A Guide to the Deep South’s Soul Food

The food of the Deep South is a sum of its historic parts. From African to Acadian, a collection of cultures has left a mark on the region’s culinary landscape. Read on to discover how to fuel your road trip with dishes that are full of flair and packed with flavour.

Jambalaya

In Louisiana, meals are created with ‘lagniappe’ – a little extra: a little extra soul, a little extra spice and a little extra love. French-influenced Cajun and mixed-heritage-inspired Creole are the main cuisines you’ll come across in the state and while there is a Venn diagram overlap (the ‘Holy Trinity’ base ingredients for both are onion, peppers and celery), they differ in style, ingredients and subtle flavours.

Beignets

Head to Lafayette, the heart of Cajun country and unsurprisingly, Cajun cooking, for country-style, one-pot dishes like jambalaya, etouffee and gumbo made with game, crawfish and smoked meats like Andouille sausage. In New Orleans, Creole cuisine is king – its more cosmopolitan and refined (and slightly less spicy) than its Cajun cousin, featuring tomato-based gumbos, and more surf than turf. If you’re more sweet-toothed than savoury-loving, you’ll barely be able to move for delightful choux pastry beignets (pronounced ben-yays); just be prepared for the powdered sugar clouds as you tuck in.

Line up the Louisiana dishes on our Grand Tour of the Deep South holiday.

Fried chicken and white barbecue sauce

Southern comfort food, barbecue and sea food from the Gulf Coast are the focus over in Alabama. Fried green tomatoes, fried chicken, white barbecue sauce, hickory sausages, shrimp and oysters are the staples, while community kitchens, barbecue joints and Deep-South-with-a-high-end twist restaurants are the meeting points.

Chuck Wagon, Huntsville, AL

You’ll never go hungry in the Yellowhammer State. While zipping around Alabama, keep an eye out for barbecue pit stops on the state’s official BBQ Trail; there are places to stop just off the highway as well as downtown joints in the heart of cities like Montgomery, Birmingham and Huntsville. Wherever you end up, leave room for dessert – bourbon-soaked lane cakes that are chock full of raisins, pecans and coconut, peach cobblers, and pecan pies grace restaurant menus and bakery displays across Alabama.

Satisfy your appetite in Alabama on our Grand Tour of the Deep South holiday.

Continuing the sweet theme, Mississippi’s world-famous mud pie should be on any chocoholic’s must-try list. It’s gloriously gooey, chilled and stacked with a heap of cream. Pop into any family run restaurant, especially around Jackson, Vicksburg or Natchez, and there’s a good chance you’ll find it on the menu.

Mississippi mud pie

Looking for more savoury sustenance from the Magnolia State? Don’t miss the catfish tamales, a traditional Delta-region specialty that has been served stateside for over a century. Recipes have been passed down through families and some of the finest are sold at non-descript spots along Highway 1, or in Greenville and Jackson. Pressed Po’boys (slow-cooked roast beef- or shell fish-stuffed sandwiches toasted in a press) are another Mississippi favourite, this time closer to the Gulf Coast.

Find your favourite Mississippi meals on our Music Roots Road Trip.

Rendezvouz, Memphis, TN

Like its Southern cousins, Tennessee goes big on barbecue, particularly in the music Mecca of Memphis. It even has its own style and it goes toe-to-toe with Kansas City in a bid to be called the ‘barbecue capital of the world’. It’s all about smoky and tangy pulled pork shoulder and ribs, cooked slowly and with a liberal covering of spice seasoning and served with slaw and beans. Memphis’ legendary Rendezvous restaurant is a carnivore’s hot spot and the home of dry rub ribs.

Jack Daniels Distillery, Lynchburg, TN

Although this is more of a food-focused deep dive of the Deep South, there’s nothing that quite as synonymous with Tennessee as whiskey. There are distilleries across the state that you can pop into, discover the process from barley to barrel to bottle and try a tipple or two (excluding the designated driver obviously). Take a detour between Nashville and Chattanooga to visit the iconic Jack Daniels, forego the drive and visit craft distilleries in Nashville or Memphis, or try some moonshine, an unaged, clear whiskey made from corn, in Gatlinburg.  

Tuck into Tennessee treats on our Overland Music Meccas no-driving trip or Grand Tour of the Deep South road trip. 

This article was created on 24th February 2026. The information is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. Feature by Emma Tibbetts.