12 Southern dishes to try in the USA

Blending influences from Africa, Europe, indigenous culture and a few Cajun and Creole tweaks, you’ll discover soul food staples, mouth-watering sweet treats, and more than a few ordinary ingredients transformed into unforgettable meals. Bon Appetit and dig in!

This soul food classic also has its origins in West Africa, and the name itself is thought to come from the word for okra, kimgombo (or quimbombo), which was used as a thickening agent. Today’s dish also has influences from French settlers in Louisiana, who included a slow-cooked roux, and Native Americans, who contributed file powder, made from ground sassafras leaves. Add in Creole and Cajun spices and you have a rich, thick stew, often packed with fish or seafood, although Cajun versions tend to use chicken and andouille sausage instead. Served with rice, this is a true taste of the south.

Jambalaya

Another staple of US southern food, jambalaya is as much a melting pot of ingredients as of culinary influences, with links to African, Spanish and French cuisine. Another traditional Louisiana dish, it’s thought to have its origins in paella, with Spanish settlers using tomatoes instead of saffron, although there are links to West African one-pot rice dishes and Provencal recipes using rice too. There’s no single set of ingredients either, so you could find pork, chicken, rabbit or andouille sausage, or seafood, or both, cooked with rice, stock, vegetables (usually onions, celery and peppers) and seasoning. The Creole version you’ll find in New Orleans adds tomatoes, but the Cajun version doesn’t.

Many Southern American dishes draw on a mix of culinary influences and blackened catfish is no different. The fish is commonly found along the Gulf Shores, but it’s the mix of spices which transforms it. Popularised by Louisiana chef Paul Prudhomme, the catfish is coated in a mix of paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, oregano and black pepper, before being seared to give it the blackened crust. The spicy dish is often served with other Southern classics, such as grits, coleslaw, or cornbread.

Fried chicken steak

There are few foods more closely associated with Southern cuisine than fried chicken, with links going back to West African dishes cooked in the US by enslaved people, as well as old Scottish recipes brought by settlers to the south. And if Kentucky popularised it, fried chicken goes back well before KFC, with the first printed recipe appearing in an American cookbook in 1824. Once only eaten on special occasions, you’ll find plenty of chances to try a few pieces across the South, including several regional specialities. Nashville hot chicken mixes cayenne, paprika and garlic in the buttermilk marinade for a real kick.

If you’re looking for Southern street food, you can’t do better than a Po’Boy sandwich. Created during the 1929 Louisiana streetcar strikes in New Orleans, when local café owners concocted these affordable sandwiches for the ‘poor boys’ on the picket line, they’ve been a hit ever since. The key ingredient is a baguette-style loaf with its thin crust and fluffy centre, usually filed with deep-fried shrimp, tomato, lettuce, pickle and mayonnaise, although these days you’ll find them packed with oysters, catfish, crab, beef, sausage and ham as well, with cafes, diners and stalls often adding their own individual twist.

This soul food staple is considered one of the ultimate Southern comfort foods, however strange the name ‘grits’ might sound to UK visitors. Starting life as a simple fisherman’s breakfast, grits are a type of creamy porridge made from ground corn, with links to African dishes using millet and maize. You’ll find grits served as a base for fish or meat, seasoned as a side dish, or enlivened with rich, spiced gravy, but one unmissable version teams sauteed spiced shrimp with grits, served everywhere from classic diners to fancier restaurants.

If you had to name a classic Southern meal, cornbread would be at the heart of it, usually alongside fried chicken, collard greens and mashed potato or coleslaw. Using ground cornmeal instead of flour, the buttery bread is a bit denser than wheat bread but there are as many ways to eat it as there are with your average loaf – use it to mop up every last morsel of your BBQ, slather it in butter or honey, dip in soup. However you like it, don’t miss trying it at least once.

Biscuits with gravy

This staple of Southern cuisine seems designed to catch out the unwary British visitor. Far from the sweet, crisp treat to dunk in your tea, these soft, flaky creations are closer to scones but designed to be eaten with savoury dishes. A popular alternative to cornbread, they’re made with buttermilk and often served for a breakfast, or to mop up stews and soups. As you travel through the Deep South, you’ll often find biscuits with gravy on the menu – another surprise for UK travellers, the gravy is made from flour, milk, black pepper and pork sausage dripping so it’s a creamy white sauce.

Another cornerstone of Southern soul food, collard greens are another staple you’ll find everywhere across this part of the US. Similar to chard, this green vegetable loses some of its bitterness when cooked and can be used in a similar way to kale and spring greens, although with a more earthy taste. You’ll find them as a fairly simple side for Southern dishes such as fried chicken and barbecued meat, but more often cooked slowly with smoked meat, onion, garlic and spices.

Fried green tomatoes

Another classic Southern dish to try in the US, fried green tomatoes have been mentioned in cookbooks since the 19th century but were made famous by the 1991 film naming them – and you can find them at the Whistle Stop Café in Georgia to this day, as well as across the Deep South. The tomatoes are picked while they’re still green, for a tart flavour that’s part of the dish but also to ensure they’re firm enough not to fall apart while cooking. They’re then sliced, coated in cornmeal and fried until golden and crunchy, and like so many Southern American dishes, can be eaten at almost any time, whether that’s a breakfast side dish, a snack served with a tangy dip or part of your evening meal.

You won’t be short of indulgent desserts while you’re exploring the South but this classic pudding promises to feed body and soul. The earliest known recipe appeared in print in 1888, but it’s become so beloved that one Tennessee city dedicates a weekend each October to celebrating Banana Pudding. Similar to trifle, you layer custard or vanilla pudding, sliced banana and vanilla wafers, usually topped with whipped cream or meringue, although you’ll find other variations.

In 1986, Louisiana named the beignet as official state doughnut, and it’s become as much part of a visit to New Orleans as any other attraction. Introduced by French settlers in the 18th century, the soft dough is cut into squares and fried before being lavishly dusted with powdered sugar, and is best served warm with a cup of coffee. Don’t leave the French Quarter without trying at least one.

Discover the Deep South on an escorted tour of the USA, including our Southern Sights and Sounds tour of Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans