American recipes
These American recipes are the food the country actually cooks at home: diner breakfasts, backyard barbecue, Southern frying and a baking tradition that runs on butter and brown sugar. It is cooking built for crowds, for game days and for leftovers the next morning.
Start with a smash burger or BBQ pork ribs, make buttermilk pancakes at the weekend, and bake an apple pie or a tray of brownies when there is time. Every recipe gives exact amounts, scales to the number of people eating, and sends what you still need to a shared shopping list in one tap.
57 recipes
Smash Burger馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 25 min
BBQ Pork Ribs馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 4 h 30 min
Buttermilk Pancakes馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Breakfast 路 40 min
Apple Pie馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dessert 路 4 h 40 min
Buttermilk Fried Chicken馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 5 h 30 min
Chocolate Chip Cookies馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Snack 路 2 h 45 min
Baked Chicken and Potatoes馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 1 h 15 min
Beef Stew馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 3 h 30 min
Braised Short Ribs馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 4 h 40 min
Harvest Bowl馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Lunch 路 1 h 20 min
Pumpkin Bread馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Snack 路 3 h 30 min
Pumpkin Spice Latte馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Drink 路 15 min
Roasted Beet Salad馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Lunch 路 1 h 50 min
Sheet Pan Sausage and Vegetables馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 1 h 10 min
Banana Bread馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Snack 路 1 h 30 min
Biscuits and Gravy馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Breakfast 路 45 min
Brownies馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dessert 路 2 h 10 min
Cajun Blackened Fish馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 20 min
Carrot Cake馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dessert 路 2 h 40 min
Chicken Alfredo馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 35 min
Chicken and Waffles馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Breakfast 路 5 h 10 min
Chicken Fried Steak馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 40 min
Chicken Noodle Soup馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Lunch 路 1 h 50 min
Cinnamon Rolls馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Breakfast 路 3 h
Cornbread馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Side dish 路 35 min
Deep-Dish Pizza馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 2 h 45 min
Deviled Eggs馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Snack 路 27 min
Eggnog馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Drink 路 4 h
Eggs Benedict馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Breakfast 路 30 min
French Toast馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Breakfast 路 25 min
Green Bean Casserole馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Side dish 路 55 min
Gumbo馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 2 h 40 min
Hash Browns馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Breakfast 路 25 min
Jambalaya馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 1 h 15 min
Key Lime Pie馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dessert 路 4 h 30 min
Lemonade馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Drink 路 1 h
New England Clam Chowder馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Lunch 路 1 h 10 min
New York Cheesecake馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dessert 路 14 h
Peach Cobbler馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dessert 路 1 h 20 min
Pepperoni Pizza馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 1 day 3 h
Pumpkin Pie馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dessert 路 4 h 30 min
Red Beans and Rice馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 11 h 30 min
Shrimp and Grits馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 50 min
BLT馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Lunch 路 20 min
Caesar Salad馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Lunch 路 35 min
Cobb Salad馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Lunch 路 1 h
Grilled Cheese Sandwich馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Lunch 路 40 min
Orange Chicken馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 55 min
Pot Roast馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 4 h 5 min
Reuben馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Lunch 路 30 min
Sloppy Joes馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Lunch 路 35 min
Buffalo Wings馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Snack 路 1 h 35 min
Chicken Pot Pie馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 2 h 20 min
Chili con Carne馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 4 h 15 min
Meatloaf馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 1 h 45 min
Philly Cheesesteak馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Lunch 路 1 h 20 min
Pulled Pork馃嚭馃嚫 American recipes 路 Dinner 路 8 h 30 min
What makes American food American
American cooking is regional, and many of its classics still carry the name of a city or state. Texas gave the country chicken fried steak under peppery cream gravy, Chicago the deep-dish pizza eaten with a knife and fork, Philadelphia the cheesesteak and New Orleans the Cajun blackened fish that Paul Prudhomme made famous.
What ties it together is a love of contrast. Chicken and waffles puts maple syrup and hot sauce on the same plate, buffalo wings arrive with a cool blue cheese dip, and a Cobb salad lays bacon, blue cheese and avocado side by side in stripes.
Low and slow or hot and fast: the techniques that matter
Many of these dishes come down to one decision about heat. BBQ pork ribs cook low and slow, wrapped in foil until they give, then get a short blast of high heat to set the glaze. A smash burger does the opposite: loose balls of beef pressed onto a screaming-hot pan so the edges fry lacy and crisp in minutes.
Buttermilk does quiet work across the collection. It is the overnight brine for the buttermilk fried chicken, it lifts the pancakes and the cornbread, and it gives chicken fried steak its craggy coat. Plan two of these in the same week and the carton will not sit half-used in the fridge.
A cast-iron skillet earns its place as well. Cornbread batter goes into it smoking hot so the edges fry into a crust, and Cajun blackened fish needs the same heat to turn its spice coating dark and crisp.
American baking and weekend breakfasts
The sweet side of American cooking is home baking, and it rewards patience more than skill. The chocolate chip cookie dough rests overnight for deeper flavour, carrot cake is better on day two, and brownies come out underbaked on purpose so they stay fudgy.
Apple pie, with its all-butter double crust and lattice top, is the long project, so start it in the morning. Cinnamon rolls need time to rise, while French toast made with brioche is on the table in under half an hour. For a cookout, pair BBQ pork ribs with cornbread and deviled eggs, and finish with brownies.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the most popular American food?
- The burger is the dish most closely tied to American food, and the diner-style smash burger on this page is one of the quickest ways to make a good one at home. Fried chicken, barbecue ribs, pancakes and apple pie are the other classics people think of first, and each has a recipe here.
- What is a smash burger?
- A smash burger is a loose ball of beef pressed thin onto a very hot pan, so a wide, deeply browned crust forms before the middle has time to dry out. Cheese goes on while the patty is still in the pan, and it is served in a soft toasted bun. The recipe here takes about 25 minutes.
- What is chicken fried steak?
- Chicken fried steak is tenderised beef cube steak coated and fried the way fried chicken is, then smothered in a peppery cream gravy made from the pan drippings. There is no chicken in it: the name describes the method. It is Texas diner food, and the steak is floured twice with a buttermilk and egg dip in between.
- How do you make buttermilk pancakes fluffy?
- Mix the batter only until the flour disappears and leave the lumps in, because overmixing makes pancakes flat and chewy. The acidity of buttermilk reacts with the raising agent to lift the batter, and a moderate griddle gives the pancakes time to rise before the outside browns. Stack them straight from the pan with butter and maple syrup.