27 Unusual Food Combinations You'd Never Guess Are Delicious

Food pairings like peanut butter and jelly, ketchup and fries, and chips and guacamole received a stamp of normalcy somewhere along the way. Many more unique food combinations don't receive the same broad acceptance. It's a challenging barrier to break into as these pairings have become staples in pantries and restaurants worldwide.

Weirder combinations, like a peanut butter and pickle sandwich or french fries, dipped in honey, may sound strange at first but deserve a fair chance in the food-tasting arena. Although not so widely accepted, we like to use the old quote, "don't knock it until you've tried it."

If you're looking to push your palette to the next level, challenge your taste buds, or explore new pairings, you're in luck. While many of these might make your stomach turn, others could make for a unique found favorite combination. We're sharing 27 weird food combinations you'd never guess are delicious.

It's the best of both worlds: hot sauce and cold ice cream. If you need something to cool down your favorite hot sauce, grab a bowl of vanilla ice cream to create a perfectly balanced dessert. Your mouth will cool down faster from the hot sauce with a spoonful of something creamy and cold.

One Reddit user notes that hot sauce on ice cream is pretty good if you have the proper sauce. The sweeter the hot sauce, the better the overall combination. Some saltier sauces yield a less pleasant treat combined with the sweet ice cream flavor.

Salt takes its place in almost every kitchen spice cabinet. Still, when we think of our morning coffee, we generally add (if anything) cinnamon, pumpkin spice, or some coconut oil before reaching for the salt shaker.

According to coffee connoisseurs, salt can reduce bitterness and enhance specific flavors in your favorite blend. The mainstream coffee scene has yet to fully adapt to this hack, leaving it in the weird food combination space. Next time you visit your local coffee shop, ask for a sprinkle of salt and see how your brew tastes.

Sweet and savory toppings find their way on a pizza, but citrus is not the first topping to come to mind. The next weird food combination you'd never guess is delicious: lemon on pizza.

The unexpected citrus topping adds freshness to the pizza that meats, cheeses, and vegetables don't supply. Lemon's contrast creates a blast in your mouth that few other toppings can. Lemon on pizza might be the new dinner order we didn't know we needed.

The interesting toppings paired with ice cream continue with the weird food combination of ice cream and soy sauce. Soy sauce made much more sense with a carbohydrate like oatmeal, but we didn't expect to pour it on a traditional dessert.

Kikkoman, the leader in soy sauce brands, claims soy sauce enhances ice cream's sweetness. Who knew something we dip raw fish into would also create a sweeter dessert experience? These combinations have changed the way we think about ice cream toppings.

We've tried bananas with peanut butter, but Elvis took it one step further by adding bacon to his sandwich. If the King himself suggests this sandwich, it's likely spectacular. PB, B & B may not be the healthiest combination, but it merges exciting flavors that will make your tastebuds whirl.

The crunchy bacon is exceptionally delicious and surprising with each bite of this otherwise soft and creamy concoction. The saltiness from the bacon contrasts the sweet peanut butter and banana, creating a fusion like no other.

What happens when you mix your favorite coniferous vegetable with your go-to cheesy snack? You'll have a bowl of broccoli with Cheetos, sure to provide a significant amount of crunch in every bite. We wondered who would choose this combination as it doesn't scream either healthy or junk food, creating a confusing snack territory.

Savour reported that Chef Craig Koketsu of New York City's Park Avenue Winter loves Cheetos and uses them to garnish broccoli with his signature Gouda and Parmesan cheese sauce. Patrons say, "Don't knock it til you try it."

When we reach for an apple as an afternoon snack, we generally add peanut butter on the side or a dash of cinnamon for sweetness, but have you ever added salt and cayenne pepper to apple slices?

These sweet, yet spicy slices, also known as matchsticks, will have you returning for more. They are a sweeter french fry that will help you easily add another serving of fruit into your meals. The cayenne gives these apples a definite kick, and the addition of cinnamon adds another layer of flavor. An apple a day keeps the doctor away, right? We'll be adding salt and pepper to our daily apple from now on.

This weird food combination makes one of our favorite comfort foods a little creamier. On Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, Guy Fieri introduces us to a burger coated in an American delicacy, peanut butter. You would never imagine these two foods uniting, but the beef and peanut butter complement one another like you wouldn't believe.

Too much peanut butter slathered on a burger can overpower the other flavors, but adding the proper sauces and burger toppings can create a sweet and savory unity on a bun.

Are you looking for an added crunch in your peanut butter and jelly sandwich? This next food combination does that with the addition of Doritos inside. We discovered this thread asking if anyone had tried this delicacy. The comments vary, but one user suggested the sandwich using Nacho Cheese Doritos over Cool Ranch.

Creamy peanut butter, sweet jelly, and crunchy cheesy chips provide the perfect blend inside two slices of bread. You'd never guess this weird combination is satisfying and delicious.

We've combined many foods with peanut butter, but this one might be the strangest. We like adding onions to deli sandwiches and burgers, but have you ever added onion to your peanut butter sandwich?

Raw onion fans will love this surprisingly delicious sandwich. Each bite includes an assertive and spicy onion with creamy and salty peanut butter. While our initial reaction to this sandwich was confused and disgusted, we might add onions to our next peanut butter sandwich after reading the reviews.

After reading the following combination, a new movie theater snack might hit your rotation. People on the internet have raved about adding ketchup to their bowls of popcorn.

YouTuber, Review Time with Tim described the snack combination as surprisingly good. The buttered popcorn and ketchup pairing is oddly tasty but incredibly messy for your fingers. Whoever came up with this duo, we'd like to know what other strange food combinations you enjoy because this is one for the books.

Our next combination perfects the unity of salty and sweet. This pair takes potato chips turned into dessert with the addition of rich Nutella. If you're an avid Nutella lover, you've likely dipped pretzels or another salty snack into the hazelnut spread. Potato chips give the same effect and add that saltiness for the ideal snack.

Reddit users rave about this combination, saying it's absolutely delicious. Beware when dipping; the most significant problem remains if you're potato chip can withstand the Nutella dip without cracking.

What's black and white and filled with a pickle? If you guessed an Oreo stuffed with a pickle, you've learned the following weird food fusion. The components flawlessly balance one another out. The sour and crunchy pickle meshes with the sweet and softer middle of the Oreo to create a unique pair.

With so many pickles and a variety of Oreo filling types, you can make this combination whatever you like. If you want added creaminess, we suggest using a double-stuffed Oreo option.