Cuisine of the Southern United States

Part of a series on
American cuisine
Regional cuisines Northeastern New England New Jersey New York City Philadelphia Midwestern Chicago Michigan North Dakota Ohio Omaha St. Louis Wisconsin Mid-Atlantic Baltimore Pittsburgh Southern (list) Atlanta Cajun Floribbean Kentucky Louisiana Creole Lowcountry Houston New Orleans Texas Tex-Mex Western California California fusion Los Angeles Pacific Northwest Rocky Mountain Southwestern New Mexican Other Hawaiian Military rations Puerto Rican Roadkill Tailgate party
History Thirteen Colonies Antebellum America Chuckwagon Culinary Revolution Food truck Diner Hot dog cart Ice cream van
Ingredients and foods List of American foods Apple Beef Blueberry Chocolate Collard greens Corn Okra Pecan Potato Pumpkin Sunflower seed Tomato Turkey Vanilla
Styles Barbecue in the United States Alabama Kansas City Memphis North Carolina South Carolina Santa Maria St. Louis Texas Fast food Fusion New American Pizza in the United States
Ethnic and cultural American Chinese Filipino-American cuisine Greek-American Indian Italian-American Japanese Jewish Mexican-American Native American Pennsylvania Dutch Soul food Tlingit
Holidays and festivals Fourth of July Christmas Thanksgiving
United States portal Food portal
v t e

The cuisine of the Southern United States encompasses diverse food traditions of several subregions, including cuisine of Southeastern Native American tribes, Tidewater, Appalachian, Ozarks, Lowcountry, Cajun, Creole, African American cuisine and Floribbean, Spanish, French, British, and German cuisine. In recent history, elements of Southern cuisine have spread to other parts of the United States, influencing other types of American cuisine.^[1]

Many elements of Southern cooking—tomatoes, squash, corn (and its derivatives, such as hominy and grits), and deep-pit barbecuing—are borrowings from Indigenous peoples of the region (e.g., Cherokee, Caddo, Choctaw, and Seminole). From the Old World, European colonists introduced sugar, flour, milk, eggs, and livestock, along with a number of vegetables; meanwhile, enslaved West Africans trafficked to the North American colonies through the Atlantic slave trade^[2] introduced black-eyed peas, okra, eggplant, sesame, sorghum, melons, and various spices.^[3] Rice also became prominent in many dishes in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina due to the fact that the enslaved people who settled the region (now known as the Gullah people), were already quite familiar with the crop.^[4][5]

Many Southern foodways are local adaptations of Old World traditions. In Appalachia, many Southern dishes are Scottish or British Border in origin. For instance, the South's fondness for a full breakfast derives from the British full breakfast or fry-up. Pork, once considered informally taboo in Scotland, has taken the place of lamb and mutton. Instead of chopped oats, Southerners have traditionally eaten grits, a porridge normally made from coarsely ground, nixtamalized maize, also known as hominy.

Certain regions have been infused with different Old World traditions. Louisiana Creole cuisine draws upon vernacular French cuisine, West African cuisine, and Spanish cuisine; Floribbean cuisine is Spanish-based with obvious Caribbean influences; and Tex-Mex has considerable Mexican and Indigenous influences with its abundant use of New World vegetables (e.g. corn, tomatoes, squash, and peppers) and barbecued meat. In Southern Louisiana, West African influences have persisted in dishes such as gumbo, jambalaya, and red beans and rice.^[6]