Maximum impact and minimum time is the magic formula when it comes to cooking. Whether you rely on a jar of pasta sauce, tuck into a microwave meal or serve ready-made cakes, we’ve got 40 cheats to transform store-bought food into something that looks homemade (we won’t tell, if you don’t). From secret ingredients to final flourishes, these simple hacks will impress your friends without all the effort.

Serve hummus in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, a few whole chickpeas and a sprinkle of paprika. Your guests will be none the wiser that it's store-bought.

Scatter fresh parmesan shavings and rocket (arugula) over your pizza when it comes out the oven. It adds color and a salty kick of flavor, just like an Italian nonna made it.

Using the rule of odds, serving three or five elements on a plate will make it more visually appealing.

Rather than lay out your meat and two veggies like a cafeteria tray or pie chart, stack the foods on top of one another. It's always best to put the carbohydrate (potatoes, rice, polenta, etc.) at the bottom, then perhaps vegetables (like sauteed spinach or chopped carrots) followed by the star of the show, the protein (a filet of fish or sliced chicken breast or steak, etc.). Garnish with herbs, a few veggies, a drizzle of sauce or whatever takes your fancy.

Layer food for added height and wow factor. Restaurants often serve 'stacks' because our eye is drawn up and it's more striking. Try piling a pack of ready-made pancakes, creating a mound of rice on the side of a curry or using fresh salad leaves to add height to a dish.

Don't lay your food out on the plate side by side; instead, overlap the pieces slightly (and curve the pile slightly) to create a fan effect. It has a really pleasing affect to the eye and works for French toast, meats, crackers, cookies and just about anything else in multiples that you can think of.

Toast nuts and seeds in a dry pan and roughly chop for an easy garnish. It works especially well with ready-to-eat hot smoked salmon fillets or leafy greens. Slivered almonds often work in tomato-based dishes. Experiment and see what combinations you like. You could even make a jar of toasted seeds and nuts to have on standby.

Mix black and white sesame seeds together and have them to hand whenever your serving up ready-made ramen or stir-fries. The seeds add texture and the contrasting colors make the dish look more striking too.

Plate up your favorite jarred curry with multiple elements to bring that homemade feel. Try serving rice in small bowls with torn naan bread alongside. A dollop of yogurt looks great on top and contrasts with a dark brown sauce. Finish with fresh chopped coriander.

Make gravy using granules or a gravy mix, then stir through meat juices from your roast to add a depth of color and bring out the flavor. You won’t risk lumpy gravy and you won't waste the flavorful juices. For a dash of color, stir through chopped herbs like parsley, tarragon and rosemary at the last minute.

Swirl a spaghetti or tagliatelle ready meal into spirals and lift to create a pyramid shape. It adds height, but it also keeps the plate looking neat. Finish with freshly grated parmesan and black pepper.

Plate your dinner up beautifully by putting the pasta on the bottom and then spooning the sauce in the middle to make a bull's-eye effect.

Take inspiration from how food is served in a refined restaurant. For example, cut large pieces of meat into slices and fan it out on the plate.

Drizzle colorful chili oil, sprinkle fresh herbs around the rim or add a few blobs of balsamic syrup to your plate to give your microwave dinner the chef treatment. Or, to make a quick and impressive dinner party starter, buy ready-made bruschetta, parma ham and rocket. Arrange the ingredients then add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic glaze.

Keep a paper towel to hand when you’re serving up and give each plate a wipe around the rim before taking it to the table. A clean edge helps the food stand out and gives a professional-looking finish. No one needs to know if the food came out of a jar or packet.

Sprinkle several handfuls of fruit over the top of a store-bought pie, tart, cake or other dessert to create interest (and flavor). The effect works particularly well if you use a few different types of fruit in the same color palette (such as the blueberries and blackberries here, or perhaps raspberries, redcurrants, cherries and small strawberries). 

Tip: Take it to the next level with a sprinkling of green pistachio nuts and fine lemon zest. 

Make a quick mix of icing sugar (confectioners' sugar) and water to create an on-trend drizzle cake. Top with fresh fruit or edible glitter and you’ve got yourself a showstopper bake without turning on your oven.

Grab a sieve and cover your store-bought cake with a light dusting of icing sugar. You could also use a stencil to create a fun design and add a scattering of fresh berries or edible flowers. It will give that homemade flourish to the cake.

If you use ready-prepared salad bags, mix a few together for a variety of different colored, shaped and textured leaves. Serve them in a shallow salad bowl and keep the dressing separate so guests can add as much as they want and leaves won't go soggy if it's sitting out for a while.

Add some excitement to ready-made fishcakes with citrus and condiments. A spoonful of tartare sauce and a wedge of lemon on top will add height and make them more flavorful.

Perk up your boring bagged rice with a few hits of flavor from herbs, spices and/or vegetables. For an example, add lemon zest, feta cheese and a bit of chopped cooked spinach for a Greek twist, or go Mexican with lime zest and juice mixed with chili powder and ground cumin and coriander. The options are endless.

Whether you use pre-cooked couscous or the two-minute microwave sachets, you can make couscous look more impressive by stirring through fresh herbs, chickpeas, pomegranate seeds or rocket. This will separate out the grains, make it go further and add color.
 

Take a simple spread like cream cheese or hummus, spread it on toast and finish off with a few fresh ingredients. Sliced cucumber, radish or tomatoes make delicious toast-toppers. Don't forget to sprinkle with herbs, seeds and some cracked black pepper too.

Pre-sliced charcuterie looks fabulous on a wooden board, so don't just serve it in the packet. Ruffle up the slices of meat so they look more interesting, use pretty small bowls to serve olives, tear some hunks of bread and slice some cheese for the perfect sharing antipasti.

Good presentation is all about the finishing touches. Pretend you’re a barista and sprinkle your instant hot chocolate with mini marshmallows and a few chocolate drops. A dusting of cinnamon or mixed spice works wonders too.

Rather than just serve gnocchi with pesto or tomato sauce, make it look more impressive by whipping up a quick gnocchi bake. Parboil the potato dumplings and some greens like spinach, drain, then stir through a jar of passata. Transfer to an ovenproof dish, top with mozzarella and bake until the cheese is bubbling. For extra color, tear some basil leaves over the top.

A plain bowl of soup is a depressing sight indeed. Jazz it up with a drizzle of olive oil, dashes of yogurt or cream, or croutons with Parmesan shavings. To make a pretty heart design, drop small blobs of yogurt or sour cream in a spiral shape, then drag a toothpick through them to join them up.

Use extra garnishes to create contrasting lines on your plate. Here, the round bowl of soup (which could be quite boring) is jazzed up with a few carefully laid-out pieces of cured meat and fried onions next to a swirl of pesto.

Spruce up store-bought soup with cooked shrimp, crab, leftover pulled/chopped chicken or beef, the remains of last night's cooked vegetables or whatever else you have on hand. Make it look lovely by first piling the extra bits high in the middle of the bowl, then carefully ladling the hot soup around the island. Sprinkle with chopped herbs or croutons if you like. 

Tip: Make less mess by doing what restaurants do and using a liquid measuring cup to pour the soup into the bowls. 

If you’re baking a shop-bought lasagna from frozen or chilled, add some breadcrumbs for a little crunch. You can also mix in some grated parmesan and lemon zest for added flavor if you're feeling fancy. Crunched-up potato chips also taste incredible as a baked pasta topping – but you didn't hear that from us.

Pretty little edible flowers are now widely available in supermarkets, and they add a gorgeous dash of color to desserts, cakes and bagged salads. Pluck the petals and scatter them through the dish to make them go further, or try growing nasturtium flowers in your garden in the summer for added ‘I grew this myself’ smugness. Read our guide to cooking with edible flowers for more inspiration. 

Buy two or three different colors and flavors of ice cream (we love berry, vanilla and chocolate ice cream), line a loaf tin with plastic wrap and spoon in each flavor to create a layered ice cream cake. Pop it back in the freezer to firm up, turn it out onto a plate and finish with a drizzle of chocolate, fresh fruit and nuts for that homemade look.

Brush store-bought pies with a little beaten egg before you bake them in the oven to give a glossy finish. This works for a sweet apple pie just as much as a chicken and mushroom hot pot.

Skip the artificial, high-sugar fruity yoghurt at the stores and buy regular yoghurt and serve it with beautifully-sliced fruit and a sprinkling of nuts.

Take your favorite ready-made cereal, granola or muesli and give it the luxury treatment with fresh fruit, yogurt and a drizzle of honey. It'll be worth getting out of bed for, we promise.

Pre-made potato salad can look pretty beige so snip fresh chives or mint to add some color. To enhance the flavor, add a dash of hot sauce or Dijon mustard if it's too creamy and bland. You can also add some chopped-up crispy bacon if you like!

Stir lemon zest and finely chopped parsley together for a classic Italian dressing called gremolata. It’s traditionally served with braised veal, but it transforms any meat-based pasta, roast chicken or steak.

Chopped fresh herbs can transform your dinner. Stir soft herbs like basil or parsley through a ready-made pasta sauce or coriander through curries. It'll add color and flavor.

You needn't stop at store-bought food. Many stores now sell bottles of pre-made cocktails. Just pour over ice in your best cut-glass tumblers and add a garnish like slices of orange or lemon. Want to pretend you whipped them up yourself? Just leave a cocktail shaker out nearby...

Add more color to store-bought coleslaw by stirring through finely-chopped carrots, additional fresh red cabbage and finely chopped herbs. More vegetables will also make the dressing go further and avoid it looking gloopy. Serve in a rustic bowl with a wedge of lemon or lime – a squeeze of citrus will liven up the flavor too.