55 Southern Recipes You'll Want To Make On Repeat, From Nashville Hot Chicken To Shrimp & Grits

We don’t know about you, but we find it particularly magical how food can transport you to another time or place just by its taste or smell. There may be no regional cuisine better for taking you out of reality than Southern food. There's no denying it—people in the South really know how to cook! From spicy stews to creamy side dishes to crunchy, fried, well, everything, Southern classics are the definition of comfort foods. We’ve curated this list of our 55 favorite Southern recipes for you to try at home, based on those passed through generations to create meals that can bring people together.

Make our gumbo, our jambalaya, or our red beans & rice, and you can imagine you’re listening to jazz while wandering the streets of New Orleans. Make BBQ brisket on your grill, serve it up with some sides like our Southern potato salad, our fried green tomatoes, or our black-eyed pea salad, and immediately get transported to your last big family outdoor BBQ. Make our easy sheet pan shrimp “boil” or our pulled pork, and you’ll practically be able to feel the South Carolina summer heat on your skin. Take a bite of Nashville hot chicken (or cauliflower!), and remember going to see your favorite band or listening to their album. Or simply make a pot of our Southern baked macaroni and cheese and envision whenever, wherever is your perfect comfort zone. We hope that even if you can’t travel as often as you’d like, these recipes will help warm your soul.

Tired of the same old dinners and want to do more traveling without ever leaving your kitchen? Check out our list of homemade Chinese, Mediterranean, Mexican, and Vietnamese recipes that are easy to make at home.