Food and Recipes Dish 25 Classic Southern Recipes Every Home Cook Should Know By Heart By Kaitlyn Yarborough Kaitlyn Yarborough Part of the Southern Living team since 2017, Kaitlyn Yarborough is a Georgia native living in Austin, Texas, who covers a wide variety of topics for both the magazine and website, focusing on culture and lifestyle content, as well as travel in the South.She earned a B.A. in Journalism at the University of Georgia. She hopes to inspire your travel bucket list with her features on road trips through Texas Hill Country, bourbon tours in Kentucky, and the best beach getaways on the Gulf Coast. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on June 22, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Southern Living While there is always room for experimentation in the kitchen, there are some recipes you should know by heart. No cookbook can tell you how much buttermilk to add like your grandmother could. For Southerners, it's like learning the alphabet, starting with "A" for ambrosia all the way to "Z" for zesty lemon pie. From buttermilk biscuits to skillet cornbread, gumbo to dumplings, these Southern dishes are the basis from which generations of family dinners and holiday feasts alike have been built in the South—and we'll be darned if we ever saw Mama look at a recipe card while making them. Break out that vintage deviled egg tray and prepare the frying oil. We rounded up our favorite Southern recipes that should be memorized and mastered, singling out those that can be easily remembered and tailored on the fly. Below, find the recipes every Southerner should know how to make. These Are The 84 Best Cyber Monday Deals You Can Score On Amazon For Under $100 01 of 25 Mama's Fried Chicken Southern Living Recipe: Mama's Fried Chicken The best thing about fried chicken? It doesn't ask for much. All you need is a simple coating of seasoned flour after two hours of letting the chicken soak in buttermilk. (That step, however simple, is imperative.) Then, crispy fried perfection. 02 of 25 Sausage Gravy and Biscuits Southern Living Recipe: Sausage Gravy and Biscuits There's really no excuse not to know how to make this three-ingredient recipe that bolsters any blissful Southern breakfast. When in doubt, our classic Buttermilk Biscuits make a delicious base for breakfast. 03 of 25 Pimiento Cheese Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Basic Pimiento Cheese Is it really a party without pimiento? We think not. Southerners know that just a few dashes of Worcestershire, or a couple sprinkles of cayenne, make the difference between basic and out-of-this-world. 04 of 25 Red Beans and Rice Peter Frank Edwards Recipe: New Orleans Red Beans and RiceRecipe: Slow-Cooker Red Beans and Rice Louisianan by origin, red beans and rice should be a dinner staple throughout the South. Starting with the same aromatics as most—onion, bell pepper, celery—it's a heavenly free-for-all after that. For some, ham hocks, andouille sausage, or bacon are a must; for others, it's pickled or salt pork. Some serve it with fried pork chops; others omit the smoked sausage in the pot and serve it with a link instead. 05 of 25 Deviled Eggs Southern Living Recipe: Basic Deviled Eggs This favorite Southern snack and side doesn't always get the credit it's due. Sure, it's never the star of the spread, but well-seasoned deviled eggs disappear quicker than any casserole. Don't forget the heirloom deviled egg tray. 06 of 25 Chicken Bog Greg DuPree Recipe: Chicken Bog You might know this old-fashioned recipe by any number of names, but regardless, it's always a delicious pot full of chicken and rice. At the heart, it calls for cooking rice in chicken stock, adding shredded chicken, and going heavy on the pepper. 07 of 25 Old-School Squash Casserole Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Old-School Squash Casserole To Southerners, squash casserole is king. As much so as its sibling, the green bean casserole. (Here's our favorite recipe for that.) These are dishes you'll cook your entire life, so why not master them now? 08 of 25 Red Rice Victor Protasio, Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Red Rice Lowcountry cooks have been making red rice for nearly 300 years, a dish that draws primarily from Gullah-Geechee culture. Essentially a pilaf (also known as pilau, perloo, perlou, and so forth), red rice is a regional delicacy that lets you play around with ingredients. Tomatoes are the must-have ingredient! 09 of 25 Cheese Straws Robbie Caponetto; Prop Styling: Mary Beth Wetzel; Food Styling: Pam Lolley Recipe: Cheddar Cheese Straws These might be the hallmark of Southern hosting. In fact, a batch of these simple cheese straws can carry an entire party on its back. Learn it, and learn it well. 10 of 25 Collard Greens Jim Franco; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller; Food Styling: Simon Andrews Recipe: Southern-Style Collard Greens Collard greens make it easy. Don't separate them from their favorite friends—ham hocks and bacon—and we won't have any problems. Apple cider vinegar, sugar, and garlic give a nice touch. 11 of 25 Old-Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Old-Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings Here's a Mama-approved hack: Use refrigerated piecrust for the dumplings. It's the time-saving tip that'll get chicken and dumplings on the dinner table a little bit faster. 12 of 25 Skillet Cornbread Brian Woodcock Recipe: Ben Mims' Perfect Cornbread A skillet of perfect cornbread will come together every single time if you learn this simple ratio. Browned butter is the extra step that gives this cornbread its "perfect" title. 13 of 25 Classic Egg Salad Peter Frank Edwards Recipe: Vera Stewart's Egg Salad Egg salad is the most nostalgic of spreads. For this recipe, we recommend adding a dab or two of Dijon mustard to the hard-boiled eggs, Duke's, and seasonings. Tack on chicken salad and ham salad to your list, and you'll have mastered the Southern spread trio. 14 of 25 Chicken-Fried Steak with Gravy Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Annette Joseph Recipe: Traditional Chicken-Fried Steak Much like fried chicken, the magic of this Southern classic lies in its humble simplicity. Seasoned, dredged in flour, dipped in egg-milk mixture, and pan-fried in oil—that's about it. Oh, but don't dare forget about the pepper-cream gravy, which is made from the drippings. 15 of 25 Fried Catfish Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller; Food Styling: Katelyn Hardwick Recipe: Fried Delacata Catfish Frying up fresh catfish is something Southerners do when feeling frisky—or during Lent. Stone-ground cornmeal makes for the crispiest crust you've ever tasted, and hearty seasoning will steer you home. 16 of 25 Shrimp and Grits Iain Bagwell Recipe: Shrimp and Grits The moment that a coast-dwelling Southerner decided to combine creamy grits with fresh shrimp should go down in history. If you've lived in the South long enough, a good pot of grits should basically manifest on command—then layer it with shrimp, bacon, and its dressed-up drippings. 17 of 25 Chicken Pot Pie Photo: Jennifer Causey Recipe: Skillet Chicken Pot Pie Chicken pot pie, though comforting and classic, is a little involved. A couple Southern-loved shortcuts? Use biscuit dough for the topping, store-bought if you're in a pinch, and frozen veggies are your friends. 18 of 25 Brunswick Stew Southern Living Recipe: Smoky Mountain Brunswick Stew Just like what they say about Kentucky's burgoo: "If it walked, crawled, or flew, it goes in Brunswick stew." Each Southern cook has a secret combination of ingredients, but most agree that corn, butter or lima beans, and tomatoes are essential. There's still debate whether this dish hails from Georgia or Virginia. 19 of 25 Shout Hallelujah Potato Salad Hector Sanchez Recipe: Shout Hallelujah Potato SaladRecipe: Southern-Style Potato Salad Potato salad doesn't like being overwhelmed with ingredients. A simple, no-fail combination: potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, mustard, celery, onion, sweet pickle relish, and of course mayo. The rest is personalized seasoning. 20 of 25 Banana Pudding Jennifer Davick Recipe: Banana Pudding Though we love our cakes and pies, nothing is easier to know and love than this classic banana pudding. It takes a page straight from grandmother's recipe box. (Note: You can rebel by using that vanilla pudding packet in your pantry.) 21 of 25 Peach Cobbler Iain Bagwell; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Easy Peach Cobbler Peach cobbler is the ultimate classic. Even if you practically burn water on the stove, you can make this easy six-ingredient recipe. 22 of 25 Death by Chocolate Micah A. Leal Recipe: Death by Chocolate Layers of moist chocolate cake, milky chocolate pudding, slightly salty chocolate crumbles, and freshly whipped cream make this scoopable dessert (that you'll hear by different names) a fitting companion for any chocolate lover. 23 of 25 Bourbon Balls Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Karin Olsen; Food Styling: Kellie Gerber Kelley Recipe: Fudgy Pecan Bourbon Balls This boozy confection is a Southern holiday favorite worth knowing. We'll vouch for any recipe that features one ingredient from the bar cart, while the other three ingredients are gloriously store-bought. 24 of 25 Million Dollar Pound Cake Recipe: Million Dollar Pound Cake This is as timeless as it gets. A basic pound cake can fit in anywhere from bridal showers to big potlucks. Serve with toppings of your choice, including fruit and whipped cream. 25 of 25 Gumbo Southern Living Recipe: Shrimp and Okra GumboRecipe: Chicken-and Sausage Gumbo In the realm of Louisiana cooking, gumbo is Mama's specialty. A Southern cook can conjure this stew with whatever's on hand—be it Andouille sausage, chicken, shrimp, or okra. (Okra is the ideal thickening agent.) The base requires aromatics like onion, bell pepper, and celery. Hot sauce is always appreciated. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit