By Rosseadelle Ganayo

Have a can-do attitude toward your trusty pantry staple with these recipes!

A quick sauté of onions, garlic and sardines in a pan then some pasta tossed in and you’ve got a go-to week night dinner that’s done in 20 minutes.

Have a protein-packed breakfast that’s good for you, and good for your wallet. Make a basic tomato sauce, stew some eggplants and sardines in it, crack some eggs on top, then bake or steam in a heatproof serving bowl until desired egg doneness.

Here’s a perfect quick and easy baon meal prep that you can freeze for two weeks and make big batches of. Sauté sardines, onions, and garlic for a few minutes and add a spoonful of the sauté to the middle of a bread slice. Top with cheese and another slice then using a jar lid or circular cutter, press down on the sandwich to cut and seal the edges together. Crimp the edges with a fork if needed.

Level up your sardines snack! Flake the sardines and toss it into a bowl with diced tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and calamansi juice for an extra kick to your salsa. You can dip chips or add it to your favorite burrito.

Give your sardines a fancy Asian flare by adding it to a toasted hot dog bun and dressing it up with some atsara, wansoy, and jalapeños for an instant Vietnamese sandwich.

Just because sardines is canned, it doesn’t mean it can’t taste light and refreshing. Quickly run a piece of rice paper through cold water until it’s malleable and place some lettuce on top. Slice some carrots, cucumbers, and onions into thin matchsticks and place them onto the lettuce. Place blanched bean sprouts and cooked vermicelli noodles on top. Flake the sardines and add them last before rolling everything together tightly. Seal, cut in half, and you’ve got yourself a fresh spring roll.

Rice lovers, this one’s for you! The best part is, you can even make this as a next-day recipe for those rare instances that you have leftover rice. Saute the sardines with onions and garlic, vegetables if you’re feeling healthy, then toss in the rice and mix until everything is coated. Transfer to an oven-safe container and top with cheese (the more, the merrier in this case, am I right?) bake until melted, oozy, and bubbly.

With little effort in preparation, this pizza is a quick way to satisfy cravings, because who doesn’t like pizza? Spread tomato sauce onto a pizza crust, pour over your sardines (sauce and all), cut and add onions, garlic, and bell peppers (because healthy living, duh), then cover everything in cheese. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the oven and that’s it! Cut into slices or just bite into it, we won’t judge.

Image Sources:

Cover:
Pizza, Rice Bake, Bahn Mi, Shakshuka, Salsa, Pasta, Spring Rolls, Sandwich 

Ingredients:
Sardines, Oil, Onion, Garlic, Noodles, Tomato Sauce, Eggplant, Egg, Cheese, Bread, Tomato, Wansoy, Calamansi, Atsara, Jalapeño, Bun, Lettuce, Cucumber, Carrots, Bean Sprouts, Vermicelli, Rice Wrap, Rice, Pizza Dough, Bell Peppers.