The Most-Searched Recipe in Every State Shows What People Are Looking to Make at Home
By Rachel Askinasi
People around the US are looking for new recipes to make at home.
KaTom Restaurant Supply shared Google search data for each of America’s 50 states revealing what recipes residents were searching for most during the month of April.
While results ranged from sweet dishes to savory, and breakfast to dinner, the most searched for recipe was for hamburgers or hamburger meat with 12 states wanting to cook the fast-food staple at home.
Other popular recipes included bread, cinnamon rolls, and salmon.
ALABAMA: Chicken salad
Chicken salad can mean different things to different people. But one common interpretation is that it’s some sort of combination of small pieces of chicken, a binding agent like mayonnaise or mustard, and an added vegetable or fruit.
ALASKA: Cinnamon rolls
Alaska is one of four states whose population is searching for different ways to make sweet and sticky cinnamon rolls. Other states include Idaho, Montana, and Oregon.
ARIZONA: Lemonade
From adding different fruits to throwing in herbs, there are loads of ways to make nostalgic lemonade feel new, fun, and sophisticated.
ARKANSAS: Hamburger meat
While you can purchase packages of hamburger meat at the grocery store, you can also make the mixture at home.
Oklahoma and Texas were two other states looking for how to make hamburgers at home.
CALIFORNIA: Snickerdoodle
Snickerdoodle cookies are typically a soft and chewy, cinnamon-laden sugar cookie.
COLORADO: Egg salad
Similarly to chicken salad, this dish is typically made of mashed up hard-boiled eggs and some sort of binding agent. You can add herbs and different spices to the mixture for a unique flavor.
Egg salad was also the No. 1 most-searched recipe in Pennsylvania.
CONNECTICUT: Salmon
Salmon can be poached, grilled, seared, baked, and cured. You can order it sushi-grade and eat it raw, or cook it through and make a salmon patty. The possibilities with this fish are endless.
Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey residents have also been searching for ways to prepare the meaty fish.
DELAWARE: Salmon
Some salmon recipes may even call for a glaze of some sort. You can make it sweet and sticky with the addition of fruit, or bring the heat with flavors from hot peppers.
This was also the most-searched recipe in Connecticut, Maryland, and New Jersey.
FLORIDA: Zucchini
From grilled strips to spiralized noodles, there are so many ways to use zucchini. You can cut it into pieces and put them on the grill, or you can go the baking route and make a loaf of zucchini bread.
GEORGIA: Baked chicken
You can bake a chicken in its entirety, or you can cut it up and bake separate pieces. Baking can leave you with a deliciously moist-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside protein.
Residents of Tennessee were also looking for baked-chicken recipes.
HAWAII: Shoyu chicken
A great way to use shoyu — a Japanese style of soy sauce that’s made with soy and wheat — with chicken is to make a glaze. You can make it sweet or spicy and layer it onto chicken breasts, thighs, or even wings.
IDAHO: Cinnamon rolls
There are so many ways to prepare cinnamon rolls. Some have a white sugar frosting and some are simply sticky with cinnamon sugar sauce.
Other states searching for these included Alaska, Montana, and Oregon.
ILLINOIS: Pork tenderloin
Flavors of pork are fairly versatile. Cooking it in a sweet and fruity marinade and grilling it with a hot and smokey rub are both equally delicious.
INDIANA: Hamburger
People in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and West Virginia were looking to elevate their burger game.
IOWA: Hamburger
Using a seeded bun on your at-home burger can make you feel like you’re eating at a fast-food restaurant.
Hamburger recipes were also the most-searched in Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and West Virginia.
KANSAS: Hamburger
Lettuce, tomato, and pickles are classic hamburger toppings. You can get creative, though, with different relish options, cheeses, and grilled vegetables.
Residents of Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and West Virginia were also looking for hamburger recipes.
KENTUCKY: Hamburger
Most burger lovers have a preference for thin or thick patties; with homemade patties, you can experiment with the thickness to get your desired consistency.
The No. 1 searched recipe in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and West Virginia was also for hamburgers.
LOUISIANA: Crawfish étouffée
Étouffée comes together by making a thickened, saucy mixture — typically with butter and cornstarch — of vegetables and crawfish. It’s not quite soupy, so serving the dish with rice is common.
MAINE: Bread
People all over social media are showing off their bread-baking skills.
Residents of Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and South Dakota were also looking for different bread recipes.
MARYLAND: Salmon
The Cheesecake Factory has released its recipe for almond-crusted salmon salad pictured above.
People in Connecticut, Delaware, and New Jersey were also searching for salmon recipes.
MASSACHUSETTS: Bread
There are many different types of bread you can make at home.
Beer bread is one you can make if you have a brew in your fridge but no yeast in your pantry.
People in Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and South Dakota were looking for different bread recipes as well.
MICHIGAN: Hamburger
Every restaurant has its own unique hamburger. There are even some home cooks who have built a social-media following around re-creating them.
Michigan joined Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and West Virginia as states that were searching for hamburger recipes more than any other recipe.
MINNESOTA: Bread
Some bread loaves are soft enough to pull apart with your hands while others have a crusty outer shell protecting the airy insides.
Bread was also the most-searched recipe in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and South Dakota.
MISSISSIPPI: Cornbread
Making cornbread leaves you with a versatile loaf. You can eat it toasted with butter and jam for breakfast, or warmed up as a side for dinner — you can even dunk it into something saucy.
MISSOURI: Hamburger
There are no rules when it comes to cheeseburgers, stick with one variety or pile on a combination of cheddar, American, and Gruyère.
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, and West Virginia were also searching for hamburger recipes.
MONTANA: Cinnamon roll
While cinnamon rolls are commonly seen in the pinwheel shape, you can cut them into crescents or form them into squares if you’d like.
People in Alaska, Idaho, and Oregon were also searching for this recipe the most.
NEBRASKA: Hamburger
It’s hard not to picture hamburgers when thinking about a summer barbecue.
This recipe was also the top search in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and West Virginia.
NEVADA: Pork loin
Pork loin can be used to flavor ramen noodles or soups.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Bread
Ambitious bread bakers can add goodies like olives or raisins to their loves.
People in Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and South Dakota were also looking for exciting ways to make bread at home.
NEW JERSEY: Salmon
Salmon takes on the flavors of its seasoning well — use herbs like dill or rosemary to enhance its flavor profile.
Connecticut, Delaware, and Maryland were the three other states searching for salmon recipes.
NEW MEXICO: Tortillas
Instead of purchasing packages of tortillas, you can make them yourself.
Use flour, water, a fat like olive oil, and salt for flour tortillas, or pick up some masa at your grocery store for corn tortillas.
Once you’ve made the tortillas, their usage doesn’t stop with tacos. You can bake or fry them for chips and add them to soups.
NEW YORK: Charoset
As the Jewish holiday Passover fell during April this year, lots of people were searching for charoset recipes. Charoset is a sweet and sometimes spicy mixture made to resemble mortar used to lay bricks.
This seder plate staple can be eaten all year, though. You can make one version with apples, a meaty nut like walnuts, cinnamon, and red wine, or another version that’s more like a paste using dates.
NORTH CAROLINA: Pound cake
Yellow pound cake is a rich, buttery cake made with lots of eggs. Each slice can be pretty heavy and dense.
Home bakers in the neighboring state of South Carolina were also searching for pound cake recipes.
NORTH DAKOTA: Sloppy joe
Cooks can get very creative with sloppy joes. You can mix in any vegetables you have on hand and come up with a great sauce by cooking down spices in your cabinets with sauces in your refrigerator.
OHIO: Hamburger
For a saucy burger add caramelized onions and sautéd mushrooms.
Cooks in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, and West Virginia were also looking for hamburger recipes.
OKLAHOMA: Hamburger meat
Using different types of meat can drastically change the taste of your burger. You can make a patty out of anything from bison to short rib.
People in Arkansas and Texas were also searching for hamburger meat recipes.
OREGON: Cinnamon roll
If you’re in the mood for sweet and sticky rolls, top them with frosting while they’re still hot. That way, the frosting will melt all over the roll.
Search data shows this was also the No. 1 most-searched recipe in Alaska, Idaho, and Montana.
PENNSYLVANIA: Egg salad
Add mix-ins like avocado to your egg salad for a little more color. You can also eat it as a sandwich or with a fork.
This was also the most-searched recipe in Colorado.
RHODE ISLAND: Chicken parmesan
There are so many ways to make chicken parmesan. From the combinations of cheeses to the cooking method and even serving method, you can have a lot of fun experimenting.
SOUTH CAROLINA: Pound cake
Pound cake doesn’t have to be plain. Get creative and add different flavors to the loaf.
Residents of North Carolina were also searching for pound-cake recipes.
SOUTH DAKOTA: Bread
Making your own bread is great if you love to make sandwiches or if you’re missing the bread baskets at restaurants.
The No. 1 recipe searched in Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New Hampshire was also bread.
TENNESSEE: Baked chicken
Baking just pieces of a chicken can allow for variety in your meals. You can make baked lemon chicken breast one day and a smokey, tomato chicken thigh the next.
People in Georgia were also searching for baked-chicken recipes more than any other dish.
TEXAS: Hamburger meat
There are ways to beef up your store-bought hamburger meat with different herbs and spices.
Hamburger meat was the No. 1 most-searched recipe in Arkansas and Oklahoma as well.
UTAH: Crepes
Between the crepe itself and the fillings you choose, there are endless possibilities for flavor profiles.
You can add matcha powder to your crepe batter for a green tea-inspired sweet crepe, or fill one of the flat pancakes with meat and cheese for a savory profile.
VERMONT: Pancakes
There are loads of different ways to elevate pancakes. From adding fruit or chocolate chips to mixing in ricotta cheese and lemon zest, the flavor possibilities are endless.
You can also make your pancakes with different flours and different amounts of fat for a variety of textures.
VIRGINIA: Banana pudding
A sweet banana pudding often features pieces of banana and simple vanilla cookies crumbled up inside and on top.
WASHINGTON: Sourdough bread
Sourdough is a bit more complicated to make than some other types of bread as it requires a sourdough starter, which is tricky to make yourself.
Home cooks in Wyoming were also looking into recipes for this loaf.
WEST VIRGINIA: Hamburger
Sometimes, a patty and cheese are all you need between the bun.
Search data showed that this was also the most-searched recipe in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, and Ohio.
WISCONSIN: Ham
Glazed with honey or rubbed with spices, there are many ways to prepare a ham.
WYOMING: Sourdough
Sourdough bread is crusty on the outside and filled with air pockets on the inside.
Cooks in Washington were also searching for sourdough recipes.
