10 Classic Southern Comfort Foods That Are Coming Back In 2024
Get ready for chicken bog, cracker salad, and chocolate cobbler.
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Stylist: Christine Keely
The saying “everything comes back into style eventually” doesn’t just apply to sweater vests and macrame wall hangings. Foods come in and out of fashion too, and we think it’s time to give a few old Southern favorites some new appreciation.
This list of Southern comfort foods is highly biased, completely unscientific, and very delicious. Some dishes, like chocolate cobbler or poppyseed chicken, might be something you remember eating during childhood, or some other moment in the past. Others, like chicken bog or tomato cracker salad, might be completely new to you. Each dish was selected because it deserves a place on the table in 2024, even though its heyday has passed.
Are these the trendiest dishes you’ll see on restaurant menus this year? Maybe, in the case of some (like cabbage rolls and black bottomed pie). But for the most part, these are foods that have endured over the decades, and for good reason. We hope they add a welcome dose of comfort to your kitchen this year and beyond.
Broccoli Salad
Caitlin Bensel, Food Stylist: Torie Cox
This vegetable doesn’t usually fall into the comfort food category—unless it’s smothered in cheese. But this beloved Southern salad hits all the right notes: smoky, savory, crunchy, tangy, and a little bit sweet. Whether you go classic with bacon and Cheddar, add pasta and grapes, or turn it into a creamy slaw, there’s a broccoli salad for everyone.
Rotel Dip
While it’s hard to beat a bowl of Austin diner-style queso and chips, you can gild the lily by making it Rotel Sausage Dip. With the addition of chorizo (and ground beef, because why not), a standard melted cheese dip becomes something even more craveable.
Poppyseed Chicken
If you’re not familiar with this comforting, old-school dish, get ready to meet your new favorite casserole. This mix of chicken, condensed soup, sour cream, and poppy seeds is ultra rich and creamy and has a buttery crushed cracker topping.
Black Bottomed Pie
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
There’s a special feeling that happens when you sink a fork into a slice of pie and discover that there’s a hidden layer of chocolate on the bottom. Swoon! Whether it’s a Peanut Butter Pie or Pumpkin Pie with ganache, a Mississippi Mud Pie with a brownie base, or an Oatmeal Pie with a chocolate filling, this is a baking technique that deserves a comeback.
Cheese Balls
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Stylist: Christine Keely
This party appetizer might be retro, but you can’t deny that it is fun. It’s also a guaranteed crowd pleaser, and a refreshing change of pace from the ubiquitous cheese board. Not to mention cheese balls have an element of surprise—there are so many ways to make one that you never know what delicious ingredients might be inside!
Cabbage Rolls
Greg DuPree; Food Stylist: Ali Ramee; Prop Stylist: Hannah Greenwood
This dish is as homey and humble as can be, but it’s starting to make appearances on restaurant menus across the South. Our recipe takes inspiration from the classic version: a filling of beef ground pork, and rice that’s wrapped in a cabbage leaf and baked with tomato sauce until tender and fragrant.
Chocolate Cobbler
Whether you know it as pudding cake, or molten cake, or chocolate cobbler, this ultra comforting warm dessert deserves a comeback. Not only because it’s so delicious, with its gooey center and tender exterior, but because it’s almost too easy to make.
Chicken Bog
This old-fashioned Lowcountry dish of rice and chicken might not be widely known throughout the South but it should be. The word “bog” might not conjure warm and comforting thoughts, but once you’ve tried it, you’ll agree that’s exactly what makes it a satisfying supper.
Angel Biscuits
Emily Laurae
Buttermilk biscuits get all of the attention with their flaky, buttery layers. But angel biscuits deserve love, too. Like a cross between the buttermilk kind and a tender Parker House roll, they are in a class all their own.
Tomato Cracker Salad
Chances are, you’ve never even heard of this dish, let alone tried it. But once tomatoes come into season this summer, you should make our modern take on this recipe immediately. Like a tomato sandwich in crunchy salad form, this old-fashioned recipe is destined to become a new classic.
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Read the original article on Southern Living.
