33 Essential Southern Recipes (2024)

Defined by an abundance of fresh produce, seafood, and smoked meats with a blend of flavors and influences from African, French, German, and Spanish cultures, Southern food is soul-warming and rich with tradition. These recipes represent the diversity of Southern cuisine, from classics such as buttermilk fried chicken and biscuits, passed down through generations, to modern mash-ups like cheese grits with barbecue shrimp or mac and cheese with okra and New Orleans flair. Scroll through to see some of the best Southern recipes from the U.S. region.

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Easy Buttermilk Biscuits

With just six ingredients, these biscuits are a simple, quick, impressive side to serve with any meal - breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They’re bestserved warm, but you can prep them up to two months in advance and keep them frozen until you are ready to bake.

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Southern-Style Mac 'n' Cheese

Three kinds of cheese — extra-sharp cheddar, Colby-Jack, and cream cheese — go into this creamy, savory macaroni and cheese recipe, which also gets hints of flavor from fresh bay leaves and dry mustard. Southern-style mac 'n' cheese is typically made with a milk-and-egg base rather than a roux.

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Crispy Buttermilk Fried Chicken

With this especially crispy and tender version, F&W's Grace Parisi has perfected fried chicken. A buttermilk marinade with a touch of cayenne ensures juicy meat, while a flour dredge spiked with garlic and onion powder delivers a crunchy, flavorful crust in every bite.

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Buttermilk Cornbread

Former F&W food editor Josh Miller says this cornbread recipe is an amalgamation of best practices across families and generations. It will keep its crunch and retain its structure if cubed and folded into a dressing for Thanksgiving. But it's also delicious all by itself (well, with a pat of butter slathered on top, naturally).

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Biscoff Banana Pudding

The subtle spice of Biscoff cookies helps to balance the sweetness of each decadent layer of creamy custard and fresh bananas in this tall and impressive banana pudding for a crowd. 2019 F&W Best New Chef Kwame Onwuachi says he was inspired by one made by his aunt Yolanda in Beaumont, Texas; he got to taste it while on a recent trip to connect with his roots in Louisiana and Texas.

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Shrimp with Cheddar-Parmesan Grits

Chef Michael Reed saves the shrimp shells to cook with vegetables and herbs to create a deeply flavorful stock, which he then uses as a sauce for these shrimp and grits. Pan-fried shrimp are spooned on top of a mound of cheesy grits and topped with the rich shellfish stock as the finishing touch.

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Summer Fruit Cobbler with Vanilla-Mascarpone Biscuits

Let the farmers market be your guide when it comes to this cobbler—any mixture of fresh stone fruits and berries can be cooked down to make the perfectly sweet-tart, jammy filling. Tender vanilla-mascarpone biscuits have a shortcake-like texture and a delightfully crunchy top from the turbinado sugar. They're also highly customizable: You can swap the mascarpone in the biscuit topping for crème fraîche or sour cream if that's what you have, and trade the semolina for fine cornmeal for a more crumbly texture.

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Cheese Grits

Grits are a pure Southern food, a cracked corn porridge first introduced to colonists in Virginia by Native Americans. Over the years, they've escalated from what was once considered merely food for the poor into fine dining status — and not just in the Southern states.

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Hoppin' John with Turnips and Turnip Greens

Todd Richards spices up his family recipe for this Southern favorite (often enjoyed on New Year's Day) with harissa for extra heat. Richards makes the traditional ham hock optional so that vegetarians can enjoy the dish as well; he adds smoked paprika and cumin to deliver a similar savory depth. Turnips become soft and tender after a quick braise, adding body to the dish.

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Sweet Potato Pie

Sweet potato pie has become an all-American dish, but New Orleans chef Susan Spicer tops hers with bourbon-spiked praline sauce to accent its Southern roots.

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Nashville Hot Chicken

Contemporary in popularity, this Tennessee specialty has been essential for generations locally. Typically deep-fried and coated in a spicy mixture of oil, cayenne pepper, and other spices, you can vary the heat when making at home.

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A Proper Shrimp Boil

In the Deep South, corn, potatoes, andouille, an Old Bay spice mix, and wild shrimp from the Gulf are essential to this widespread tradition.

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Louisiana Red Beans and Rice

"Everyone with roots in southern Louisiana, where red beans and rice is a staple, thinks that their mom makes the best version," says 2019 F&W Best New Chef Kwame Onwuachi.This is his mom's version.

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Brunswick Stew

Brunswick stew is a beloved comfort dish with roots in traditional Southern cuisine. Origin stories are murky because several regions throughout the South — all with name ties to Brunswick — claim to have made it first. The ingredients vary by region. Our version uses pork shoulder, corn, potatoes, and lima beans, but other versions may have okra, chicken, or smoked pork.

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Mississippi Pot Roast

This simmers, slow and low, until the meat is tender and falling off the bone. It's a great dish for a weekend gathering or to feed a small family over the course of a couple of days.

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Georgia Peach Pie with Bourbon Whipped Cream

The best peach pie showcases juicy peak-season Georgia peaches layered inside a tender, flaky crust and adorned with billows of softly whipped bourbon-tinged cream.

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Boiled Peanuts

Salty, tender boiled peanuts are a classic snack throughout the South. Peanuts were used in cooking across Africa, and enslaved Africans planted them in America.

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Dill Pickles

These incredibly simple pickles have just the right amount of garlic and dill and are intensely crunchy and refreshing right out of the refrigerator. Dill pickles are popular in the South, especially fried for a snack.

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Okra Mac and Cheese with Andouille Sausage

Introduced to New Orleans in the early 1700s, okra was originally referred to as ki ngombo. This Angolan word was later shortened to gombo, or gumbo, to describe the hearty soup traditionally thickened with okra. New Orleans chef Kevin Belton brings okra’s thickening power and a little Louisiana flair to his bakedmac and cheese, with Creole seasoning, andouille sausage, and a cheddar and Gruyère sauce.

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Cheese Straws

Crisp, savory, and with a satisfying snap, cheese straws are a Southern staple, and these were honed to perfection by the legendary culinary duo Edna Lewis and Scott Peaco*ck.

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Bourbon-Pecan Pie

This easy pecan pie tastes of dark caramel, toasted nuts, and a little bit of bourbon. Savannah baker Cheryl Day created this recipe to work with a range of less-refined sweeteners, from honey to cane syrup. And the super easy press-in crust means you don't even need a rolling pin.

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Sweet Corn Succotash

Birmingham, Alabama chef Chris Hastings uses fresh field peas in this succotash, but says green peas are a nice, sweet addition if you prefer.

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Deviled Eggs with Country Ham

Chef Ford Fry gives these deviled eggs a few European touches. They get their terrific flavor from goat cheese, Dijon mustard, and cornichons, plus a topping of country ham from the famed Benton's Smoky Mountain Country Hams in Madisonville, Tennessee.

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Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Barbecue Sauce

Roasted garlic seasons this pork shoulder, which slow-cooks until it is both tender and deeply flavorful. Shred it and top with barbecue sauce, coleslaw, and a spicy habanero vinaigrette for the perfect sandwich.

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Mom's Fried Catfish with Hot Sauce

Chef Todd Richard's mother made catfish on Fridays as part of her weekly rotation of dishes, and he was always amazed by the crispiness of her fish. Her secret was to let it sit in cornmeal for about 5 minutes — a technique he uses today.

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Fried Green Tomatoes

When firm, tart green tomatoes are coated in bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese then pan-fried, they become amazingly crispy on the outside, and warm and juicy on the inside.

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Summer Bean Salad with Potlikker Vinaigrette

Potlikker, as it's called in the South, is the savory, starchy liquid left over after cooking beans or greens. Here, chef Joe Kindred whisks the flavorful liquid into a vinaigrette, but you can also use it in soups and pasta sauces, or thicken it with butter and drizzle it over fish.

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Carolina Pulled Pork

Traditional Carolina barbecue begins with a whole hog smoked over coals. Here, chef Sean Brock cooks pork shoulder for 12 hours in a 275°F oven before smoking it for about 1 hour in a backyard grill.

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Smoky Collard Greens

"I've been making collards this way ever since I can remember," says South Carolina chef Sarah Simmons. She gives the greens a double dose of smokiness with bacon and paprika and adds jalapeño for a good kick of heat.

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Emeril's Muffuletta

The muffuletta is the quintessential New Orleans sandwich of cured meats, cheese, and tangy olive salad piled onto a sturdy Italian loaf.

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Tangy Key Lime Pie

Based on a recipe fromFlorida Keys Cookingpamphlet, published in 1946 by Patricia's Notebook newsletter, this pie is not the ordinarily dense and cloyingly sweet version.

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Collard Greens with Black-Eyed Peas

Bobby Flay's combination of two Southern classics — collard greens and black-eyed peas — is not only delicious but super-smart.

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Coconut Cake

Coconut cake came into vogue in the 1920s as a dainty dessert for ladies' gatherings. Traditionally made with marshmallow frosting, the cake was famously served to President Truman during a trip to Florida in the 1950s.

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