20 Texas Foods The Lone Star State Is Famous For (2024)

Chicken Fried Steak

This iconic Texas dish was actually adapted from wiener schnitzel by German and Austrian immigrants. Tenderized cube steak is dredged in flour and deep fried until crisp and golden brown. It's often served with a creamy gravy. The dish is so Texan that in 2011 the Texas legislature declared October 26 "Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day."

Try this recipe: The Best Chicken Fried Steak

Pecan Pie

Pecan pie is popular in just about every Southern state, but Texas is the only one that claims it as its official state dessert. In fact, the first known pecan pie recipe was submitted to a St. Louis cookbook in 1898 by a Texas woman.

Try these recipes:

• Pecan Pie
• Pecan Pie I
• Chocolate Pecan Pie I

Brisket

Brisket arrived in Texas by way of German and Czech immigrants, many of whom were Jewish and brought with them the traditional cooking methods for Passover brisket. Texas cattle ranchers and immigrants soon began exchanging cooking methods, and eventually Texas smoked brisket was born.

Smoking keeps the meat from drying out and also imparts a lot of flavor with less seasoning. Today, brisket is synonymous with Texas and you'll be hard pressed to find a barbecue joint without it on the menu.

Try these recipes:

• Holly's Texas Brisket
• David's Mesquite Smoked Texas Brisket
• Yeah, I-Lived-in-Texas, Smoked Brisket

Chili

Texans have feelings about chili. Having been raised by one by myself, I've grown up hearing the state mantra: Texas chili doesn't have beans. Turns out, Mom was right.

The International Chili Society — yes, it's a thing — maintains that Texas chili (also called traditional red or chili con carne) is any combination of meats, red chili peppers, various spices, and other ingredients, but not beans and non-vegetable fillers such as rice or pasta. And that's the official word on Texas chili.

Try this recipe: Real Texas Chili

• The Best Toppings for Every Style of Chili

Chile con Queso

Also known as just queso, this combination of melted cheese and chili peppers is a Tex-Mex creation dating back to the early 20th century. It is believed to have originated in one of the earliest known Tex-Mex restaurants: The Original Mexican Restaurant in San Antonio.

Try these recipes:

• Queso (Cheese) Dip
• Real Deal Tex-Mex Queso
• Authentic Chile con Queso

Kolaches

You know Tex-Mex, but are you familiar with Tex-Czech? In the late 19th century, Czech immigrants brought kolaches — a traditional pastry consisting of fruit preserves nestled in a puffy dough — with them to the small, rural communities of Central Texas. Eventually, it evolved into somewhat of a hybrid using local ingredients such as prickly pears.

Today you can find them in many bakeries and doughnut shops in the Lone Star State, just be sure not to get them confused with klobasniky, a savory pastry stuffed with sausage that was developed by Czech settlers in Texas.

Try these recipes:

• Jam Kolaches
• Kolaches II
• Kolaches I

Tex-Mex

While "Tex-Mex" does not refer to a single dish, we wanted to include the broader cuisine on our list because it encompasses such a large swath of food, including chile con queso, nachos, tacos al carbon, enchiladas, and fajitas to name just a few.

Tex-Mex is one of America's oldest regional cuisines, adapted from the home cooking of Tejanos, or people of Mexican descent living in Texas. It gained widespread popularity thanks to a group of women known as the Chili Queens of San Antonio who served food in the city's plazas. Not long after in the early 20th century, the nation's first Tex-Mex restaurants opened in San Antonio (although the term "Tex-Mex" wasn't used to describe this hybrid cuisine until the mid 20th century).

What makes something Tex-Mex? In general, it is set apart by the use of a few key ingredients that are common in Texas: beef, yellow cheese, wheat flour, black beans, cumin, and canned vegetables.

Try these recipes:

• Homemade Chicken Fajitas
• Easy Tex-Mex Chicken Tacos
• Super Nachos

• 21 Best Tex-Mex Recipes

Migas

This Tex-Mex egg scramble is an adaptation of Spanish migas that features scrambled eggs with crushed tortilla chips and salsa.

Try these recipes:

• Migas II
• Tex-Mex Migas

Margaritas

There are countless origin stories of this legendary co*cktail: The Texas one goes that the head bartender at the Balinese Room in Galveston, Texas created the drink for singer Peggy Margaret Lee in 1946 and named it after the Spanish version of her name. Though it's unlikely that this is the true origin story, there's no mistaking that the combination of tequila, Cointreau, and lime juice has become the state's signature drink.

The invention of the frozen margarita machine, on the other hand, can be attributed to a Texan. When the bartender at his Dallas restaurant couldn't keep up with the demand for frozen margaritas in 1971, Mariano Martinez tinkered with a used soft serve machine until it produced big batches of his signature frozen margaritas. And considering how hot it gets in Texas, this invention was a real game-changer.

Try these recipes:

• Grand Margarita
• Austin Margarita (aka Mexican Martini)
• Margaritas

Plus, explore our entire collection of Margarita Recipes.

Hamburgers

Texas is the largest beef producing state in the country, so Texans take their burgers pretty seriously. The loyalty to Whataburger, the Texas-based fast food chain, only serves as more evidence that burgers (and patty melts!) are kind of a big deal in Texas.

Try these recipes:

• Tex-Mex Burger with Cajun Mayo
• Texas Stuffed Grilled Burgers
• Tex-Mex Patty Melts

Micheladas

This beer co*cktail is of Mexican origin, but it peppers co*cktail menus all across the state of Texas, from whole-in-the-wall taco joints to upscale bars. It's generally made with beer, lime juice, hot sauce, spices, and tomato juice served in a salt-rimmed glass.

Try these recipes:

• Joe's Famous Michelada
• Michelada
• Micheladas with Tajin

• 5 Michelada Recipes That Are Full of Refreshing Flavor

Texas Sheet Cake

When they say "Everything is bigger in Texas," they aren't kidding. A Texas sheet cake makes serving a crowd a breeze: The whole thing cooks in a rimmed baking sheet and it slices up much like brownies or cookie bars for easy serving. And it's big, like 30+ servings big.

Though generally chocolate with a fudgy frosting, Texas sheet cakes can be any flavor you'd like. Although, the traditional version usually calls for a favorite Texas ingredient: pecans.

Try these recipes:

• Grandma's Chocolate Texas Sheet Cake
• White Texas Sheet Cake
• Gluten-Free Texas Sheet Cake

• 10 Texas Sheet Cake Recipes

Texas Barbecue

We broke out brisket into its own category on this list, because in Texas, beef reigns supreme. But brisket is just the beginning.

It's hard to pin down a barbecue "style" in the state the size of Texas, but in general Texas barbecue can be broken down into four different styles: Central Texas, East Texas, South Texas, and West Texas. Central Texas-style is most commonly what people are referring to when they say "Texas-style" barbecue. This style gets most of its flavor from the smoking process, rather than the sauce. In general, Central Texas barbecue is only seasoned with a salt and pepper rub, with sauce served on the side, if at all. East Texas barbecue diverges from Central Texas with the uses of a tomato-based sauce and the popularity of pulled pork. South Texas-style is heavily influenced by Mexican cuisine, and often calls for a sweeter sauce. Finally, West Texas-style is more akin to grilling rather than smoking, as meat is cooked over an open flame "cowboy-style."

Try these recipes:

• Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork
• Texas BBQ Chicken
• Texas Pork Ribs

Pralines

It's no surprise that another pecan dessert made the list of Texas favorites. The Austin-based Lammes Candies has garnered attention nationwide for their signature Texas "Chewie" pralines. The simple recipe has remained the same since 1892: pecans, corn syrup, sugar, milk, butter, and salt.

Try these recipes:

• Texas Pralines
• Pralines II
• Pecan Pralines

Plus, explore our entire collection of Praline Recipes.

Tamales

Tamales date back to Mesoamerica, and with time, Mexican and Central American peoples brought the tradition with them to Texas. Making tamales is a labor of love, which is why they've become a Christmas tradition for many folks in the Lone Star State — getting the whole family involved makes the process go faster. Mexican restaurants across the state scramble to fill tamale orders in time for Christmas, but you can find delicious tamales year round in Texas.

Try these recipes:

• Real Homemade Tamales
• Beef Tamales
• Tamales de Puerco (Red Pork Tamales)

Explore our entire collection of Tamale Recipes.

Frito Pie

Frito pie — a simple combination of corn chips topped with chili, cheese, onion, and jalapeño, often served straight from bag — is a dish as unpretentious as Texans themselves, made popular by high school football concession stands.

Try these recipes:

• Bethany's Frito Pie
• Fritos Pie
• Sandy's Frito Pie

Salsa

Salsa made its way across the border from Mexico, and by the mid-20th century it began appearing on store shelves across the state of Texas, manufactured by none other than David and Margaret Pace. Today, Pace remains the leading salsa maker in the U.S. And in 2003, tortilla chips and salsa was named the state snack of Texas.

Try these recipes:

• D's Famous Salsa
• Simple Texas Salsa
• Tomatillo Salsa Verde

Texas Caviar (Cowboy Caviar)

Don't be fooled by the name, there's no roe in this Texas-made salad/salsa fusion. It features a variation of beans, black-eyed peas, tomatoes, peppers, and onions tossed in a tangy dressing and served with tortilla chips on the side. It's meant to be made ahead of time and served cold, making the perfect summer potluck or picnic addition.

Try these recipes:

• Cowboy Caviar
• Texas Caviar I
• Best-Ever Texas Caviar

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Sometimes just called King Ranch chicken, this Tex-Mex casserole is believed to be named after King Ranch, the largest ranch in the United States (at 1,289 square miles, it's larger than the entire state of Rhode Island), but its connection to the ranch is unclear.

The dish itself is a hearty combination of chicken, cheese, corn tortillas, and peppers layered a bit like enchiladas (or you can think of it as Texan lasagna). You'll find it at just about any potluck, school function, or church social in Texas.

Try these recipes:

• King Ranch Chicken Casserole
• King Ranch Chicken Casserole III
• King Ranch Chicken Casserole I

Texas Hash

You'll want to add Texas hash to your rotation of quick and easy weeknight meals. Rice, ground beef, onions, peppers, tomatoes, and chili powder are combined and topped with cheese in this one-skillet meal.

Try these recipes:

• Texas Hash
• Mom's Texas Hash

More Texas Recipes:

• Pictured: Evana's Pinto Beans
• 11 Clean-Eating Recipes That Do Tex-Mex Right
• Browse our entire collection of Texas Recipes.