12 American Regional Foods You Didn't Know You Needed to Try

America's diverse landscape offers a rich tapestry of regional foods, each with its own story. Beyond the usual suspects, there are surprising local delicacies that capture the essence of their regions. Discovering these dishes is like taking a culinary road trip across the country, without leaving your kitchen.

Table of Contents

1. Fluffernutter
2. Boiled Peanuts
3. Scrapple
4. Chocolate Gravy
5. Stuffed Quahogs
6. Green Chile
7. Cheese Curds
8. Ramps
9. Pepperoni Rolls
10. Blue Moon Ice Cream
11. Clam Chowder
12. Stuffed Kolaches
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1. Fluffernutter

A fluffernutter is a sweet sandwich widely consumed in Massachusetts and some of the surrounding New England states. It’s made with white or wheat bread, peanut butter, and marshmallow fluff. Marshmallow fluff, in particular, is very popular in Massachusetts but doesn’t seem to be as common in the rest of the country.

2. Boiled Peanuts

Boiled peanuts can be found in a handful of places around the US, but everyone in South Carolina adores this interesting snack. The peanuts are boiled inside their shell, sometimes with salt or a spice mixture, and then cracked open and enjoyed. They have a sense of Southern charm, so it makes sense South Carolinians love them.

3. Scrapple

Scrapple is a funky combination of pork scraps and trimmings combined with cornmeal and wheat flour. It’s heavily seasoned with sage, bay, garlic, and other herbs and seasonings, so the flavor packs a distinct punch. Many people in Pennsylvania love this and liken the rectangular meat snack to breakfast sausage, but it can have an even bolder taste.

4. Chocolate Gravy

People from the Appalachia region eat something called chocolate gravy, and yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s a dark gravy made the exact same way as traditional gravy, but it also has cocoa powder. It’s quite sweet, and people love to use it as a topping for biscuits, pancakes, and other breakfast foods.

5. Stuffed Quahogs

Stuffed quahogs are a regional delight from Massachusetts and New England in general. Quahogs are a sub-species of clams, which include little neck clams, one of the most popular varieties in New England. A stuffed quahog is a cooked clam mixed with red peppers, sausage, bread crumbs, and spices and then stuffed back in the shell.

6. Green Chile

Green chile is a staple in many Midwestern states, especially Colorado, but you can also find many green chile lovers in New Mexico. However, you’ll struggle to find this sweet chile on either of the coasts. It has a lighter and more delicate flavor than red chile but still has some heat behind it that will wake up your tastebuds.

7. Cheese Curds

Unsurprisingly, cheese curds are wildly popular in Wisconsin! Of course, the Cheese State loves cheese curds, but it’s odd that this cheesy snack isn’t more popular throughout the US. Cheese curds are typically a type of young cheddar cheese that hasn’t been aged, so they’re extremely tender and moist. And they’re delicious when fried!

8. Ramps

Ramps are a type of allium, such as onions and garlic, that is often overlooked, but not in West Virginia. They utilize this wild onion often and even have ramp festivals, where people serve up innovative ramp dishes and show off their crops. This wild onion tastes like a white onion but also has a potent garlicky taste at the end, making it punchier than normal onions but softer and sweeter than garlic.

9. Pepperoni Rolls

You might happen upon pepperoni rolls in a random bar, but they can be few and far between. However, you can likely find them at almost every dive bar or pizza spot in West Virginia. West Virginians love these salty and flavorful bar bites, which are basically pizza dough rolled into a rose-like cup and filled with cheese, sauce, and, of course, pepperoni.

10. Blue Moon Ice Cream

Blue Moon ice cream is a colorful ice cream flavor that is literally bright blue. It’s a cheerful and cute sweet treat that is popular throughout the Midwest. The ice cream has a sweet and familiar flavor akin to Fruit Loops. It has hints of fruit but an overarching sugary flavor that kids and adults alike love.

11. Clam Chowder

Clam chowder is regional in a few ways. People from New York like a red version called Manhattan Clam Chowder, while Rhode Islanders enjoy a clear, brothy version of this soup. New England Clam Chowder is likely the most popular version, and New Englanders are quite passionate about their creamy, thick chowder recipe.

12. Stuffed Kolaches

Apple buns (kolach) typical holiday czech sweets — Image Credit: Shutterstock.

Stuffed kolaches are another regional food that many Texans are surprised to find out you can’t get them everywhere. Kolaches are a soft pastry that hails from Czechoslovakia. Texans love to enjoy this doughy pastry stuffed with fruit jams. While you can find these elsewhere in the US, they seem to be on every street corner in Texas.