56 Mashup Recipes That Prove Two Foods Are Better Than One

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering why more foods aren’t on the same level of richly beefy, cheesy, and savory divinity as a French dip sandwich—friend, you are not alone. In fact, that’s exactly why we channeled everything worth loving about the French dip experience into this meaty masterpiece of a pizza, complete with rich dipping jus. Deeply sweet onions and meaty roast beef are right at home leaning on a mild foundational flavor base of Swiss cheese and garlic powder in our new favorite example of sandwich-turned-pie. And a hearty, bready crust is just the vehicle these decadent elements require. 

Take all of the glory of a bacon cheeseburger topped with caramelized onions and served with French fries (and ketchup, of course), wrap all of it up in fluffy eggs, and pal, you have yourself one heck of a cheeseburger experience. This ridiculously delicious omelet is appropriate served at any hour of the day and is an excellent use for leftover burger fixin's, if you have them. Note: This recipe provides for 3 times as many burgers and caramelized onions as you'll need for a single omelet. If you don't use them for additional omelets, you can always enjoy the leftovers as regular ol' caramelized onion burgers. 

Yes, Borscht Nachos. As in, sweet, earthy beet chips piled high with shredded beef—robustly flavored from a braise with ketchup and paprika—quark (which is a lot like a soft cream cheese, exhilarated with the lively funk of buttermilk), salty and rich queso fresco, bright and tangy sauerkraut, zingy pickled wax peppers, plus fresh radishes and dill for good measure. It's the food mash-up we've all been waiting for (even if we didn't know it). 

If you like everything bagels, you should try this salad. 

Greek salad and lasagna work well as individual entities, and together they meld together in a family friendly, big ol’ plate of food. Sharp flavors from olives, feta, red pepper and red wine vinegar liven up an otherwise classic dish. We used olives from the bar at Whole Foods—if you use brine jarred olives, you may want to reduce the amount so it doesn’t overpower the rest of the dish. Use bell peppers that are the same size so they’ll finish cooking at the same time. You can make this ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to 4 days—if you cook from cold, you’ll need to increase the cooking time. For nice clean cuts on the lasagna, let it rest for an hour before cutting it. 

Classic burger elements become a fast, fun salad--a deconstructed take on a diner favorite. Instead of four burger patties, we cook just two, then chop and sprinkle them over the top. A handful of crushed potato chips adds crunch. Kick up the dressing with a pinch of ground red pepper.

It’s certainly not the first pasta-pizza partnership we’ve tried, but we dare say—Lasagna Pizza might just be the best. 

If you thought cheese fries were a brilliant triumph of culinary design, wait until you bring crisped roast beef, caramelized onions, Swiss cheese sauce, and au jus to the party. Inspired by a classic French dip sandwich and comparable to a roast beef poutine, these decadently beef-loaded fries are bringing a whole new level of swagger to the “meat and potatoes” meal construct. We’d suggest sticking with steak fries when making this built-for-sharing snack, as you need a hearty spud to stand up to the French dip treatment. 

If you’ve ever looked for a reason to try beef stroganoff with something besides egg noodles, this is it. The beef, mushrooms, and sour cream’s flavors really sing here, while just the right amount of garlic and onion and lots of cheese round everything out. This is also a good place to start if you’d like to experiment more with your pizza toppings. The most important part of this recipe is making sure the crust on the bottom is crispy enough to hold all the toppings. You’ll also need to let the sauce cool a bit before adding the sour cream so it doesn’t break. This makes a lot, so it can serve 6 people if your group doesn’t have big eaters, or save the extra slices for some stellar leftovers. 

This super-sophisticated, wow-worthy dessert is a great twist on two separate dishes. It takes some time, but it’s worth it, especially for a special occasion. Poaching tomatoes in simple syrup brings out their fruitier side. Paired with buttery and salty ice cream, you’ve got a smart and different winner. Here, it’s crucial to be gentle with the tomatoes: You’re turning them from a vegetable into a fruit culinary. If you’ve got an overgrown basil plant, use those leaves for the basil syrup; thyme sprigs would also work well here, if you’re looking for something a little different. 

Basically, these burgers are gumbo you can eat without a spoon. The flavors here are discernible and assertive. The “ketchup” has that toasty roux and tomato paste that brings it all together. Take your roux right to the edge of burnt to get maximum toasty flavor, but don’t burn it or it’ll be ruined. Milk chocolate is a good indicator, but if you’re risk averse, stop at café au lait. This would be great with cornbread soup that you could dip the burgers into. 

Everyone’s favorite beach drink becomes crunchy in this snack mix filled with flavor: Sweet, rich coconut, tangy lime and pineapple, and saltiness. You’ll find dried fruit in the produce sections of most stores. We used large coconut flakes. Toss in the fat before you add salt and seasoning to ensure an even dispersal.  This makes a lot, and will easily cut in half, but leftovers hold really well in a sealed bag. Serve with actual piña coladas, or your favorite beer. 

Olive Garden got this one right, folks—lasagna in dip form is all kinds of wonderful, especially served with freshly fried, crisp pasta chips. Trust us, this meaty, cheesy appetizer will be a welcome addition to any party.

It was determined in our test kitchen that it is legitimately impossible to be anything other than happy while eating these cheeseburger nachos—do with that information what you will. The cookout-inspired food mashup is as perfect served as a fun, grilled snack for guests (especially during tailgating season) as it is an easy, throw-together meal to use up leftovers from a weekend get-together. So while the cheeseburger recipe provided here does produce an extremely moist and flavorful patty, you can certainly use leftover cooked burgers if you already have them on hand. Same idea applies to the nacho toppings; we went with a blend of typical Tex-mex toppers and backyard cookout accouterments, but you can vary things up however suits you. Your baking sheet will only be on the grill for a few minutes (just long enough for the cheese to melt) so you shouldn’t experience any issues with the pan warping or taking on grill marks. However, for easy clean-up, you can certainly go ahead and wrap your pan in aluminum foil. 

If you like buffalo chicken dip, you’ll love this super creamy version of chicken tikka masala. 

This is a marriage of two of the greatest comfort foods of our time: Rotel dip and mashed potatoes. We’re talking very satisfying and suuuuuuper-rich. This would be great served with a protein like pork chops, but you can also add a little milk to turn this into a dip. This method of mashing potatoes essentially emulsifies whole butter into hot potatoes, and it’s important that you work quickly and don’t let the potatoes get too cool. The potatoes will continue to break down as you add the butter, so don’t overmash them. 

This might sound strange, but as it turns out, a golden-crisp egg roll stuffed with beef, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and mayo might just be one of the most delectably genius things we've ever made. This playful appetizer is reminiscent of everything you love about fast food--but unlike a fast food cheeseburger fix, you actually know what's going into it. You can find fresh egg roll wrappers in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores. 

The classic BLT sandwich gets a makeover with these flavorful grilled skewers. Drizzled with a zesty aioli sauce, these skewers get the full BLT treatment when served over a bed of grilled romaine lettuce. Perfect for your next summer cookout, these skewers are fun, fresh, and irresistibly tasty. 

Two finger food favorites collide as pigs in a blanket get an everything bagel makeover. Rather than the traditional canned biscuit or croissant dough, the "blanket" of this playful appetizer is made with fresh pizza dough that is first boiled, brushed with egg wash, and rolled in an "everything" seasoning blend (poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried minced onion, dried minced garlic, and coarse salt) before being baked. Using a yeasted dough and this double cooking method is what gives these tailgate-ready bites their bagel personality. Serve them up with a tangy cream cheese dip for a party-perfect snack platter. 

If you’re looking for a pie to impress, this lobster pizza is a must-make. The buttery, crisp crust topped with a rich cheese blend and brightened with a vibrant mix of fresh herbs, lemon zest, garlic, and celery serves as the perfect bed for decadent Maine lobster. Not a seasoned pro when it comes to buying and cooking lobster? Be sure to check out our complete guide to cooking with this incredible shellfish for all of the information and inspiration you need.

The delicate blance of sweet, bitter and citrus that makes the cocktail so refreshing also makes for an unusual citrus cake. The inclusion of the orange juice and the Aperol gives the frosting a citrus note, too. 

Turn the cocktail that's basically a dessert into an actual dessert.

When two of the world's greatest foods combine...

You are sure to love this irresistible pie that combines 2 favorites: vodka pasta and homemade pizza. 

This hearty, family-friendly recipe marries two comfort food classics—meatloaf and spaghetti—for one epic rib-sticker of a dinner. The tangy-sweet, boldly beefy sauce delivers both surprising depth of flavor and a delicious sense of familiarity… consider it a bolognese inspired by the classic flavors of meatloaf. And because no meatloaf is complete without breadcrumbs, we finish this fun play on pasta night off with buttery toasted panko (the perfect final touch of crunch!). While we love how this dish can be thrown together on a moment’s notice with a package of ground beef and pantry staples, we highly recommend prepping the sauce a day ahead if possible, because it’s definitely one of those that tastes even better the next day. If you do make your sauce ahead, when you’re ready to serve, simply heat it on the stove with 1/4 to 1/3 cup of water or chicken stock to help loosen it up. 

When a Thai craving strikes, you’re first instinct probably isn’t to break out a casserole dish, but his streamlined take on classic chicken panang curry is a flavor-packed, one-dish dinner that’s gonna have you rethinking what it means to casserole. Don’t be intimidated by the seemingly lengthy ingredient list—most of the ingredients are easily found at a typical supermarket, and many may already be waiting in your pantry. Trickier items, like the lemongrass, kefir lime leaves, Thai basil, and tamarind paste can be purchased at an Asian market. Alternatively, you can substitute a bit of lime zest for the lemongrass, leave out the lime leaves altogether, use regular basil in place of Thai, and substitute a little molasses for the tamarind paste. Once you have your ingredients together, preparing the dish is incredibly simple. Even better—it’s make-ahead friendly.  Thus, this warming casserole is a  perfect dish for holiday entertaining and out-of-town visitors. Simply prep and freeze for an almost-instant and impressive dinner when company arrives. 

Hearts, stars, horse shoes, clovers, and blue moons, pots of gold, and rainbows, and the red balloons… all stirred into a buttery, cereal inspired cookie dough. In addition to all of the signature marshmallow charms, these Lucky Charms cookies have ground cereal incorporated right into the dry mixture for the sugar cookie dough. In other words, yes, they are magical.

Classic French gougères with a Southern remix. These airy pimiento cheese puffs make an impressive addition to virtually any party spread. While the choux pastry dough may seem intimidating to make, trust us—success is just a matter of not walking away from the pan. As long as you can stay put and keep stirring (so that your dough doesn’t burn), you can make gougères. 

This is a rich and creamy way to use up leftover marinara sauce or chicken. For an extra-Italian twist, use Italian sausage instead. 

Nashville Hot Chicken Dip image

Step aside, Buffalo chicken. Move it along, basic bean dip. The game day dip to rule all game day dips has arrived. This bold yet balance BBQ Chicken Bean Dip has so much going for it: It’s easy to make, you likely have most of the necessary ingredients on hand, and most importantly—this cheesy chicken appetizer will be a winner with any crowd. The barbecue sauce used in to make the dip couldn’t be easier to mix up, and it’s one you can come back to again and again for all of your BBQ needs; however, if you want to shave a few minutes off the recipe, you can certainly use your favorite bottled sauce instead. We suggest topping the dip with cheese towards the end of baking in order to prevent the dip from becoming too greasy. 

Tex-Mex meets tater tots in this easy, inexpensive, and all-around comforting one-dish dinner. Our spicy twist on the classic tater tot casserole consists of a succulent ground beef filling—featuring creamy black beans, crisp-sweet corn, cheese, and mild green chiles for a kick—topped with crispy tater tots, and finished with a drizzle of an addictively spicy and tangy sour cream sauce. Top this fiesta of a casserole with fresh garnishes, such as avocado, tomato, jalapeño, and cilantro, and it’s as perfect to serve at your next football feast as it is for a casual weeknight meal. We use 85/15 lean ground beef for this recipe and recommend that you do not go with anything leaner, as the higher fat percentage both contributes to the filling’s rich flavor and keeps it from drying out while baking. 

From the land of cream cheese comes this frosty twist on cheesecake.

Spaghetti pudding may sound strange, but that sure didn’t keep us from going back for seconds (or thirds). Similar to bread pudding or rice pudding, this playful sweet twist on baked spaghetti is enriched with a vanilla custard and delivers all the comfort food vibes one could ever crave. Finished with a vibrant strawberry “red sauce” and chocolate truffle “meatballs,” this decadent dessert is as fun to serve as it is delicious to eat. 

Whether you’re pro- or anti-pineapple on pizza, we’re willing to bet you’re going to love this pineapple pizza dip. Why? Well, because its delicious balance of salty and sweet, and the savory, ooey-gooey goodness this dip packs makes it irresistible. Give it a try for your next party, potluck, or tailgate and see what we mean.