It’s no secret that Southern food is some of the most comforting homestylecuisinesin the United States.
And sometimes nothing else will suffice except making recipes theold-fashionedway.
Southerners know how to do food rightespecially when there’s an oldfamilyrecipe involved.
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And for more, don’t miss these8 “Southern” Foods That Aren’t Actually From the South.
Southern cooks, meanwhile, have their version ofdeviled eggs.
Lastly, spoon the sweet and tangy yellow mixture into the egg and dust with a bit of paprika.
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Its homemade taste results in a creamier concoction.
Get our recipe forDeviled Eggs With Bacon.
The best biscuits are sweet and tender on the inside and brown and crispy on the outside.
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The secret is to gently mix the dough, folding it over, and creating layers.
These treats were often served with cane syrup or homemade preserves.
Get our recipe forSouthern-Style Biscuits.
Mitch Mandel and Thomas MacDonald
Fried Chicken
There may be nothing more iconic to the Southern food canon than fried chicken.
Sanders developed a recipe using a pressure cooker, much like the technology of an Instant Pot.
That recipe hasn’t changed much over the years.
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Get our recipe forCrispy Oven-Fried Chicken.
Known as “The Peach State,” connoisseurs swear by the quality of fruit grown in the state.
And the cobbler made from a fresh Georgia peach is delicious, especially with vanilla ice cream.
And if you want to try an authentic version of the dessert, head to theGeorgia Peach Festival.
Can’t make it to the South?
Thisblueberry peach cobbler recipetastes just as delicious wherever you are.
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Get our recipe forBlueberry-Peach Cobbler.
Grits
If you’re not from the South, I bet you’ve wonderedwhat grits are.
Similar to polenta, grits are made by grinding white corn called hominy.
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Before the kernels are ground, the hulls are removed, resulting in a fine consistency.
Grits became important in Southern dishes because farms in the area typically grew corn.
Southern cooks have tons of methods to make their grits.
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Get our recipe forSouthern-Style Shrimp and Grits.
Get our recipe forSouthern-Style Banana Pudding.
Loved by both kids and grown-ups, it’s one of those meals that pleases everyone at the table.
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Get our recipe forChicken Pot Pie.
Get our recipe forChicken and Dumplings.
Get our recipe for aBlackened Fish Sandwich.
Kiersten Hickman/Eat This, Not That!
It was so loved by diners that it has now become their signature dessert.
Get our recipe forTraditional Coca-Cola Cake.
Salted Peanuts and Coke
We have a love affair with peanuts in the South.
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Here’s what we thought when we tried peanuts and Coke.
And it graces many tables on Thanksgiving.
The dessert’s roots come from Africa, where yams were a loved, familiar taste.
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Her packaged version was so popular, it sold out in stores last year.
We like this sweet potato pie recipe fromWhat’s Gaby Cooking.
Southerners had a solution.
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Greens were usually cooked with some ham for flavor, making the resulting pot liquor salty and delicious.
We like this collard greens recipe fromCookie + Kate.
Creamed Corn
Go ahead and thank the folks here atEat This, Not That!right now.
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A simple back-and-forth motion cleans the husk of any edible goodness.
We like this creamed corn recipe fromWell Plated by Erin.
Fried Okra
Logically, this had to be the next dish on the list.
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Fried okra makes a delicious accompaniment to creamed corn.
And if you’re shopping for the veggie, bigger isn’t better.
The pods turn fibrous and tough when they grow on the plant too long.
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It’s best to pick and enjoy okra early.
We like this air-fried okra recipe fromA Beautiful Mess.
The simple mixture is made of shredded cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, pimentos, and seasonings.
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We like this pimento cheese dip recipe fromHeartbeet Kitchen.
Sweet tea can be found in nearly every Southern restaurant.
And no meal is complete without its sugary accompanimentthe more syrupy, the better.
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Fortunately, thebest way to make iced teaisn’t difficult to replicate at home.
It’s then mixed with pure sugar cane sugar (lots) or simple syrup and water.
Sweet tea can be an addicting beverage, counteracting the steamy heat of the summer.
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We like this honey and orange sweet tea recipe fromA Beautiful Mess.
We like this Hoppin' John recipe fromThe Seasoned Mom.
The easy way to make healthier comfort foods.
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We like this cornbread recipe fromSally’s Baking Addiction.
EvenFranklin D. Roosevelt enjoyed the dishwhen he visited Warm Springs, Georgia, for polio treatment.
We like this country captain chicken recipe fromThe Seasoned Mom.
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The leftovers often find their way into a trifle, a sweet foil to lemon curd or chocolate custard.
And why is it called a pound cake?
We like this blueberry sour cream pound cake recipe fromJulie’s Eats and Treats.
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The candy can be tricky to make, though.
A humid day might keep it from setting, while dry weather helps it to cure.
We like this cherry-almond divinity recipe fromCafe Johnsonia.
Courtesy Running to the Kitchen
Fig Preserves
Delicious with buttermilk biscuits, fig preserves were often found on a Southern sideboard.
We like this fig preserves recipe fromRunning to the Kitchen.
The soup is stuffed with butter beans, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, and meat.
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In Virginia, it’s traditionally made with chicken, while Georgia adds beef.
We like this Brunswick stew recipe fromEating Bird Food.
The way to make the best potato salad is, of course, your grandmother’s recipe.
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Because every Southern family served their version, grandma’s recipe is the best.
However, you should always use Duke’s mayonnaise.
We like this potato salad recipe fromFoodieCrush.
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Boiled Peanuts
When this Southern snack is introduced, some people just can’t believe it.
Why would you take a perfectly good peanut and do anything but roast it?
Butboiled peanutsare something to be experienced.
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They should be cooked to where they have the perfect texture: not mushy, but also not raw.
We like this boiled peanuts recipe fromShe Wears Many Hats.
Pecan Pie
Butter, Karo syrup, eggs, and pecans.
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The sugary gooey goodness is enough to make your teeth hurt, but you keep coming back for more.
Don’t feel any shame: Pecan pie is an addictive addition to the holidays.
The nuts are typically harvested down South from September to November, which times the harvest for Thanksgiving celebrations.
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The nutritious nut has sparked yet another Southern argument about its pronunciation.
Anyone down South will tell you that the way you say it is “PEE-can.”
We like this pecan pie recipe fromTaste & Tell.
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A good recipe is smooth but not too eggy.
We like this blueberry custard pie recipe fromThe Girl Who Ate Everything.
(Of course, in a Southern grandmother’s day, the chicken might not have arrived pre-frozen.)
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Giblet gravy uses the neck, gizzards, and hearts that are packaged inside modern-day grocery store birds.
Leave out the liver, though.
Its flavor is a bit overwhelming to use.
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We like this giblet gravy recipe fromPlatter Talk.
Barbecue
Let me start this by saying: Alltypes of Southern barbecueare all delicious.
And people get upset if you say theirs isn’t the best.
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We like this baked ribs recipe fromInspired Taste.
Red Velvet Cake
The roots of this dessertaren’t exactly Southern.
We like this red velvet cake recipe fromMy Name Is Yeh.
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Just like all things Southern, the dish is rich and hearty.
It’s typically served over mashed potatoes, with a side of vegetables.
As for its origin,Texas holds the claim to the original chicken fried steak recipe.
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We like this chicken fried steak recipe fromMacheesmo.
Country ham is usually salty and delicious, more like bacon than regular bland processed ham.
We like this baked country ham recipe fromLeite’s Culinaria.
Squash Casserole
Sometimes plain vegetables can be, well, plain.
But Southern grandmothers loved to jazz up their produce, and squash casserole is no exception.
Tender cooked disks of squash with butter, onion, cream, and cheddar cheese make a delectable casserole.
And the dusting of buttery Ritz Crackers on the top makes it decadent.
The dish works well with any varieties of squash right out of the garden or the farmer’s market.
We like this Southern squash casserole recipe fromFive Heart Home.
This recipe was refined in the coastal Southern areas of Savannah and Charleston, where the ingredients were plentiful.
Newer versions include pork, sausage, beef, or other vegetables.
We like this red rice recipe fromSpicy Southern Kitchen.
Or, better yet, choose your favorites and learn to prepare them yourself.
There’s nothing better than a home-cooked meal, especially a Southern one.
A previous version of this article was originally published on August 9, 2019.
