Old-School Southern Breakfasts You Need To Try Before You Die

Light and healthy eating fads may come and go through the ages, but hearty old-school Southern breakfasts never go out of style. These satisfying spreads are always waiting in the background as a more filling alternative to the low-cal, low-carb options that have slid to the front of the table. While there are so many outdated old-school breakfasts no one eats today, Southern breakfasts retain their beloved status. They may not be nutritious enough to be indulged in on a daily basis, but there's no denying they hit the spot when you wake up with a grumble in your stomach and a hankering for something rich and flavorful.

The traditions of Southern breakfasts stem from a variety of sources, each with an origin that tells a story about the people who created them. Whether you find them on a diner menu or choose to re-create them in your own home kitchen, some Southern breakfasts are undeniable must-try creations every self-respecting daybreak dining connoisseur should add to their eating agendas. They're some of the best breakfast recipes around.

A hallmark dish of the most recognizable Southern breakfast inventions, buttermilk biscuits and gravy is a simple yet filling combination that brings together two simple elements that spark the feeling of down home comfort. The inclusion of buttermilk in the basic biscuit recipe adds richness that belies the humble nature of the rustic homemade rolls, rough-hewn and lumpy and inviting eager fingers to tear into them with hungry abandon. Once the sausage gravy hits the plate, they are ready to be devoured.

Though it may seem like it's been around forever, the rustic buttermilk biscuit likely got its start in Southern Appalachia in the 1800s, according to historians tracing its origins. Recipes may vary, but it's impossible to mistake a buttermilk biscuit for any other type once you know what they taste like. The addition of gravy after the Revolutionary War made the combination a filling meal for low-income areas, thanks to affordable ingredients and a dense profile that provided fuel for busy manual laborers. You may not have a job that requires a heavy starting meal like biscuits and gravy, but it can still be a breakfast favorite thanks to a tradition that's hung on through generations.

It's not unusual to find fish and seafood among the ingredients in Southern breakfasts, with shrimp and grits being one of the better-known recipes featuring fresh catches from the Gulf. As a regional favorite with deep history, shrimp and grits dishes top tables with something savory and hearty, a blend of protein and starch that feels decadent without being fussy. Even unadorned, the basic combination provides plenty of satisfaction as a sunrise selection.

Shrimp and grits came to the American Low Country with the enslaved peoples of Africa as a dish featuring shellfish and ground maize. The maize was ground into cornmeal and made into grits, while the prevalence of shrimp and crawfish in the region made for a readily-available protein source packed with regional flavor. It may fly in the face of your usual breakfast fare, but if you're in the market for an authentic old-school Southern breakfast that represents some of the country's most emblematic elements, shrimp and grits is a prime candidate.

No dedicated fan of old-fashioned Southern dining would dare refuse a breakfast dish with country ham in the starring role, especially when it's topped with red-eye gravy. This partnership is a savory institution in the world of American breakfast dining, giving rise to the ham-centered diner dishes you know and love today. Combining a farmhouse favorite with a signature sauce gave the Southern U.S. a long-lasting monument to culinary creativity, one that shouldn't be passed up when it circles around on the menu.

What makes country ham such a special version of breakfast pork? The salt-heavy dry-curing process used in making country ham imparts a salty flavor, sometimes combined with a smoking process that maximizes complexity. As for red-eye gravy, it's a specialty sauce achieved by using black coffee to deglaze the pan the country ham is cooked in, resulting in a unique mix of flavors and a composition that resembles a human eye. Try not to look in the pan if the thought of that makes you squeamish, but do make sure you get around to giving country ham with red-eye gravy a taste test the next time Southern breakfasts top your dining to-do list.

If there's one particular breakfast food that best represents Southern dining culture, country-fried steak and eggs is a definite contender for the title. It's one of the staples of diners and chain restaurants, a long-lasting breakfast tradition sure to lure hungry eaters in for a filling meal. And a filling meal it is; this is a plate for a big appetite, one that can handle a double-dose of protein, possibly with potatoes or toast on the side to add a bit of starch to the situation. And because country-fried steak requires a specific cooking process, there's no wondering if the chef will achieve the proper doneness; when it's done, it's done, and you're likely to love what it brings to the table.

You may have mistaken country-fried steak for chicken-fried steak, but there's a definite distinction between the recipes. Country-fried steak is dragged through flour and fried, while chicken-fried steak gets a crispy coating that resembles fried chicken (hence the name). Country-fried steak also comes with a brown gravy made from the pan drippings, while chicken-fried steak is slathered in a peppery white gravy all its own. Make sure you're ordering country-fried steak with your eggs to get the full Southern breakfast experience from this historic favorite.

Sweet potato pancakes may not have started as a Southern specialty, but the use of sweet potatoes as a regional ingredient meant that this flexible starch was bound to find its way to the breakfast table as an alternative to the usual pancake recipe. The inclusion of this alternative tuber doesn't just infuse the cakes with a natural sweetness; it also adds a healthy helping of plant-based fiber to a dish that ordinarily depends on enriched flour, which isn't the richest source of fiber in the breakfast world.

How did the sweet potato pancake come to be a part of the greater pancake world? Sweet potatoes in general are a great crop for growing in Low Country conditions and feature as a primary crop in South Carolina. Having access to this prevalent produce gave Southern cooks the opportunity to work it into just about any dish imaginable, eventually coming up with the sweet potato pancake. Variations like pumpkin pancakes may be easier to achieve thanks to store-bought canned pumpkin, but the earthy richness of authentic sweet potato pancakes make them a Southern charmer that begs to be part of your breakfast plans.

Another Southern breakfast dish that shows up on lunch and dinner menus around the country, chicken and waffles is a tasty twist on the more common chicken and biscuits, with the deliciously dimpled waffle taking its place as the bearer of bready goodness. It's like replacing the usual biscuit with a breakfast menu classic to get the best of both worlds on one massively enjoyable plate.

When did the combination of chicken and waffles join the country breakfast club? Thomas Jefferson helped introduce waffles to America when he brought a waffle iron back to the colonies after a trip to France, while fried chicken got its start as chicken fricassee in the 17^th century. The two were likely put together into a unified dish by enslaved cooks, though tracing it back to a single point of origin is difficult. These days, it's easy enough to make your own at home by heating up frozen waffles and chicken strips for a simple version of a handcrafted classic. Of course, you're welcome to go the distance and fry up fresh buttermilk chicken and get out your waffle iron for a more homemade chicken and waffles recipe. And if you're too busy or too lazy to cook and you'd rather seek out chicken and waffles as a restaurant meal? Even easier.

Having breakfast hash as a day starting dish means digging into a variety of savory elements that merge into a single sumptuous plate. This unfussy mix of meat and potatoes, and possibly eggs depending on the recipe, puts everything you'd love about a Southern breakfast all at the center of the dish without separating it into zones, letting you dig in wherever you like and eating your way through it as you see fit.

Hash originally arose in the Carolinas as an inexpensive meal for enslaved peoples, taking its name from "hacher," the French word meaning "to chop." Over time, seasonings were added and alterations made, until hash became a mashup that helped cooks make use of every scrap of food they had. The breakfast hash you're likely to enjoy incorporates potatoes, ham or sausage, and even eggs as a binder to give more sturdiness to the finished product. You can also make a veggie breakfast hash that tops roasted peppers with fried eggs for a hash to beat all hashes.

The classic beignet is a staple in the world of Southern breakfasts, especially when you find yourself in the vibrant cafés and eateries of New Orleans. This homespun donut offers a pillowy pastry sweetened with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and sometimes filled with chocolate, cream, or jam. Think of the best jelly donut (or Bismark) you've ever had, and you're close to conjuring up the experience of enjoying an authentic beignet. Don't be surprised when you see that beignets are square instead of round, however; it's all part of this breakfast treat's winsome charms.

Beignets made their way to the American South through the integration of settlers throughout Canada and elsewhere in North America. An early Roman creation featuring fried dough evolved through the centuries into a pastry that arrived with the French in the Acadia region of Canada, moving southward when forced migrations drove the Acadian people to Louisiana. Here, the beignet took root and became an essential part of Cajun cuisine, made famous by the renowned Café Du Monde in New Orleans. Now, you can enjoy beignets with coffee or tea and get a taste of the sweetness a real Southern breakfast has to offer.

Bayou cuisine has its own signature old-fashioned Southern breakfast meat selection in boudin, a Cajun sausage that stokes morning appetites with more than its share of spicy flavor. This variation of black pudding features a pork liver and pork fat base flavored with red pepper, parsley, and onions and bound together with rice. Its heritage combines European and Southern American influences in a mélange of history and innovation that represents culinary diversity at its finest.

In the world of breakfast dishes, boudin is a real banger of a sausage, one that can hold its own against the usual breakfast meats. Once you have the hang of boudin and its unique flavor profile, you can enjoy it on its own or incorporate it into any other breakfast dish as a stand-in for your usual sausage links or patties. You can even slice it like kielbasa and toss it into omelets and egg strata to add a kick of Louisiana flavor that no one will mind having on their plate. The one mistake you don't want to make when cooking sausage is leaving boudin off the breakfast menu!

Simple pancakes made from cornmeal rather than wheat flour, Johnny cakes are a traditional Southern breakfast bake with its origins in Colonial America. One of the earliest recordings of a recipe comes from 1739, giving this bake a centuries-long pedigree. Possibly an adaptation of a Native American dish called janiken, Johnny cake is presumed to take its name from a variation on the word. But these Southern breakfast favorites are known by many different names, including corn pone, ashcake, and mush bread. That's a lot of different ways to say "Southern breakfast staple."

Over time, the Johnny cake took on the form of cornbread and cornbread muffins, allowing a Southern classic to leap from the breakfast table and become an American bake that can be enjoyed at any time. Johnny cakes easily serve as an accompaniment to a larger meal or even as a dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup. But of course, breakfast is still where Johnny cakes shine the brightest, with a pat of butter and a little honey or maple syrup to lend sweetness to even the simplest Johnny cakes recipe.

A tasty twist on the more familiar biscuits and honey, biscuits and molasses is a Low Country Southern breakfast dish that brings a smoky sweetness to the usual bread and butter blend. The husky, heavy spirit of molasses is a favorite in down-home cooking and a natural fit for lending complex flavor to the blank canvas of homemade biscuits.

In the 1800s, molasses was the chosen sweetener of North Carolina, incorporated into everything from greens to pies. The sugary syrup was part of the rum trade and became a standard part of the goods stored on Southern plantations. The addition of molasses to the breakfast table may not seem like a move meant for the contemporary breakfast scene, but with this sticky syrup readily available in grocery stores everywhere, it's easy enough to give it a try for yourself. You may become hooked on the deep flavor profile that makes molasses an earthy topper for your buttermilk biscuits.

A breakfast that eats like a dessert as a day-starting dish? Yes, please, and thank you. Pecan waffles are a favorite Southern breakfast that sweetens the morning like nobody's business, combining the nuts that represent a whole industry to the state of Georgia (where the most pecans in the U.S. are grown) with crispy waffles from the finest down-home dining traditions. With generous amounts of syrup and butter to make things nice and gooey on the plate, the flavor and crisp texture of the pecans makes a perfect partner for the other tastes in this decadent early morning plate.

The good news about pecan waffles is that you don't have to travel to the South to try them. You can find them on menus at Waffle House and in pecan pancake form at Cracker Barrel. The better news is that all you need to test them out at home is a box of toaster waffles, a bag of pecans from the baking section of your local grocery store, and swaths of syrup and butter from your fridge. Expect a bit of a sugar rush when the first bite hits your bloodstream.

Hash brown casserole gathers all the quintessential Southern breakfast ingredients into a single baked invention that serves slices of satisfying homestyle fare. Though it got its start as a more somber dish in the Midwest known as funeral potatoes, it took on a livelier personality of its own once it reached the Southland of the U.S. Boasting a mix of cheddar cheese, eggs, bacon, and of course the hash browns that feature prominently in the name, this one-dish wonder is the only recipe required for a full breakfast spread.

Thanks to the need for simple hot dishes at family gatherings and neighborhood get-togethers, hash brown casserole has become a quick and easy creation that's perfect for passing and can be made with just a few simple ingredients. Of course, once the gourmet world gets its oven mitts on something wholesome like this, it starts to take on a more upscale profile, with additions like truffle oil and leeks complicating the sweet simplicity of the original. But that's the allure of old-school Southern breakfasts: they're so beloved that everybody wants to give them a special twist that makes them their own.