Bacon and sausage are budget-friendly ingredients whose usefulness and versatility go beyond the breakfast plate. Whether you prefer streaky or smoked bacon, chorizo, Italian, or bratwurst sausages, these go-to breakfast meats can imbue tonnes of flavour and can gussy up the simplest of meals. Here are some great ways to use bacon and sausage for easy weekday dinners.

Bacon in salads

Even if you’re mindful of the Carnival body that you have on back-order, a rendered rasher of bacon can add a tasty crumble to the most standard of salads. Care for something heartier? Try a Cobb salad with its balanced combination of hard-boiled eggs, bacon, blue cheese, iceberg lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, and avocado.

Bacon with pasta

We reckon that the first pasta dish that comes to mind is a carbonara. Though delicious, there are many other ways to incorporate bacon in a pasta dish. Combine your favourite pasta with broccoli, pesto, shards of cooked bacon, and parmesan for a tasty meal that is ready in under 20 minutes. Not a fan of broccoli? Substitute spinach and swap gorgonzola for the parmesan for a creamy, decadent dish that will have dinner on the table by the end of the second segment of the evening news.

Chorizo in stews

The Spanish have perfected the use of their favourite sausage — chorizo. A little goes a long way with this spicy sausage, which, combined with butter beans, crushed tomatoes, and pesto, makes for a tasty stew.

Chorizo and cod

Chorizo and cod go together like oxtail and beans. There are many versions of the Spanish-style chorizo and cod recipe. Most are easy to make, take under half-an-hour to prepare and can be frozen to make another night’s dinner even more of a cinch. Ensure to have tomatoes, onions, cod fillets, parsley, paprika and beans on hand to assemble this satisfying dish.

Sausage in casseroles

Casseroles are both kind to the wallet and pleasant to the taste buds. A link or two of sausage combined with beans, mushrooms or potatoes in a deeply-flavourful sauce can please the pickiest of eaters in your family.

Bacon and roast onion salad

Ingredients:

1 red onion, cut into 8 wedges, root left intact

2 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for drizzling (optional)

A handful of green peas

1 teaspoon sherry vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 slices smoked streaky bacon

1/6 of a baguette, cubed

Four leaves of romaine lettuce, torn

Method

Heat oven to 428°F. Arrange the onion wedges on one side of a baking tray. Drizzle with ½ tbsp of the olive oil and season. Put in the oven and roast for 15 mins.

Meanwhile, cook the peas in boiling water for 2 mins, drain and rinse in very cold water. Set aside.

Make the dressing by mixing together another ½ tbsp of the oil, the vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Turn the onions, and put the bacon slices and bread next to them on the baking tray. Drizzle the remaining oil over the bread. Return the tray to the oven for 12 mins more, until the bacon and bread are golden.

Put the lettuce and peas in a bowl, add the dressing and toss to combine. Arrange the onion and bread on top. Break up the bacon slightly and scatter over.