15 Unexpected Ingredients That Will Completely Transform a Meal

If you’re one of those people who is afraid to try new foods, and you look in disgust at that person eating Kool-Aid pickles or mayo and peanut butter sandwiches, we urge you to broaden your horizons for the sake of your taste buds. Sometimes those unexpected ingredient additions work so well in a meal, you’ll never turn back.

For this one, you’ll want to make sure your mozz sticks are nice and crispy. A soggy stick isn’t going to hold up among the lettuce. In a Cobb salad or Buffalo chicken salad, mozzarella sticks in place of croutons for some salty, cheese, crispy texture is such a beautiful thing. Topped with ranch dressing — oh baby. Trust us on this one.

We’ve heard of adding vanilla extract to pancake batter for a bit of sweetness, but we’ve never thought to put almond extract in French toast. Lots of people put nutmeg in their French toast batter for a little nuttiness, but the almond extract would do something similar in a deeper, sweeter way.

This just works. Mustard powder is an okay stand-in addition to macaroni and cheese if you don’t have Dijon mustard, but just adding a tablespoon or so of the grainy, flavorful mustard is such a good way to add a little tang and bite to the sharpness of the cheese.

Before forming your ground beef into patties to make burgers, put a packet of onion soup mix in with the meat, and mix it in with your hands (you can do the same thing with meatloaf or meatballs). Add a splash of Worcestershire and you’ll achieve optimal umami flavors for your burgs.

If you buy the cheap ramen noodle packs and only use the noodles for an Asian-inspired dinner at home, don’t toss the seasoning packets in the trash. Instead, you can add them to gravy for more flavor. Some people even season their popcorn with them!

Next time you make a rub for a brisket or a rack of ribs, try putting some coffee grounds in the mix to deepen the flavor. The acidity in the coffee grounds can also help tenderize the meat.

Adding some ranch dressing powder to your mashed potatoes will give such a delicious, garlicky bite to your taters. Don’t ruin it with gravy, just stick with the seasoning and butter.

If you’re saying, “I’m sorry, WHAT?” right now, we get it. We were in your shoes before. However, putting cheddar cheese in or on apple pie is a beloved practice, especially in the South, since it achieves that balance of savory and sweet that many people crave.

Not only will smoked paprika look pretty on top of your eggs (whether we’re talking about scrambled or a skillet with fried eggs on top), but it will infuse a subtle smoky flavor that goes perfectly with a side of bacon.

Chili is one of the most customizable dishes known to mankind, and it’s one of those things that no two people prepare the same. Some, however, swear by putting cinnamon or chocolate (or even coffee grounds, as we mentioned earlier with the BBQ rubs), to deepen the flavor of the chili.

Beef stew can get bland if you let it. After all, it’s really just meat, potatoes, vegetables, seasonings, and liquid. Bring some umami to the mix by adding a couple of splashes of Worcestershire sauce.

If you want the fluffiest pancakes with a little protein snuck in, try adding some cottage cheese to your batter. You won’t taste it, but the texture change is palpable.

Just a dash will do ya if you want to put nutmeg in something like Bolognese sauce, stew, or lasagna. You want to make the flavor just a smidge more complex without being able to fully taste the nutmeg.

The acidity of orange juice stacks up nicely against the spices and richness in a traditional banana bread flavor, giving a subtle bite of tropical flavors.

You’ve heard of anchovies in Caesar dressing, sure, but fish sauce is a secret weapon that can give a variety of recipes that burst of umami they desperately need. In Caesar dressing, it’s a mouthwatering addition.

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