Every state in the US has some unique local dishes. You might travel to Louisiana to taste an authentic bowl of Gumbo or head to New York to try New York style pizza. The food culture in the United States varies greatly based on the state you visit. However, even though each state has some popular local dishes, many meals are popular across the country.
Some of the most popular meals in the US are considered classic American foods, such as hamburgers and hot dogs. While not all these meals originated in the US, they have all become a staple in the American diet, no matter what state you live in.
Even though the most popular meals in the US are common nationwide, many states have their own version of these meals as well. For example, there’s a big difference between New York style and Chicago-style pizza. If you want to try some of the best meals in the country, you might visit regions like Washington, DC, Las Vegas, Denver, San Francisco, or Chicago, which were ranked as the top five foodie cities. (After this article, check out The Most Unusual Food From Each State .)
To create this list of the 10 most popular meals in the US, 24/7 Tempo used data collected by The Cookie Rookie . The data was based on the annual Google searches for each meal across the country. The 10 most popular meals in the US are listed in descending order below.
10. Burritos
- Annual Google Searches: 4.4 million
Burritos are a staple in both Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine. While the burritos we see in restaurants today may look different than the original burrito, the concept of wrapping meat, cheese, and beans in a tortilla dates back thousands of years to the Mayan civilization. Nowadays, you can find burritos across the country with different types of meat, cheese, and vegetables.
9. Hamburgers
- Annual Google Searches: 4.5 million
Despite the name hamburger, this popular meal doesn’t include any ham. The name “hamburger” comes from the name of a city in Germany, even though there’s no definitive connection between this dish and the German city. Regardless of where the original burger came from, it has become one of the most common meals in the US, made even more popular by some of the oldest fast food restaurants, such as White Castle and McDonald’s.
8. Fried Chicken
- Annual Google Searches: 4.7 million
The concept of fried chicken isn’t new and has appeared in cookbooks since the mid-1800s. Over time, it became one of the foods associated with Southern cooking and is still a staple in the South. This meal was also popularized when KFC, also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, opened in 1952. It was one of the first fast-food chains to sell fried chicken instead of burgers.
7. Hot Dogs
- Annual Google Searches: 4.9 million
Hot dogs are the classic American meal for barbecues, baseball games, and festivals. While pork sausages were popular in Germany before the concept of a hot dog existed in America, it’s not exactly clear who first decided to serve a sausage on a bun. Today in the US, hot dogs have become synonymous with many events and they’re still commonly sold at street stands in places like New York City.
6. Green Bean Casserole
- Annual Google Searches: 5.8 million
You might associate green bean casserole with Thanksgiving, but this side dish is one of the most popular meals in the country. There are several varieties of green bean casserole, but it’s typically made with cut green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and fried onions. The original recipe was created by Dorcas Reilly in the 1950s and was published in the Associated Press.
5. Steak
- Annual Google Searches: 5.9 million
Steak has been around for a long time but it didn’t become popular in the US until the 1800s. The first steakhouse in America was Delmonico’s Restaurant, a New York City restaurant that opened in 1837. The rise of beefsteak banquets in the 1800s also made steak a popular meal choice.
4. Tacos
- Annual Google Searches: 20.4 million
Like many popular foods in America, the modern taco is based on a traditional Mexican dish, even though the exact origins are unclear. There are numerous variations of tacos that vary by region. This dish became popular as more migrants came to the states to find work. In the 1900s, an American version of the taco, which included ground beef, became a popular meal.
3. Chili
- Annual Google Searches: 27.9 million
Chili is the most popular meal in six states in the US. While the popularity of chili spans across the country, there are many different recipes and ingredients included in chili depending on what region you visit. This dish is particularly popular in the South, being the most popular food in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Additionally, it was rated the most popular food in Rhode Island.
2. Sushi
- Annual Google Searches: 33.2 million
Sushi is the second most popular meal in the United States even though the concept of sushi originated in Japan. This dish didn’t become popular in the US until the 1960s. A restaurant in Los Angeles was one of the first to put sushi on the menu and now there are thousands of sushi restaurants nationwide.
1. Pizza
- Annual Google Searches: 69.2 million
Pizza is not only the most popular meal in the US, but it’s also the most popular meal in 44 out of 50 states. It’s an incredibly diverse meal since you can include many different toppings and there are even different styles of pizza. Chicago Deep Dish and New York-style pizza are two of the most popular types. Out of all the possible toppings for pizza, pepperoni is the most popular. (Don’t miss The Favorite Foods of America’s Early Presidents .)
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