17 Iconic Southern Recipes—From Fried Green Tomatoes to Banana Pudding—Y'All Are Gonna Love

It's like taking a tasty road trip through the American South.

By
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Editor
Mimi Young is an editor and pastry chef. She has also curated and written numerous recipe roundups for Serious Eats.
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Updated October 24, 2024
Overhead view of cathead biscuits

Serious Eats / Qi Ai

I'm the type of person who plans all my trips around food experiences, so visiting "landmarks" usually revolves around iconic eateries, food halls, markets…you get the picture. The only place I've ever been to in the South is New Orleans, and while I'm a bit fuzzy on the details of the various trips themselves—way too many Hurricane slushies and bourbon cocktails—my sense memory of the food remains crystal clear: creamy grits, smoky collard greens, rich gravies, and a plethora of sweet, sweet desserts.

Putting together this collection of 17 iconic Southern recipes made me feel like I was embarking on a road trip through the American South, tucking into a big plate of country ham and sopping up the red-eye gravy with as many fluffy cathead biscuits I could get my hands on. Although I'm admittedly a wimp when it comes to spicy food, I'd happily brave a Nashville hot chicken sandwich—as long as I could quell the heat by digging into a bowl of cool banana pudding afterward. Even if you can't travel through the South, cooking these recipes will easily take you on a delicious sensory adventure.

  • Red-Eye Gravy

    Ham steak with red-eye gravy on a blue plate

    Serious Eats/Morgan Glaze

    Elaborate, rib-sticking breakfasts—especially the kind involving meat and gravy, like this pan-fried country ham and red-eye gravy made from pan drippings and coffee—are a favorite way to welcome home family and friends in the South. The exact origin of the moniker "red-eye" is debatable, though it's likely due to its shimmering reddish hue where it pools around the “eye” or “aitch” bone of sliced country ham. All you need to know is that you should have plenty of biscuits on hand to soak up the rich mahogany gravy.

  • Biscuits and Gravy

    Overhead view of biscuits and gravy

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    Biscuits are the foundation of this classic Southern breakfast. Just a handful of ingredients and a cast iron pan is all it takes to whip up the South's best hangover cure. To keep the gravy homogeneous and not too greasy, we cook the sausage in its own fat, adding onion to provide a savory counterpoint to the sweet elements in the sausage. A ratio of one tablespoon of all-purpose flour to one cup of milk ensures a thick and silky gravy that won’t become gloppy once cooled.

  • Southern Cathead Biscuits

    Overhead view of cathead biscuits

    Serious Eats / Qi Ai

    Among the myriad of biscuit styles in the South, cathead biscuits are a ubiquitous regional favorite, found at barbecue joints, truck stops, and home dinner tables. They're so-named because their size is said to be as big as a "cat's head." Unlike flaky layered cut biscuits, this drop variety is crisp on the outside and fluffy-tender on the inside—and much easier to make. It's just the kind of biscuit you want for sopping up every last drop of gravy, meat juices, or whatever else is on your plate.

  • Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich

    Side view of Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich

    Serious Eats / Victor Protasio

    Like all good Southern-style fried chicken, this one starts with a buttermilk brine that helps tenderize the meat and provides a vehicle for layering flavor—in the form of hot sauce, cayenne, and black pepper, in this case. It's then double-dredged and fried until golden with lots of sturdy craggy bits to grab onto the fiery finishing sauce without losing any of its crispiness. A brioche bun slathered with mayo (preferably Duke's) and a few pickle slices complete the picture.

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  • Fried Green Tomatoes

    Overhead of Fried Green Tomatoes and dip on a printed surface. Plate on the corner has bitten tomatoes on it

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

    One of the keys to frying the best green tomatoes lies in choosing the right tomatoes. You'll want to go for unripened tomatoes that are still green instead of ripe green tomatoes (such as an heirloom variety), which would turn to mush when they hit the heat. Make sure to slice the firm tomatoes no more than 1/4-inch thick to prevent the batter from cracking and falling off when fried. Adding salt to a 50/50 blend of cornmeal and breadcrumbs eliminates the need to season the raw tomatoes, ensuring a crispy coating.

  • Cheesy Southern Tomato Pie

    Overhead view of finished tomato pie

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    Savory tomato pies have deep roots in the South and can be found throughout the Carolinas, particularly the flat coastal areas of the low country. A well-made one—like this retro version featuring bright, sweet tomatoes bathed in mayo and a blend of mozzarella and cheddar cheeses—makes the most of summer's bounty. We pre-salt the tomatoes to drain them of excess water and concentrate their flavor, and par-bake the crust so it remains crisp.

  • Cajun Shrimp

    Cajun shrimp on a purple plate.

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

    There are plenty of recipes for "Cajun shrimp" out there—many of them simply involve melting butter in a pan, tossing shrimp in Cajun seasoning, and sautéeing it with some garlic until just cooked. But we think making your own Cajun seasoning blend allows for better control over flavors. We also like dry-brining the shrimp with salt and baking soda for a plumper shrimp with a tender bite, and also bronzing the shrimp over moderate heat to let the sweet and delicate shrimp flavor shine through the spices.

  • Good Grits

    Overhead view of a bowl of grits topped with a pat of butter

    Serious Eats / Jillian Atkinson

    If you don't like grits or are on the fence about it, chances are you probably haven't had a good, properly made pot of them. This recipe just might change your mind: Grits made from good quality stone-milled whole kernel corn, simmered low and slow with the high ratio of water to grits, stirred with love and consideration until they form a silken porridge that's sweet, nutty, and creamy. Now that's the way grits should be.

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  • Southern-Style Unsweetened Cornbread

    A slice of Southern-style unsweetened cornbread on a round white ceramic plate with a dark green rim. The cornbread is resting on a dark teal surface and there's a dishcloth in the background.

    Serious Eats / Mariel De La Cruz

    Like grits, unsweetened Southern-style cornbread shines when it's made with high-quality cornmeal, which produces a light and fluffy bread interspersed with pleasantly crackly bits of corn grit, and loaded with a rich corn flavor. Adding sugar isn't necessary when you're using stone-ground cornmeal made from corn that's left to ripen in the field, resulting in a higher sugar content. Even if you're used to the sweeter Northern style of cornbread, this is worth a spot in your baking repertoire—especially for making stuffing at Thanksgiving.

  • Hoppin' John

    Hoppin John on a white plate set on blue cloth

    Serious Eats / Jillian Atkinson

    Although Hoppin' John is famously eaten on New Year's Day for good luck and prosperity, this Southern staple is just as good on any other day. Our version features tender and earthy field peas cooked with fluffy rice and rich and smoky ham hocks. Using parboiled rice shortens the cooking time and ensures every grain cooks up fluffy instead of sticky.

  • Braised Collard Greens With Ham Hocks

    Close-up of braised collard greens with ham hocks

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    The meltingly tender greens and deep, long-simmered smoky pork flavor of a classic braised collards is what we associate with the best of Southern cooking. This recipe starts with meaty ham hocks simmered in chicken stock and onions until fall-off-the-bone tender. Collard greens are added to the broth, or "pot likker," along with chopped meat, then stewed until tender. It's no wonder why this is always one of the must-haves at a meat-and-three.

  • Dirty Rice

    An overhead shot of a serving bowl of dirty rice

    Serious Eats / Jillian Atkinson

    Dirty rice is celebrated in the South, particularly Louisiana, and prized for the browned meat and puréed giblets used to impart its distinctive brownish-gray coloring. It's made with the “Holy Trinity” of onions, bell peppers, and celery, a substantial amount of ground meat and chicken giblets, and a generous sprinkling of Creole seasonings, like cayenne, sage, and paprika. In our recipe, we purée the giblets to help distribute their flavor evenly when it's mixed with the rice.

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  • Chow-Chow

    Bowl of Chow Chow with a spoon in it. The bowl is on a blue table cloth with other plates and sparkling water around it

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    A sweet and tangy relish of pickled vegetables, chow-chow is an everpresent condiment on many Southern tables. It offers a great way to make the most of end-of-season green tomatoes and other late-summer produce before that first frost hits—and it's easy to make, too. Our version uses a blend of mustard powder and seeds, along with other spices, as well as a very small amount of turmeric to give the relish a punchy flavor and beautiful golden color without overpowering the vegetables.

  • Best Banana Pudding

    Side view of banana pudding

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    Although banana pudding wasn't closely associated with the South until about the 1950s, it has now cemented its place in the Southern culinary landscape to the point where it's a permanent fixture on practically every menu in the South. While many recipes rely on packaged banana pudding mix for the base, our decidedly upgraded version relies on pastry cream infused with real vanilla for a silkier, richer filling. Chilling the assembled pudding for at least eight hours allows the flavors to meld and gives the wafers a chance to fully soften.

  • Red Velvet Cake

    Overhead view of a slice of red velvet layer cake

    Serious Eats / Debbie Wee

    Another dessert that originated up North but took root in the South is the iconic red velvet cake, which, when properly made, more than lives up to its name. Our version uses a generous amount of natural cocoa powder to add a robust flavor as well as a rich, dark color and buttermilk to give the cake its signature tang while also keeping it moist. The batter is also great for cupcakes, but I would advise against baking the cake into the shape of an armadillo (only Steel Magnolias fans will know!).

  • Retro Hummingbird Cake

    Overhaed view of hummingbird cake

    Serious Eats / Jen Causey

    Studded with pineapple chunks and bananas and coated in a tangy cream cheese frosting, hummingbird cake has been a staple of Southern tables since the 1970s. Our retro take on this classic packs in as much sweet banana and pineapple flavor as possible without being cloying or stodgy. We use both mashed and chopped bananas to ensure there’s banana in every bite and toast the pecans to amplify their delicate flavor. We kept the cream cheese frosting simple to provide a nice tangy balance to the sweet tropical elements.

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  • Chess Pie

    Overhead view of Chess Pie

    Serious Eats / Fred Hardy

    Ooey, gooey, sticky, and sweet is a common theme in Southern desserts, and this classic chess pie fits the bill. What's great about this dessert is that it uses pantry-friendly ingredients and is very quick and easy to put together. A little salt and vinegar offsets some of the sweetness, while a small amount of flour and cornmeal in the filling gives the pie its signature thin, crackly, caramelized surface.

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