What JD Vance Actually Eats

Everyone has to eat, and politicians like JD Vance certainly put their food to good use. People connect over a meal, which is why food can be used as a successful tool to build relationships. Whether he is at home making meals with his family or showing face to his constituents out in public, Vance has a wide range of foods he likes to eat.

Actually, Vance has a more diverse palate than a lot of people, thanks to his own culture meshing with his wife's. He grew up with an all-American diet of red meat, but married Usha Vance, a Hindu American, and has embraced her vegetarian diet as well. Though he has not fully converted to vegetarianism, Vance reaps the benefits of authentic Indian food as well as dishes containing meat. You'll see the influence of both plant-based and meat-centric diets in his food habits.

We know what some of the favorite foods of former presidents are thanks to the media and well preserved historical documents, but less is known of the U.S. vice presidents. As far as the 50th vice president of the United States, though, we do actually know a lot about what he actually eats.

The campaign trail is long and grueling, which makes for hungry politicians. Even when it's not an election year, eating out is something enjoyed by most. According to MinnPost, the average American eats out as often as once a day. It appears as though JD Vance is just an average American in this regard because he seems to really love going out to eat. He has been spotted grabbing breakfast and dinner with his family often while on the campaign trail, stopping in to connect with all kinds of Americans.

When he is traveling, he makes a point to stop off at local restaurants. He typically has his wife, three young children, and Secret Service in tow. Sometimes he even shares with his constituents, having ordered a tray of root beer floats for voters at A&W in Big Rapids, Michigan. The Vance family resided in Cincinnati and likely had their favorites, even showing face at a small restaurant in Vance's hometown Middleton, Ohio. Now that he's onto his next venture, he will need to explore the Washington, D.C. food scene during his vice presidency.

Joe Biden made headlines during his vice presidency when he shared his intense love of ice cream. Memes and social media posts praised Obama's second in command for his quirkiness. JD Vance is, in a way, following in the 46th president's footsteps and showing some serious love toward the sweet treat.

Not only did he visit at least one ice cream shop while on the campaign trail, but he jokingly posted that he and Trump would stop a chili-flavored ice cream from happening. So, while he enjoys ice cream, he seems to draw the line at sweet and savory combos. The post expressing his aversion to chili-flavored ice cream isn't the only time he took to social media about the summertime favorite dessert. He has also mentioned ice cream in a tweet to Ted Cruz, asking his followers which ice cream flavor the senator should bring after his sports team loses. The two made a wager for a sports game between their chosen teams, with the winner bringing beer and food.

Though a lot of his social media interactions surrounding ice cream have been in good fun, his love of ice cream doesn't seem like a joke. He and his wife have been seen among local voters enjoying the treat on the campaign trail. Considering the couple has three young children, their enjoyment of the kid-centric treat makes a lot of sense.

Biscuits are on the table for breakfast in a lot of American families' homes, and JD Vance thinks that all American families should follow suit. He took to X, formerly known as Twitter to show the American people how he handmakes biscuits with one of his young children, and the result looks pretty delicious.

It's refreshing to see a father cook from scratch with his child, an opinion that commenters on his post seem to agree with. Not only does Vance bake patiently with his daughter, but he shares a solid baking tip from his grandmother with those watching. The secret to a great biscuit, so says his grandmother, is frozen butter. Typically, recipes call for soft or even melted butter, which makes the mixing process much easier. Vance proceeds to grate a stick of frozen butter, an effective way around the issue of mixing frozen butter. Using frozen butter apparently gives the biscuits a flakier texture.

It is impressive that Vance is sharing a family baking tip with those watching along ,and Americans seem to be getting to know Vance's more domestic and family man side. Though certainly one way to win over the American people, the video comes off as authentic — especially since he seems to know the recipe he is teaching rather than needing to read off instructions.

Americans love beer, with around a third of those who drink preferring the alcoholic beverage. Americans also love American made products, and well over half of the beer consumed in America is considered domestic. It only makes sense that a vice president for the people would promote Americans enjoying a good beer, and JD Vance hasn't made a secret of his ability to drink one with his fellow citizens.

JD Vance has not only been photographed and videoed drinking beer on the campaign trail, but he also poured beer for Green Bay fans in Wisconsin. Supporters also saw Vance post a dig at Kamala Harris. An X, formerly known as Twitter post captioned "Make Six Packs Great Again," he's shown holding a six pack of Old Style in front of an identical supersized version. Referring to the handheld pack as Kamala's leadership and the mega version as Trump's, the metaphoric six packs showed off some signature Vance humor.

Though most of his beer-loving moments were met with positivity from his supporters, one in particular made headlines that poked fun of Vance. When asked why voters would want to have a drink with him, Vance stumbled a bit in his answer. He landed on saying that they'd enjoy drinking with him because he truly enjoys beer, but social media had a heyday with calling his unsure tone "weird." Weird or not, we can say that beer holds a place in the vice president's life.

JD Vance met his wife Usha while he was in law school at Yale and the couple has been married since 2014. Over a decade of being married into an Indian American family, he was bound to pick up a few things about their food and culture. When introducing JD Vance after Trump's confirmation of president-elect, Usha Vance revealed that her mother and JD bonded over cooking. "He adapted to my vegetarian diet and learned to cook food from my mother," Usha explained (via YouTube). As both of Usha's parents grew up in India and immigrated to America, it would seem Vance's education in the art of Indian food was quite authentic.

The Vances seem to have a tight-knit family, with JD fitting in quite nicely with Usha's large Indian family. Cooking seems to be a common theme in the family's way of life, and Vance's mother-in-law passing down some of her own knowledge and culture to him is significant. As Vance has children with Indian heritage, this knowledge imparted by his mother-in-law not only helps him understand his wife and her family's culture, but also his children's. Having firsthand knowledge of some tasty food is a huge perk, as well.

Being married into an Indian American family may mean that JD Vance has learned to make some seriously delicious vegetarian recipes, but he also loves to eat them. Vance and his wife have both spoken on how the 50th vice president has smoothly assimilated to Usha Vance's vegetarian lifestyle.

It doesn't seem like taking on a whole new culture of food was much of a chore for Vance. He praised his wife's cooking abilities and the all-around deliciousness of Indian food on The Joe Rogan Experience. "The vegetarian food she makes is exceptional," he told the podcast personality. He then goes on to explain how Indian vegetarian food is "the real deal," saying, "It's delicious, flavorful, and there is so much variety." He calls out paneer, rice, and chickpeas as specific foods for vegetarians to take advantage of.

Not only is plant-based Indian food delicious, but it is also nutritional. The cultural food contains so many vitamins, protein, and fiber-packed ingredients that offer balance to a diet. Vance made headlines for a major weight loss journey, and he cited a balanced diet for part of his success. Considering his love for plant-based Indian food, we're not surprised he was able to meet his health goal.

Despite cooking and enjoying Indian food and promoting a plant-based diet, JD Vance does enjoy meat products. In fact, he was described as a "meat and potatoes guy" by his vegetarian wife Usha Vance. Though an emphasis in consuming meat may not be as big of a part as his life now, Vance is often seen eating meat.

Hot dogs are one of the most American foods there is, and of course, Vance ups his all-American image by showing voters that he can enjoy one just like the rest of us. A photo of him with a hot dog and a huge plate of fries did the social media rounds in 2024. If that wasn't enough to prove him to be the meat eater that Usha claims, Vance did compete in the Ohio State Fair rib eating contest back in 2022. That's plenty of red meat for any one man, surely.

Just like he enjoys cooking, it seems as though Vance likes to procure meat as well. He took to his Instagram to share himself and his son fishing. It appears as though the father and son team had some luck on the water and were able to bring some fish home as well, as they are seen measuring their fish on a dock in one of the pictures.

We've already established that cooking is a common theme with JD Vance, and he seems to enjoy cooking breakfast for his children. In an X, formerly known as Twitter post, he states that he made six pieces of toast and seven fried eggs for his three small children. He follows it up by saying he understands how families are buying eggs in bulk for a cheaper deal at Costco. His supporters in the comment section show approval of his family man tendencies.

Interestingly enough, eggs come up more than once in Vance's political career. Yes, he enjoys cooking eggs for his children's breakfast, but the 50th vice president has come under fire a couple of times for comments he has made concerning eggs. First, he stated eggs were a dollar more than they were, which the media reported on in a mocking fashion. Vance also made a comment in pure hyperbole saying his children ate an exorbitant 14 eggs each morning, which was then taken literally by a number of people online.

Vance hasn't let the negativity surrounding his comments about eggs to sour his love for them. He still cooks a protein-packed breakfast for his three children, eggs seemingly front and center as a morning staple.

Donald Trump made headlines with his love of fast food and McDonald's, but JD Vance holds another unexpected restaurant close to his heart. Cracker Barrel makes a special appearance in his memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," now a major motion picture. In his book, Vance explains how the country style restaurant and gift shop was somewhere he and his grandmother loved to go together.

Though he held the humble country cooking restaurant in high regard, his Ivy League colleagues thought quite differently. One passage in his book reflected on a time he took a Yale buddy to the restaurant, thinking it was a high class establishment. He ended up quite embarrassed, as the upper class friend seemed to look down on the meal. The Southern restaurant is quite beloved in certain circles, though, and was enjoyed as a luxury for a younger version of himself and his grandmother who raised him.

Vance revealed in his bestselling book that he had never taken another of his upper class friends to Cracker Barrel after the incident. As he is in a completely different tax bracket and overall culture now, worlds would collide once again if he were to patronize the now struggling Cracker Barrel.

Who doesn't love a sweet treat? Well, some people do actually have an aversion to the sweet taste, but JD Vance doesn't seem to be one. In addition to a love for ice cream, he also seems to enjoy donuts. The campaign trail took Vance to a bakery in Georgia to buy up some fresh donuts, and he didn't seem picky about which flavors and variations he was stuck with. When asked what flavors he wanted boxed up, the politician rattled off a few and then simply said, "Whatever makes sense."

A lot of people get overwhelmed when confronted with so many choices, but this vague response didn't sit right with a lot of people. Vance once again was in headlines for being called weird and almost alien-like. Maybe he was already thinking about eating the donuts, though, because he seems to really enjoy sweet treats.

In an interview with C-SPAN, Vance revealed he loves to bake at home. When on the road without his kids, he will sometimes bake them treats ahead of time so they can enjoy his baking even if he can't be with them. According to Vance, his baking skills include some tasty cinnamon rolls and chocolate chip scones.

Eating in America is like playing a cat and mouse game with processed foods. For vegetarians and vegans looking to up their protein intake, this can especially be a difficult game. Man-made meat substitutes can help macros even out in a diet, but increase the consumption of processed foods significantly. In an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, JD Vance warns vegetarians against "disgusting fake meat" in favor of traditional Indian food. While he doesn't call out any "fake meat" products in particular, most consider this to mean anything pretending to be a meat product.

Instead, Vance praises Indian dishes, citing paneer, rice, and chickpeas as excellent options for vegetarians. Paneer itself is around 20% protein and chickpeas are one of the best plant-based sources of protein, so Vance is right on the money with his assessment. Indian food in general includes quite a lot of protein rich foods, from legumes to nuts. Vance opts for these when following his wife's plant-based diet, rather than incorporating the processed meat substitutes geared toward vegetarians.

The new Trump administration includes Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has spoken out about processed foods in America that have harmful additives. This administration has claimed to want to "make America healthy again," and Vance's comments about "fake meat" sounds like he may align with that belief.