Jackfruit is usually consumed fresh as a dessert fruit. It can also be made into ice-cream, jam, jelly, chutney or canned with syrup or honey. The ripe fruit may also be dehydrated and made into chips akin to banana chips.

Both the ripe and green fruit are used in cooking – for curries and soups. The unripe fruit is also used a fresh salad. The ripe pulp is prepared into a creamy dessert with coconut milk. The seeds are also edible after boiling or roasting. Roasted dried seeds may also be ground into flour and mixed with wheat flour for baking.

Fermented ripe fruit may be distilled to produce a potent liquor.

Despite the wide use of the fruit, the strong aroma associated with jackfruit may be offensive to the uninitiated. Similarly the latex that oozes from the skin when it is cut open may be an inconvenience to consumers. These, besides the issue of bulkiness, need to be addressed before the jackfruit may be popularised globally.

In India, jackfruit leaves are used as food wrappers or fashioned as plates. The latex is used as a multi-purpose adhesive to mend chinaware and earthernware and to caulk boats.

Timber: Jackwood is an important timber in Sri Lanka and India; some is exported to Europe. The wood is termite proof, fairly resistant to fungal and bacterial decay, seasons without difficulty, resembles mahogany and is superior to teak for furniture, construction, turnery, masts, oars, implements, brush backs and musical instruments.

From the sawdust of jackwood or chips of the heartwood, boiled with alum, there is derived a rich yellow dye commonly used for dyeing silk and the cotton robes of Buddhist priests.

Folk Medicine : The Chinese consider jackfruit pulp and seeds a cooling and nutritious tonic and to be "useful in overcoming the influence of alcohol on the system." The seed starch is given to relieve biliousness and the roasted seeds are regarded as an aphrodisiac. The ash of jackfruit leaves, burned with corn and coconut shells, is used alone or mixed with coconut oil to heal ulcers.

The dried latex yields artostenone, convertible to artosterone, a compound with marked androgenic action. Mixed with vinegar, the latex promotes healing of abscesses, snakebite and glandular swellings. The root is a remedy for skin diseases and asthma. An extract of the root is taken in cases of fever and diarrhea. The bark is made into poultices. Heated leaves are placed on wounds. The wood has a sedative property; its pith is said to produce abortion.