Satisfy your belly and your soul with these delicious Southern Recipes, including traditional, heirloom recipes and new spins on old favorites.
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When I think of Southern cooking, I think smoky, sweet, and smokin' hot - Comfort food with a capital C.
Classic Down-home Southern Recipes
Satisfy your belly and your soul with these delicious Southern classics (and new spins on a few old classics, too!)
Buffalo Shrimp and Blue Cheese Grits Recipe
Shrimp and Grits may be the epitome of southern cuisine. So much so that some people refer to the south as the “Grits Belt.” It is a staple throughout much of the southern US and especially many “low country” coastal towns (think Charleston, New Orleans, or Jekyll Island, GA).
Hattie B's Nashville Hot Chicken {Step-by-Step}
This amazing Nashville Hot Chicken recipe (adapted from Hattie B’s famous recipe) results in a crispy, tender, fiery fried chicken with a spicy kick that is positively addictive.
Southern Tomato Pie with Fried Onions
Southern Tomato Pie with Fried Onions is based on the classic Southern dish; where thickly sliced ripe tomatoes are set into a single pie crust, covered in a slurry of mayo and grated cheese, and then baked into a bubbling cauldron of pure comfort.
Southern-style Coconut Cake with Coconut Buttercream {from Scratch}
This sweet Southern scratch-made Coconut Cake with coconut buttercream frosting is moist, tender, melt-in-your-mouth perfection.
Cast Iron Shrimp & Grits Pizza
This Shrimp & Grits Pizza honors the flavors and essence of its classic Southern roots, while presenting the components of this time-honored favorite in a deliciously unique way. #glutenfree
Corn Pudding (Southern Corn Casserole)
Corn Pudding, Corn Casserole, Corn Bake. Call it what you will - this easy corn side dish is impressive at holiday meals but easy enough to toss together as a weeknight side dish. It's almost like a corn pudding soufflé!
The Best Triple-layer Strawberry Cake {from Scratch}
Perfect for any occasion, this Southern Triple-layer Strawberry Cake (made from scratch – no boxed cake mix!) is a moist, amazingly delicious cake with a fresh, bright strawberry buttercream frosting.
Cheesy Grits Breakfast Bowls
Cheesy grits breakfast bowls are loaded with crumbled sausage, soft scrambled eggs and sautéed spinach for a hearty, delicious start to the day!
Red Eye Ribs (Steven Raichlin Recipe)
I admit: the idea of adding coffee to my ribs did sound rather strange to me! Apparently in Southern American kitchen it belongs to a cooking tradition! It made me curious enough to try this recipe and get blown away by the taste.
Lemon Chess Pie
Lemon Chess Pie is a perfect tartly sweet Southern creation of eggs, sugar, butter, and a little bit of flour and cornmeal that tantalizes the taste buds with its unique flavor and texture.
Eastern North Carolina Style Pork Shoulder
If you can’t make a whole hog, don’t fret! The Godfather’s Eastern North Carolina Style Pork Shoulder recipe and the accompanying slightly spicy vinegar sauce still satisfies your North Carolina barbecue cravings!
If you love Southern BBQ, be sure to check out our roundup of 50+ Southern Barbecue Recipes (for Grill, Oven, Slow Cooker, Smoker & Instant Pot)!
Carolina Barbecue Sauce
In the Carolinas, vinegar based barbecue sauce and pulled pork go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other.
Want more Southern BBQ Sauce recipes? Check out our roundup of Southern BBQ, Sauces & Rubs!
Blackberry Sage Kentucky Mule – A Bourbon Cocktail
A twist on the classic, the flavors are fresh and clean in this blackberry and bourbon Kentucky Mule!
Mint Julep Recipe with Blackberries and Lemon
It doesn't get more Southern than a Mint Julip! This ice cold Blackberry-Lemon Mint Julep recipe is a fragrant and refreshing twist on a classic. Perfect for sipping on a warm day or for watching the horse races!
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Andrea @ Cooking with Mamma C says
This post is making me hungry! What a great collection. Thanks for including my recipe!
Renée ♥ says
Thanks for sharing your recipe with us! (Come winter, at least half our meals come out of a slow cooker.)
Ayngelina Brogan says
Thanks so much for including me, and there are so many other recipes here I really want to try!
Renée ♥ says
Thank you! Your Hot Chicken is on my summer menu, for sure!
Lizzie says
Wow, I do feel like I've learned a lot in this roundup! So many beautiful pictures, and as someone from the UK who's never travelled in the US, I feel like I've learned a lot about Southern cooking.
Naya @ Lactivist in Louboutins says
These recipes have my mouth watering! I think the Nashville Chicken will be a big hit with my chicken finger loving kids!
Catherine @ Ten Thousand Hour Mama says
I had shrimp and grits for the first time at Altabira and they were so good! Although I'm particularly drawn toward that pie—so beautiful!
(Also, I'm always up for a side of scandal, no matter the main dish!)
Renée ♥ says
You make me laugh, Catherine! It's actually quite a fun story - I'll be posting about it soon.
Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours says
So many delicious sounding dishes, they all look amazing. I do lovethe taste of Southern food, all those spices and the sweet and sour flavours. Perfect for many a meal, but would be great for summer dining.
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food says
Yes, yes, YES!! I am all about Southern comfort food—especially with the side of scandalous backstory! I adore grits, but I can't quite get the hubster to wrap his brain around them. But these all look so good that I may just have to give it another try!
Kelly @ trial and eater says
That tomato pie is calling my name!
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
Oooh I LOVE shrimp and grits!! These look amazing. And that tomato pie too!
Jennifer says
There is NOTHING I love more than Southern food. Growing up in NC, this blog post brings back great memories. Thank you so much for featuring my Miss American Flag Pie and appreciating the message behind it. Wonderful post, and blog! Keep in touch! Happy 4th of July!
Renée ♥ says
Thank you so much for sharing your pie recipe, and for the kind words as well, Jennifer. Perseverance reveals itself in many forms these days, I think. ♥
Kristian says
Wow these all sound delicious! I need to try the buffalo shrimp and grits!
Kristian says
Wow these all look and sound delicious! Can't wait to try the buffalo shrimp and grits!
Natasha says
Holy moly all this food looks amazing! Thanks for sharing.
Janette Shearer says
Oh my goodness.. I'm so hungry now! The pulled pork and the drinks completely won me over!
Sheila says
Everything looks so yummy, especially that tomato pie!
Sarah says
Wow these all look so amazing, I'll definitely be trying that mac n cheese one!
Sarah says
Wow these all look so yummy!! I'll definitely be trying the grits one, anything with cheese, I'm in!
Patricia says
I'm a Georgia transplant from California and I approve all of these. LOL. Everything looks so delicious!
Pech says
Droool what an amazing roundup of recipes. Now that it's about to be tomato season that tomato pie has me super curious, though I also can't deny I'm drawn to every variation of Southern grits
Amber Battishill says
These look so good! Carolina style BBQ is my favorite! That flag pie is so darn cute too!
Simon (BBQ Bastard) says
Wow you truly made a great post out of it! I'm a sucker for BBQ (not hard to figure that out) but all the other recipes look amazing too! That Blackberry mule is just what I need while waiting for my pulled pork to be done haha! Now I need to get in the south to taste these in real 🙂
Rosemary White says
You have a new fan! Me! Your post made me hungry for so many of these delicious things. My son is a chef in a Toronto "smokehouse" and swears by his barbecue sauce but I will be sharing the Carolina Barbecue Sauce recipe with him pronto. I love the tomato pie recipe too. Never heard of that one, and I've eaten a lot of Southern cooking while down your way on vacation.
Guess I'll just have to travel there again. Tummy is growling now.
Oh, one more thing, your photography is stellar.
Looking forward to reading more here.
Renée ♥ says
Thank you for the kind words, Rosemary. I'm so glad that you enjoyed the post, and I'm even happier that I have a Fan! (P.S. Despite appearances, I'm a Pacific Northwest gal. Lately we've been sharing our recent Amazing adventures in the South.)
Margaret says
There are so many wonderful recipes in this collection! Thanks so much for including this delicious recipe.
Lex Reyes says
These are all awesome recipes i love it!