Recipes 26 Essential Southern Recipes By Nikki Miller-Ka Updated on February 15, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Kathleen Varner / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey Defined by an abundance of fresh produce, seafood, and smoked meats with a blend of flavors and influences from Spanish, French, German, and West African cultures, Southern cuisine is soul-warming comfort food at its best. These recipes represent the diverse genre of Southern recipes, from traditional classics such as Fried Chicken with Tomato Gravy passed down through generations to modern mash-ups like Summer Bean Salad with Potlikker Vinaigrette and Pork Belly Burnt Ends with Barbecue Sauce. Scroll through to see some of the best Southern recipes the U.S. region has to offer. 01 of 26 Crispy Buttermilk Fried Chicken William F. Dickey II 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. Get the Recipe 02 of 26 Summer Fruit Cobbler with Vanilla-Mascarpone Biscuits Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis 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. Get the Recipe 03 of 26 Buttermilk Cornbread Victor Protasio 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). Get the recipe 04 of 26 Smoky Collard Greens © Christina Holmes "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. Get the recipe 05 of 26 Sweet Potato Pie Photo by Adam Friedlander / Food Styling by Pearl Jones 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. Get the recipe 06 of 26 Bourbon-Pecan Pie Con Poulos 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. Get the Recipe 07 of 26 Classic Meatloaf © Con Poulos "This is a culmination of all the meatloaf I've ever eaten," says Andrew Curren, chef-partner of 24 Diner in Austin. "My mom always made a good meatloaf — it never had the tomato goo on top of it. Then I tasted a meatloaf that had cheese in it; that was a good idea. In Italy, I was introduced to sofrito and realized the importance of cooking with carrots, onion, celery." Curren serves this meatloaf with creamy gravy, which is also an excellent addition to lunchtime meatloaf sandwiches. Get the Recipe 08 of 26 Pork Belly Burnt Ends with Barbecue Sauce Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Kathleen Varner / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey Burnt ends are, strictly speaking, the extra-dark, chewy, extremely delicious ends of barbecued beef brisket—not pork belly at all. But if you find burnt ends irresistible, then this recipe is for you. Slow-smoking chunks of spice-rubbed pork belly, then tossing them in a quick, not-too-sweet barbecue sauce and smoking them some more yields a crispy-chewy pile of pork that will win over the most passionate burnt-ends purist. Enjoy these with a stack of white bread slices to sop up the sauce, along with tangy pickles and raw onion to cut through the richness. Get the recipe 09 of 26 Biscoff Banana Pudding Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Christina Daley 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. 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. Get the recipe 10 of 26 Sweet Corn Succotash © Lucy Schaeffer Birmingham, Alabama, chef Chris Hastings uses fresh field peas in this succotash, but says green peas are a nice, sweet addition if you prefer. Get the recipe 11 of 26 Deviled Eggs with Country Ham © Wendell T. Webber 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. Get the recipe 12 of 26 Shrimp with Cheddar-Parmesan Grits Hannah Khan It's worth it to take the time to peel and devein your own shrimp, and in this recipe, chef Michael Reed gives us a lesson on why. He 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. Get the recipe 13 of 26 The Best Biscuits Greg DuPree Scott Peacock got this delectable biscuit recipe from the legendary Southern cook Edna Lewis, who was his dear friend and mentor. In 2018, Food & Wine named this recipe one of our 40 best. Get the recipe 14 of 26 Dill Pickles © John Kernick These incredibly simple pickles have just the right amount of garlic and dill and are intensely crunchy and refreshing right out of the refrigerator. Get the Recipe 15 of 26 Fried Chicken with Tomato Gravy Greg DuPree The bird is double brined, dredged in a mix of flour, cornstarch, and potato starch; and fried in a trinity of lard, butter, and bacon fat. It's best served with Edna Lewis' light, fluffy, irresistible biscuits; you'll have plenty of extra gravy to go with them. Get the recipe 16 of 26 Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Barbecue Sauce © Con Poulos 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. Get the recipe 17 of 26 Fried Green Tomatoes © Kristen Strecker 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. Get the Recipe 18 of 26 Mom's Fried Catfish with Hot Sauce Victor Protasio 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. Get the Recipe 19 of 26 Cheese Grits © Brown W. Cannon III "I seriously have received three marriage proposals over a bowl of my cheese grits," says chef Amber Huffman. Get the Recipe 20 of 26 Summer Bean Salad with Potlikker Vinaigrette Eva Kolenko 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. Get the Recipe 21 of 26 Coconut Cake © Karen Mordechai 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. Get the Recipe 22 of 26 Beaten Biscuit Breakfast Sandwich with Tomato Jam © Abby Hocking Chef Marcus Samuelsson adds a little bit of nutty brown butter to amp up the flavor in these incredible biscuits. He serves them warm, spread with tangy-sweet tomato jam, fried country ham, and perfectly scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese. Get the Recipe 23 of 26 Hoppin' John with Turnips and Turnip Greens Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen 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. Get the Recipe 24 of 26 Carolina Pulled Pork © Antonis Achilleos 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. Get the Recipe 25 of 26 Southern-Style Mac 'n' Cheese Photo by Noah Fecks / Food Styling by Drew Aichele / Prop Styling by Ethan Lunkenheimer 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. Here, the milk component is an infused milk-and-cream mixture reserved from cooking the noodles (which adds even more richness to the dish). Get the Recipe 26 of 26 Braised Lamb Neck with Turnip © John Kernick Lamb necks, an underappreciated cut, are fantastic when braised, such as in this homey stew from Boston chef Tony Maws. The meat gets succulent and tender as it cooks in the slightly sweet braising liquid flavored with white wine and fresh herbs, while the neck bones, in turn, intensify and flavor the broth. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? 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