Top Ten Most Versatile Ingredients

We all know that eggs are the gateway to making all kinds of foods and recipes. You can pretty much put an egg in almost any dish, and it will taste great, whether it's a savory dish, a dessert, baked goods, sauces, or just everyday meals.

From easily prepared foods such as fried eggs or omelets to more complex meals, eggs work for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snacks. It would still taste good no matter what food you bind it to.

Not to mention, it's a healthy ingredient consisting of protein and other vital nutrients. It is the staple of all ingredients, and you can almost do nothing wrong with an egg in the recipe.

What makes milk so versatile is that there are many flavors and variants. Compressed or not, it is among the most practical ingredients.

Everyone knows that milk works wonders for smoothies and other drinks. Not only can it be used for most sweets (specifically baked goods), but it can also be used for certain curries and soups, especially Indian curries. Coconut milk works best for those types of meals.

I despise the taste of milk on its own, but you can customize it with other foods. You can use it to mix other ingredients together for certain foods.

For example, you can make pancakes, milk chocolate, cakes, milkshakes, and other delicious treats by mixing them with milk as an ingredient. You can have milk with cookies as well.

Butter is one of the most versatile ingredients that is always needed in the kitchen. It is not just used for putting on your bread and other baked goods but applies well to almost any meal if you prefer that warm, creamy taste.

Nothing goes wrong with butter when you have many variants like coconut butter, garlic butter, and peanut butter. No wonder it's an essential ingredient if you want to have a good kitchen.

This is an amazing list. In my opinion, I think that butter is the most versatile, for obvious reasons. Vote for whatever you think is best.

Flour and dough are the opening gates of making bread and countless variants of baked goods. You can also thicken certain things with flour.

If you are creative enough, you can make different types of pasta designs using flour. If you want to make some baked goods, all-purpose flour has got your back, and it's one of the essentials required for a good kitchen.

I love to roll it into dough, taste it, and eat the dough.

Rice (along with soy sauce) rivals as one of the most versatile ingredients in the East. Whether it's eaten along with other meals or by itself, you can still enjoy a good dish.

Not only is rice a versatile addition to most meals (ranging from multiple cuisines, soups, or even burritos), but it is also customizable, especially when combined with pepper and garlic.

As rice is mostly eaten at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it is also used in sweet desserts. Champorado is a prime example. It is a Philippine porridge made of chocolate and rice, served hot.

Potatoes are the rival of their eastern counterpart, rice. Potatoes, especially sweet ones, are surprisingly versatile and popular in American meals.

Boil them, fry them, mash them, or add them to meals and stews, and they will still taste good. They're also a great addition to certain curries and a wide selection of soups, or you can simply make them into french fries.

Not to mention, potatoes are healthier than you might think. They contain plenty of carbs, proteins, and most importantly, vitamins.

Nothing is better than a slice of cheese on a sandwich or hamburger, right?

Specifically talking about Parmesan cheese, it perfectly fits a variety of pastas and some salads with a whip of Caesar sauce. Cheddar cheese is perfect for a little chip snack but also works well for the rest of meals when applied.

You can have cheese in many different ways. Grilled cheese sandwiches, ham and cheese sandwiches, with pizza, and you can also use cheddar to make more bits of cheese as sprinkles on certain types of foods.

Pretty much every fruit is a great addition to practically any sweet dish as it adds a unique flavor, but bananas take the cake.

Whether you freeze them, fry them, or even boil them, they taste great in different ways. Add them to ice cream, oatmeal, cereals, multiple baked goods, and even smoothies.

Nothing can go wrong with bananas when considering making or experimenting with desserts, as they add a sweet dose of potassium to your meal.

Since beer is often seen as a drink itself, it might seem like a bizarre ingredient and not as versatile compared to most listings at first.

Most people do not know this, but some prefer adding a light dose of beer to certain stews and curries for an enriching flavor, as well as for both meat and vegetables.

I never knew that you could use beer as an ingredient. It's really thinking outside the box.

Soy sauce is one of the most significant ingredients in Asian cultures. It is a staple and the opening door for countless Asian cuisines.

You can also apply soy sauce to certain non-Asian cuisines, and they would still taste great. Pour it on certain dumplings or noodle soups, and you will always get a satisfying umami taste.

Canned or not, if you want to add a savory, enchanting flavor to your meals, tomatoes have got your back.

Simply put, tomatoes fit with almost any meal (mainly the savory ones), and they are the key ingredients to some of the most popular meals such as pasta and pizza.

This is a surprisingly versatile ingredient, especially when adding it to meats, veggies, and sauces. If combined with garlic, it creates some tasty stuff.

Used in bakery food, soups, popsicles, bread, some edible creams, etc.