The U.S. has no shortage of culinary choices – ingredients are either produced locally or imported from over 200 nations and territories, giving it one of the broadest ingredient ranges in the world. Convenience is king here, and many lean on quick fixes when it comes to meals. More and more, that means letting someone else do the cooking. In 2024, about 59% of what Americans spent on food went to eating out, from cozy sit-down spots to grab-and-go takeout and delivery apps that make dinner show up right at your door.
For Every $10 Spent on Food, $6 Goes to Eating Out
THE BACKBONE OF AMERICAN EATING
By global standards, Americans eat a lot of meat. Chicken continues to gain ground, while red meat has more or less leveled off. Dairy is big too – people are consuming more cheese and butter than ever. On the flip side, fruit and vegetable consumption still lags, despite grocery stores being stocked with healthier options.
The real everyday staples are wheat and corn. Wheat appears as bread, pasta, and all kinds of baked goods, while corn turns into tortillas, cereal, and countless snack foods. Chicken is the go-to protein, with beef and pork behind it. Cheese – especially cheddar and mozzarella – is everywhere. Potatoes are just as common, whether fresh, mashed, fried, frozen, or chipped. And sugar, often boosted by corn syrup, sneaks into sodas, condiments, and nearly every packaged snack.
A ‘classic’ American breakfast often means eggs with bacon or sausage, toast, biscuits, and maybe pancakes dripping with maple syrup. Cereal, oatmeal, and a big cup of coffee are staples, too. Lunch is lighter – sandwiches (grilled cheese or peanut butter and jelly are old favorites) or salads. Hot dogs, pizza, and casseroles are common for midday or casual dinners. Dinner is the main event – meatloaf, barbecue, turkey on the holidays, with sides like macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, cornbread, or green bean casserole. In the U.S., snacking is prevalent – over 90% of adults report having one or more snacks daily, with an average of around 1.5 to 3 snacks per day.
GRAINS IN AMERICAN CUISINE
Wheat and corn make up the base of what Americans eat daily, mostly in forms like bread, pasta, cereals, and snacks. There’s a bit of regional flavor to it – wheat dominates up North and in the Midwest, corn is central in the South and Southwest.
Bread is a popular carbohydrate product in most American kitchens, but the U.S. stands out for its sandwich culture built around it. From peanut butter and jelly and BLTs to deli subs, burgers, and grilled cheese, bread is the base for many portable meals. Soft white sandwich bread is the grocery staple, but regional staples also exist – crumbly Southern cornbread, San Francisco sourdough, and Jewish deli rye. Some visitors assume American bread is always sweet; that’s not the case. Only sweet varieties are sugary; standard white bread is mild and neutral.
Pancakes are another all-American favorite on diner menus, at home, and at community events like church, school, and fundraiser “pancake breakfasts.” American pancakes are fluffy, baking powder–leavened cakes, served in a stack with butter and maple syrup, blueberries, chocolate chips, etc.
Pizza is arguably the ultimate American food, which became popular primarily due to Italian immigrants. The first documented pizzeria in the U.S. was Lombardi’s in New York City, which opened in 1905, selling pizza slices – a convenient format for working Americans. Following World War II, returning soldiers who had tasted pizza in Italy helped expand its appeal. The rise of frozen pizza in the 1950s and 1960s dramatically expanded access and convenience, making it a staple in American households. Regional variations developed, like New York’s thin-crust style and Chicago’s deep-dish pizza, adapting to local tastes.
Mac and cheese, short for macaroni and cheese, is cooked macaroni pasta in a bubbly cheddar dressing – a comforting classic. The origins of mac and cheese trace back to medieval England and Italy, where baked pasta and cheese casseroles were common. The dish made its way to America through Thomas Jefferson, who was interested in extruded pasta, encountered macaroni and cheese during his diplomatic trip to France in 1784 and brought back pasta and Parmesan cheese to the U.S. He and his enslaved chef James Hemings then created an American version called “macaroni pie”. Mac and cheese became more accessible as factory production of pasta and cheese made the ingredients affordable.
Breakfast cereal is an American invention that became a staple. Created in the late 1800s, it matched the 20th-century need for quick, no-cook breakfasts as families got busier with work and school. Decades of heavy advertising – cartoon mascots, prizes, and kid-focused marketing – turned cereal into a morning ritual that other countries just don’t have in the same way.
Corn (maize) is important in Southern cuisine and in the overall fast food industry because of mass production and subsidies. It is consumed as cornbread, tortillas, grits, and polenta, also eaten as popcorn, and as sweet corn on the cob or canned corn. Corn syrup, starch, and oil are important processed products. Corn has a strong presence in fast food and casual meals.
Rice is less central than wheat and corn, but is important, especially in Southern, Cajun, Creole, and Asian American cuisine. The U.S. produces mainly white and brown varieties, used in jambalaya (a meat and rice dish fusing African, Spanish, and French influences), fried rice, casseroles, and as a side dish.
PRODUCE IN AMERICAN CUISINE
FAOSTAT’s data we’re using show there’s plenty of fruits and veggies available per person in the U.S., but people often end up eating less than that (the numbers track what’s in the national food supply; some gets lost to waste, spoilage, or uneven access). Only about 12.3% of U.S. adults meet the fruit intake recommendation (1.5-2 cups or 240-320g daily), while just 10% meet vegetable recommendations (2-3 cups or 320-480g daily).
In American cuisine, vegetables play second fiddle. They show up as sides, in salads, or build flavor, but are not central. Potatoes dominate, (including fries and chips), also tomatoes, largely via sauces, pizza, ketchup; onions, iceberg lettuce, carrot, broccoli, green beans, peppers. Widely popular are cucumbers in the form of dill pickles or sweet relish, cabbage, usually as cole slaw.
Americans consume sweet potatoes more frequently and in a wider variety of ways than most countries. In Europe, for example, consumption is rising, but is still relatively low, often seen as a specialty or health food.
Fruits are snacks and breakfast additions to cereal and yogurt, they feature desserts – apples, cherry pies, cobblers, cakes, ice cream toppings, juices, smoothies, and sauces – apple sauce, cranberry sauce, chutneys. In the U.S., a big chunk of what counts as “fruit consumption” is actually fruit juice, especially orange, which for decades was seen as a breakfast essential. Its popularity came from heavy marketing, the idea that it’s a quick, healthy way to get your daily fruit, and the fact that it’s convenient – no peeling or chopping required. The problem is, juice is high in natural sugars, lacks the fiber you get from whole fruit, and can lead to overdoing calories without feeling full. Trends show a decline in fruit consumption driven by less juice consumption.
MEAT IN AMERICAN CUISINE
The United States consistently ranks among the world’s top consumers of beef and poultry, holding the 2nd position globally for poultry consumption and 3rd for beef. Portion sizes in American meat dishes (e.g., 16 oz / 450g steaks, triple-patty burgers) sometimes astonish visitors. While exaggerated, this reflects both abundance and the value through size.
For much of U.S. history, open grasslands that made ranching easy also supported large populations of wild animals that were easy to hunt. A few hundred years ago, when food production was mostly about making sure people didn’t starve, meat became a reliable way to provide a lot of high-calorie food. In contrast, other countries had different terrains, and meat was a pricier supplement to their mainly grain-based diets. The US developed a large-scale livestock industry early on, facilitated by railroads, refrigerated rail cars that enabled national distribution of fresh meat. Industrialization of poultry production has made chicken particularly cheap. As a result, meat became everyday food. While it was a luxury in some places, in the U.S. it was what ordinary people ate. Things have changed a bit since then, but producing meat is still relatively simple, and it remains a staple. Meat is often associated with American identity, strength, reinforced through social and media narratives, though concerns about health, sustainability, and animal welfare are beginning to challenge consumption patterns.
Barbecue culture, BBQ ribs, slow-cooked pork or beef ribs with smoky barbecue sauce are super American foods, how so?
Indigenous peoples in the Americas had been smoking meat for thousands of years. A tradition that European explorers adopted when they arrived in North America. Meanwhile, enslaved Africans brought their own methods of cooking over open flames and mixing spices. In the American South, Black communities combined African techniques with indigenous smoking methods, leading to the birth and evolution of barbecue as slow-cooking tougher cuts, such as ribs and pork shoulder. Barbecue and smoked meats evolved into a social tradition.
Barbecue isn’t one thing in America. There are at least four major styles:
- Carolina: vinegar-based pork
- Texas: brisket, dry rubs
- Kansas City: sweet tomato sauce
- Memphis: ribs, wet or dry
Beef burger is a symbol of American food culture, convenience, mass production, and national identity
It likely evolved from German immigrants’ Hamburg steak – a minced beef patty served on a plate with sides. Multiple U.S. vendors (Fletcher Davis of Texas, Louis Lassen of Connecticut, Charlie Nagreen of Wisconsin) claimed to be the first to put a beef patty between bread in the late 1800s, but there’s no consensus. Americans now eat 50 billion burgers a year. Many assume burgers and hot dogs are low-end foods, but in the U.S., chefs now elevate them with dry-aged beef, foie gras, or artisan buns, making them gourmet, Instagram-worthy, and still culturally familiar.
Burgers spread globally with American military presence, fast food chain expansion, and American culture spread through movies. The Big Mac Index, created by The Economist, uses the cost of a McDonald’s Big Mac around the world to compare purchasing power between currencies. In 2025, Switzerland had the most expensive Big Macs in the world (around $9.19 to $9.65 USD).
Turkey is the centerpiece of Thanksgiving, the most significant food holiday in the U.S. The association began in the 19th century, when turkey was promoted as a uniquely American bird – large enough to feed a family, native to North America. Outside of holidays, turkey isn’t eaten as frequently, especially whole. Instead, it appears as sliced deli meat, ground (a leaner substitute for beef), or as sausage.
Fried chicken was not invented in the U.S., but it was transformed there into the globally recognized dish we know today. In the U.S. South, fried chicken became distinctive: heavily seasoned, with a crispy crust, deep-fried in oil. It became a Southern staple, spreading worldwide via fast food chains.
Chicken wings are a quintessential at American sports events. The popularity is so strong that 75% of Americans watching the Super Bowl plan to eat chicken wings during the game. Americans are projected to consume around 1.47 billion chicken wings during Super Bowl LIX alone, which equates to over four wings per person in the U.S. This level of consumption far exceeds what is typical in other countries, making the U.S. the top consumer of chicken wings globally.
Today, American meat traditions sit at a crossroads: cherished for tradition, questioned for their climate impact. Beef consumption gradually declines, chicken rises, and new options like blended proteins and lab-grown meat emerge alongside growing environmental awareness.
FISH AND SEAFOOD IN AMERICAN CUISINE
Despite regional richness, fish consumption in the U.S. is relatively low, more secondary after meat and regional. In New England, cod, clam, and lobster are icons with ‘clam chowder’ and ‘fish fry Fridays’ tradition. Salmon is vital in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska; catfish, crawfish, redfish, and shrimp are key in Southern cuisines. Jewish Americans popularized smoked fish – lox and whitefish that became deli staples. Asian American communities, especially in Hawaii and along the West Coast, helped make raw and grilled fish more common. Caribbean and Latin American communities contributed to the popularity of ceviche, salted fish, and other coastal favorites, especially in Florida and urban areas.
Shrimp, tuna, and salmon are staples in the U.S., shrimp is the most popular seafood overall. Canned tuna is the second most popular seafood product. Of those Americans who eat canned tuna, the vast majority, 83 percent, eat it for lunch. In fact, canned tuna is the only regularly consumed seafood at lunch.
EGGS AND DAIRY IN AMERICAN CUISINE
The U.S. has one of the highest milk intakes historically, unlike many regions. It has a foundational but shifting role. From the early 1900s, it was promoted by public health campaigns as a vital source of calcium and protein and built a powerful dairy industry. Since the 1970s, fluid milk consumption per person has dropped sharply, due to changing breakfast habits, concerns about lactose intolerance, health, animal welfare.
The cheese consumption, though, is not declining. In the U.S., cheese is often melted on burgers, pizza, sandwiches, nachos, casseroles, and macaroni. Texture and meltability are prioritized over aging or flavor complexity. Americans are among the top global consumers per capita, especially of mozzarella (due to pizza), cheddar, and processed slices. Unlike in Europe, it’s rarely eaten as a course on its own; it’s usually integrated into other dishes.
Cheddar consistently ranks as the #1 or #2 most-produced cheese. The U.S. cheddar is milder, moister, and more uniform than traditional English versions. Cheddar is the default in cheesburgers, macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, and cheese dips.
Philadelphia cream cheese is an American invention that has become globally popular. Invented in 1872 in New York! Its brand name was adopted only for marketing purposes – Philadelphia was known at the time for high-quality dairy. Today, it’s available worldwide and used in Western-style and local fusion recipes.
NUTS AND DESSERTS IN AMERICAN CUISINE
Peanut butter is not originally American, but it became a distinctly American food. Ground peanut pastes have existed in South America and West Africa; indigenous peoples in the Americas ground them into pastes, but not in the form we now associate with peanut butter. The modern smooth, shelf-stable spread was developed in the late 19th century.
Peanut butter is the taste of American childhood – pretty much every kid grew up with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in their lunchboxes; this nostalgia runs into adulthood. It’s one of those uniquely American foods that gets used in everything; no surprise, the U.S. is also the world’s biggest consumer and exporter.
Americans have a strong cultural sweet tooth, and their desserts tend to be very sweet and indulgent, often using large amounts of sugar, butter, and cream. Think of layered cakes, deep-dish pies, giant cookies, fudge brownies, milkshakes, the tradition of birthday cakes, the popularity of sweet coffee drinks. The portion sizes of desserts also tend to be larger than in many cultures.
Many desserts are tied to home baking, such as a national symbol apple pie, chocolate chip cookies, banana bread, and cupcakes. Generally, desserts focus on ease, comfort, and sharing, not ceremony.
