Holidays & Occasions Father's Day Grandpa’s Most Requested Father’s Day Recipes He's a man who knows what he wants! By Mary Alice Russell Mary Alice Russell Mary Alice Russell is a Southern Living fellow who is starting her career in lifestyle journalism. Primarily focused on social media and digital production, Mary Alice is excited to hone her skills and dedicate her professional life to beautiful things, from homes to hearts.A recent graduate of Washington and Lee University, Mary Alice majored in journalism and art history. At W&L, she was co-editor-in-chief of her school paper, The Ring-tum Phi, with her best friend and interned for The Welcome Home Podcast. Now based in Birmingham, Alabama, Mary Alice is a Virginia native who is proud to hail from the land of ham and peanuts. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on May 19, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Will Dickey; Food Stylist: Ali Ramee; Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless He’s the rock of your family, so make sure this Father’s Day to treat Grandpa to something special. After all he’s done for your family, the least you can do is make him a meal he’ll love. We’ve pulled together all of his favorite recipes: Starting at breakfast and going all the way to dessert, our carefully selected dishes will please your pop. We’re dishing up all the classics: Mama’s Fried Chicken, Sausage Gravy and Biscuits, Fried Catfish, and more more. We know that at the end of the day, Grandpa just wants to be surrounded by those he loves, so we hope that this selection will help start the party in the best way possible. Fire up the grill, crank that slow cooker, and get ready to make something special for a treasured member of your family. 01 of 20 Sausage Gravy And Biscuits Southern Living Biscuits and gravy are a staple in Southern households as is Grandpa's wisdom. He'll be happy to see this on the breakfast table to start off his celebratory day. 02 of 20 Classic Lasagna LauriPatterson/Getty Images Your grandpa might be one of those wonderful gentleman that just loves a good meal and a good time enjoyed with family. We think he'll love our Classic Lasagna that won't take you all day to make, which means you have more time to spend together. 03 of 20 Old-Fashioned Meatloaf Will Dickey; Food Stylist: Ali Ramee; Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless He'll love that this recipe is everything he expects when it comes to a good meatloaf, especially with that healthy dose of ketchup. 04 of 20 Fish Fry Caitlin Bensel Fishing for a compliment? Grandpa will love this Fish Fry. The catfish is sliced, soaked, and seasoned just as he likes it. 05 of 20 Smothered Pork Chops Photographer: Alison Miksch / Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn / Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman We recommend serving these pork chops with egg noodles or mashed potatoes (whichever is Grandpa's favorite!). 06 of 20 Cast-Iron Steak Salad Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Lydia Purcell; Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn Our Cast-Iron Steak Salad has everything he really wants with potatoes, steak, and some strategic greens to make this dish a little bit good for him, too. 07 of 20 Mama's Fried Chicken Southern Living We couldn't call this list "Grandpa's most requested" if we didn't include fried chicken, and it's easier than you think. We'll teach you how to make perfect fried chicken in just three steps! 08 of 20 Fresh Salmon Cakes With Buttermilk Dressing Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Missie Neville Crawford; Food Styling: Torie Cox Give Grandpa a gift for Father's Day that will leave him some leftovers! Our Fresh Salmon Cakes With Buttermilk Dressing makes 8 salmon patties and dressing that can be served on much more than those salmon cakes. 09 of 20 Oven-Baked Baby Back Ribs Photographer: Jen Causey, Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen, Food Stylist: Margret Monroe Dickey Don't worry about firing up the grill, Grandpa can get his rib fix as long as you're willing to turn on the oven. Before putting the ribs in the oven, cover them in a dry rub. 10 of 20 Homestyle Ground Beef Casserole Will Dickey Celebrating Grandpa is always a big day, so if you have a lot of fun activities in store, then turn to our Homestyle Ground Beef Casserole. As the saying goes, it "freezes beautifully" and we know it will be just the thing to serve your hungry crew. 11 of 20 Spicy Grilled Chicken Breasts Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Add a little heat and fire to Grandpa's day with Spicy Grilled Chicken Breasts. We've got three sauces you can make to pair with this dish, too. 12 of 20 Slow-Cooker Brisket Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Grandpa will be proud to see some Slow-Cooker Brisket on the table. Our pro tip: remember to let the brisket rest for about 10 minutes before cutting into it to help the meat reabsorb some of those cooking liquids. 13 of 20 Cast-Iron Cowboy Steak Hector Sanchez A classic steak of course had to make it into this list. It's Grandpa's signature dish and we think he'll approve of our cowboy-inspired variation. 14 of 20 Classic Beef Pot Roast Jennifer Causey; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen It's Father's Day and in the South, there is nothing quite like enjoying a pot roast on a Sunday, so why break tradition now? Serve Classic Beef Pot Roast on a bed of mashed potatoes and a dinner roll. 15 of 20 Easy Chili Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Torie Cox It doesn't get much simpler than Easy Chili and we're sure it will be a hit with Grandpa. He can add all of the toppings his heart desires. 16 of 20 Slow-Cooker Bolognese Sauce Over Pappardelle Pasta Greg Dupree Some things just get better with age. Slow-Cooker Bolognese Sauce Over Pappardelle Pasta takes some time, but cooking it low and slow will make the most delicious sauce ever. 17 of 20 Fish Tacos And Topping Bar Greg DuPree Grandpa might deserve a tropical vacation, but we think he'll be satisfied with our Fish Tacos And Toppings Bar. We're serving these fish tacos with a side of Asian Slaw and Quick Chipotle Cream. 18 of 20 Country-Fried Steak Southern Living A Country-Fried Steak with gravy is most certainly not what the doctor ordered, but Grandpa sure did! It's a favorite for a reason, and we think our cracker coating is just about as good as it gets. 19 of 20 Creole Burger Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall We use Creole seasoning and whole bunch of other carefully picked ingredients to elevate this beyond your everyday burger. 20 of 20 Old-Fashioned Caramel Cake Courtney West To finish off this special day, serve Grandpa a big slice of Old-Fashioned Caramel Cake. It's tried-and-true and we know he'll love it. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit