabbed with mustard or mayo. And as adults, we know bologna can be so much more than a kid's cold lunch. Don't believe us? Just try one of these 20 recipes with bologna that will change your tune about the misunderstood meat.

1. Fried Bologna and Egg on Challah Bread with American Cheese Rarebit Sauce

Bologna Meat Recipes
Food 52

We bet you won't even recognize bologna when it's fried, dressed up with egg and American cheese rarebit sauce, and tucked in between two slices of challah bread.

Next time someone disses bologna sandwiches, serve them this recipe for fried bologna and egg on challah bread with American cheese rarebit sauce, then tell them it has bologna and blow their mind. While this calls for "good garlicky German bologna", just use beef bologna if you have it on hand. We don't judge here.

2. Hot Pickled Bologna Recipe

Bologna Meat Recipes
RB and Mindy

How do you make a good thing even gooder (er... better)? Pickle it! The same principle applies to pickled bologna. It's similar to summer sausage, but is not quite the same flavor profile.

3. Bologna Cake Recipe

Bologna Meat Recipes
Shared

This beautiful bologna cake is a tasty tower of 12, count them, 12 slices of bologna held together with layers of cream cheese. If you use homemade bologna, you get extra brownie points.

Serve at your next party and watch your guests' faces turn from astonishment to rapture when they spread a slice onto a Ritz cracker. Top with a bit of yellow mustard and you have one very frighteningly delicious appetizer.

4. Bologna Breakfast Cups

Bologna Meat Recipes
Cookpad

Bake up a fleet of these mini Bologna Breakfast Cups in a muffin tin for an adorable carb-free breakfast. Toast up some white bread for dipping and really enjoy slice bologna in a new way.

5. The Grown-Up Bologna Sandwich Recipe

Bologna Recipes
Dixie Chik Cooks

Don't get us wrong; bologna is delicious with nothing but a dot of dijon mustard and two slices of squishy white bread. Maybe you use some pickle relish, maybe you add some French fries on top of it.

But when you add mozzarella cheese, fried onion strings, avocado mayo, green leaf lettuce, and Sriracha, that's a game-changer. Change the game with this grown-up bologna sandwich recipe and leave behind the typical cheese sandwich, you super mature grown-up, you.

6. Smoked Bologna with Bacon

Bologna Meat Recipes
The Quad

To make this meaty masterpiece, wrap a log of bologna in a blanket of woven bacon. Slice and serve Smoked Bologna with Bacon on buns, tortilla wraps, or soda crackers at your next tailgate.

To up the ante, rub the bacon outside with a little brown sugar so you get a delicious crust. Now that's a bologna recipe you don't see every day.

7. Bologna Burger Recipe

Bologna Meat Recipes
Food.com

Step aside, beef patty. Tonight, we're making Bologna Burgers. Some nights, you don't want healthy recipes. That's where bologna comes in.

8. Lebanon Bologna Wrapped Asparagus

Bologna Meat Recipes
Seltzer's Lebanon

Bacon or salami-wrapped appetizers are perfect for any backyard bbq or tailgating party. And let's be honest, asparagus wrapped in anything makes a fantastic tailgating snack. Gussy up ordinary ol' asparagus by grilling stalks with olive oil and thin slices of bologna. The flavorful juices of the bologna will marinate the asparagus as it grills--no additional seasoning necessary!

Serve Lebanon Bologna Wrapped Asparagus with teriyaki or pineapple soy sauce for a tangy treat. So easy to prep before and made for the grill, it's an easy way to get some vegetables in the mix.

9. Egg Sandwich with Bologna, Gherkin Mayo, and Crispy Onions

egg sandwich
Epicurious

Chef Eli Kulp calls this upgraded egg sandwich "The Hickory Town", the historical moniker for Lancaster, PA. The recipe piles Lancaster county bologna, white cheddar, crispy onions, and two eggs atop ciabatta rolls or brioche buns slathered with homemade gherkin mayo.

You can swap in summer sausage or bologna sausage for this recipe, too. We just prefer simple, thick slices.

10. Nanny's Bologna Casserole Recipe

casserole
Southern Farm and Kitchen

This old-school Bologna Casserole will satiate both hunger and nostalgia pangs, no ground beef required. For best results, serve with your favorite hot sauce.

Not feeling bologna? Just about any meat will work here, but a cubed ham steak is a nice option. When it comes to the best recipes, they're almost always casseroles.

11. The Southern Gentleman's Pan-Fried Bologna Sliders

Bologna Recipes
Southern Living

The Southern Gentleman's Pan-Fried Bologna Sliders are a miniature version of the classic southern sandwich. The simple, yet scrumptious sliders nestle thick quarters of bologna slices with dill pickles and mustard atop toasted buns.

12. Bologna Salad Recipe

Bologna Meat Recipes
These Old Cookbooks

There's nothing healthy, per say, about Bologna Salad. But boy, is this blend of bologna, boiled eggs, mayo, and relish tasty on a cracker.

13. Cream Cheese & Sweet Bologna Roll-Ups

rollup
Kunzler

Here's another irresistible party appetizer fusing cream cheese and bologna. Cream Cheese and Sweet Bologna Roll-Ups probably aren't going to win any health food awards, but hey... at least they're low-carb?

14. Pickle-In-The-Middle Bologna Wrap Appetizers

Bologna Recipes
Food.com

Baby dill pickles swathed in a blanket of tender bologna and creamy cheeses. These Pickle-in-the-Middle Bologna Wraps are cute and oh-so-crunchy.

15. Bologna and Cheese Roll-Ups

roll ups
Pillsbury

Something about the shape and pliancy of bologna makes it a popular choice in roll-up recipes.

Even Pillsbury is getting in on the bologna roll-up game, inspiring chefs with this Bologna and Cheese Roll-Ups recipe that bakes bologna and string cheese in flaky crescent dinner rolls.

16. Bologna Squiggles Sandwich

Bologna Meat Recipes
Kraft Recipes

The Bologna Squiggles Sandwich sets itself apart from other bologna sandwiches with its whimsical way of slicing up the meat.

The recipe calls for one slice Oscar Mayer bologna, one hot dog bun, one tablespoon of Miracle Whip dressing, and a whole bushel of fun.

17. Bologna Nuggets Recipe

Bologna Meat Recipes
Keekir

You can dip these crispy lil' Bologna Nuggets in ketchup, barbecue, honey mustard, or whatever sauce your tummy craves.

18. Fried Bologna Brioche Sub with Beer Cheese and Pickled Jalapeños

Bologna Meat Recipes
Lemons for Lulu

This modern take on the classic sandwich showers crispy bologna with beer cheese and jalapeños. Complement the Fried Bologna Brioche Sub with fried green tomatoes and ginger peach lemonade.

19. Bologna Breakfast Quesadilla

quesadilla
Stockpiling Moms

Bologna goes south of the border for a tasty brunch dish. The Mexican-inspired Bologna Breakfast Quesadilla is stuffed with gooey cheese, diced and fried bologna, and scrambled eggs. Que rico! 

20. Bologna and Chili Crescent Sandwiches

crescent snadwiches
Pillsbury

Another bologna triumph from our friends at Pillsbury. These Bologna and Chili Crescent Sandwiches are overflowing with chili, cheese, and--of course--our old friend, bologna. You can find all these simple ingredients at your grocery store.

This article was originally published on April 21, 2018.

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