Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are among the most promising candidates for use in future biorefineries in converting plant‐derived biomass (lignocellulosic feedstock) into high value‐added products such as biofuels (ethanol and butanol), biodegradable plastic polymers, exopolysaccharides (EPS), antimicrobial agents, health‐promoting substances, and nutraceuticals. In past years, LAB applications have moved beyond the traditional food fermentation processes to use in delivery of molecules and as microbial cell factories for producing value‐added products. This chapter discusses the capability of LAB to naturally produce nutraceutics and high value metabolites, and presents the use of recombinant LAB for production of commodity chemicals. The application of LAB as the workhorses of the food industry has expanded to their use as microbial factories to increase yields and product repertoire; which were earlier limited by the natural capacity of the existing bacterial biosynthetic pathways.