This time around, the classic bologna sandwich — typically white bread, pre-sliced bologna sausage, American cheese and mustard — has been given an artisanal makeover.

Bologna is a staple in many lunch boxes, but the deli meat has more potential than it lets on. Try one of these delicious ways to use it besides a sandwich.

Penne with Smoked Bologna 2 cups whole-grain and fiber penne 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 cloves garlic, minced 7 ounces smoked sausage or bologna, sliced into 1/2 -inch pieces, then each piece ...

Inexpensive bologna is a sponge that — unlike denser, artisanal versions of the sausage — will, much like tofu, take on the flavors of whatever it’s cooked in.

My love of bologna led me one day to try a substitution in the classic breakfast sandwich at Sam’s Deli, getting rid of my usual sage sausage and replacing it with bologna.

We also might shudder at the bologna sandwiches we were forced to eat, with their cold, slippery, overly thick slices. We protest — even riot — over the indignity of consuming bologna. “It ...