Down-Home Dishes to Make This Week

Jenny deRemer

Jul 15, 2025

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Whether you’re craving the crispy charm of Chicken-Fried Chicken with Creamy Country Gravy, the sweet nostalgia of a Pig Pickin’ Cake, or the savory comfort of Beef Tips in Creamy Mushroom Pan Sauce, this spread of Southern dishes has your cravings covered. Brighten your day with a Copycat Chick-Fil-A Peach Milkshake, or keep it classic with Southern Oven-Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Herb Crust and a side of Green Bean Casserole with Bacon. From A Sweet Sunshine by The Slice Strawberry and Lemon Pie to Million Dollar Bacon, there’s no shortage of down-home goodness and bold flavor!

Table of Contents

Pig Pickin’ Cake

A cake topped with creamy frosting, orange slices, and a cherry.
Photo Credit: Homemade Hooplah.

Pig Pickin’ Cake is fluffy, fruity, and dangerously easy to fall in love with. Crushed pineapple and whipped topping make this potluck hero a retro dessert worth repeating.
GET THE RECIPE: Pig Pickin’ Cake

Chicken-Fried Chicken with Creamy Country Gravy

A piece of chicken fried chicken topped with gravy sits on a mound of mashed potatoes on a patterned plate, accompanied by a gold fork and knife.
Image Credit: Not Entirely Average

Chicken-Fried Chicken with Creamy Country Gravy brings diner vibes with crispy, golden chicken smothered in from-scratch gravy. It’s the kind of comfort food that makes paper plates feel fancy.

To learn more: Chicken-Fried Chicken with Creamy Country Gravy

Brown Sugar Cake

A round, glazed bundt cake with a golden brown exterior and drip glaze topping is displayed on a clear surface.
Image Credit: Erren Hart for Erren’s Kitchen.

Brown Sugar Cake is rich, sticky, and made for anyone who prefers their dessert with a caramel wink. One bite and you’ll forget vanilla cake ever existed.

GET THE RECIPE: Brown Sugar Cake

Alabama Chopped Chicken Sandwiches

Sandwiches with chopped chicken, pickles, and creamy white sauce on toasted buns, arranged on a decorative plate.
Image Credit: Not Entirely Average

Alabama Chopped Chicken Sandwiches are smoky, saucy, and slathered in tangy white BBQ sauce. It’s backyard barbecue in a bun—with no grill required.

To learn more: Alabama Chopped Chicken Sandwiches

A Sweet, Sticky, Spicy Bourbon Glaze

A spoon with thick, golden-brown sauce containing small dark particles hovers over a stainless steel pot partially filled with the same liquid.
A Sweet, Sticky, Spicy Bourbon Glaze. Photo credit: Not Entirely Average.

A Sweet, Sticky, Spicy Bourbon Glaze takes meat (or veggies!) from basic to bold. It’s sweet, tangy, and has just enough heat to keep things interesting.
GET THE RECIPE: A Sweet, Sticky, Spicy Bourbon Glaze

Copycat Chick-Fil-A Peach Milkshake

3 milkshakes topped with cream and peach slices.
Peach Milkshakes. Image Credit: Not Entirely Average

Copycat Chick-Fil-A Peach Milkshake is cold, creamy, and summery-sweet. Grab a blender, skip the drive-thru, and sip your way through peach season.

GET THE RECIPE: Peach Milkshakes

Best Southern Corn Pudding

A spoonful of creamy baked corn casserole.
Image Credit: Jenny DeRemer for Not Entirely Average

Best Southern Corn Pudding walks the line between savory and sweet in the most delicious way. It’s creamy, custardy, and plays nice with every main dish on the table.

GET THE RECIPE: Corn Casserole

Pecan Pie Bars

A large shrimp in gravy over cheese grits.
Image Credit: Ally Roomberg for Baking A Moment

Pecan Pie Bars are gooey, nutty, and perfectly portable. All the rich, sticky goodness of the classic pie—no fork needed.

GET THE RECIPE: Pecan Pie Bars

Pickled Sweet Peppers with Shallots & Thyme

A jar of pickled peppers on a refrigerator shelf.
Image Credit: Jenny DeRemer for Not Entirely Average

Pickled Sweet Peppers with Shallots & Thyme are bright, briny, and secretly addictive. Pile them on sandwiches, charcuterie boards, or eat them straight from the jar.

GET THE RECIPE: Pickled Peppers

Fresh Blueberry Peach Pie

A fruit tart with sliced peaches and blueberries sits on a lace tablecloth.
Photo Credit: Pandemonium Noshery.

Fresh Blueberry Peach Pie is sunshine baked into a flaky crust. Juicy peaches and bursting blueberries make this one a summer staple.
GET THE RECIPE: Fresh Blueberry Peach Pie

Red Velvet Cheesecake

Macaroni and cheese.
Image Credit: Ally Roomberg for Baking A Moment

Red Velvet Cheesecake combines two showstoppers into one over-the-top dessert. It’s velvety, tangy, and just the right amount of extra.

GET THE RECIPE: Red Velvet Cheesecake

Oven Baked Home Fries Recipe with Sausages and Sunny Eggs

A big breakfast plate of home fries, with sausages and eggs.
Image Credit: Jenny DeRemer for Not Entirely Average

Oven Baked Home Fries Recipe with Sausages and Sunny Eggs keeps breakfast easy with a one-pan wonder. Crispy potatoes, sizzling sausage, and perfect eggs? No complaints here.

GET THE RECIPE: Sheet Pan Breakfast

Best-Ever Breakfast Casserole

A serving of savory bread topped with chopped parsley on a white plate, with a fork beside it.
Photo Credit: The Forked Spoon.

Best-Ever Breakfast Casserole is cheesy, hearty, and holds its own at brunch or brinner. It’s the kind of dish that disappears before you even sit down.
GET THE RECIPE: Best-Ever Breakfast Casserole

One Pan Chicken Drumsticks and Potatoes

Seasoned chicken drumsticks, sliced potatoes, carrots, onions, and lemon slices.
Photo Credit: Not Entirely Average.

One Pan Chicken Drumsticks and Potatoes is a no-fuss, all-flavor dinner with crispy chicken and golden spuds. Your sheet pan just found its calling.
GET THE RECIPE: One Pan Chicken Drumsticks and Potatoes

Beef and Sour Cream Noodle Casserole

A serving spatula lifts a portion of baked pasta layered with melted cheese, tomato sauce, ground meat, and sprinkled with chopped parsley.
Image Credit: Jenny DeRemer for Not Entirely Average

Beef and Sour Cream Noodle Casserole is retro comfort at its best—seasoned beef, tender noodles, and a creamy kick of sour cream.

GET THE RECIPE: Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Carolina Bbq Sauce

A close-up of a spoon resting in a bowl filled with thick, dark barbecue sauce.
Image credit: Erren Hart for Erren’s Kitchen.

Carolina BBQ Sauce hits that perfect sweet-tangy note with a mustardy backbone. Slather it on anything grilled and thank the Carolinas later.

GET THE RECIPE: Carolina Bbq Sauce

A Sweet Sunshine by The Slice Strawberry and Lemon Pie

A pie topped with sliced strawberries and colorful edible flowers, on a checkered surface with a serving utensil beside it.
Photo Credit: Not Entirely Average.

A Sweet Sunshine by The Slice Strawberry and Lemon Pie tastes like summer on a plate. Bright lemon, ripe strawberries, and a buttery crust? Yes, please.
GET THE RECIPE: Strawberry Lemon Pie

Southern Pimento Cheese Nachos

A plate of nachos topped with melted cheese, jalapeño slices, ground meat, sour cream, and chopped green onions.
Photo Credit: Not Entirely Average.

Southern Pimento Cheese Nachos take melty, messy goodness to a new level. Pimento cheese meets chips—and things escalate quickly.
GET THE RECIPE: Southern Pimento Cheese Nachos

Green Bean Casserole with Bacon

A spoonful of green beans, bacon pieces, creamy sauce, and breadcrumb topping.
Photo credit: Erren’s Kitchen

Green Bean Casserole with Bacon upgrades the classic with smoky, salty bacon and just the right crunch. Your holiday table just got a little more Southern.

GET THE RECIPE: Green Bean Casserole with Bacon

Million Dollar Bacon Recipe

Several crispy candied bacon strips, coated with sugar and black pepper flakes, arranged vertically. Blurry background with more bacon on a cooling rack.
Million Dollar Bacon Recipe. Photo credit: Quiche My Grits.

Million Dollar Bacon Recipe earns its name with every sweet, spicy, crispy bite. Serve it at brunch or sneak it from the fridge at midnight—we won’t judge.
GET THE RECIPE: Million Dollar Bacon Recipe

Beef Tips in Creamy Mushroom Pan Sauce

A dinner plate loaded with mashed potatoes and beef tips in brown gravy with mushrooms.
Image Credit: Jenny DeRemer for Not Entirely Average

Beef Tips in Creamy Mushroom Pan Sauce are seared to perfection and bathed in a silky mushroom gravy. It’s weeknight elegance in 30 minutes flat.

GET THE RECIPE: Beef Tips in Gravy

Creamy Mashed Sweet Potatoes

A bowl of mashed sweet potatoes topped with melted butter and a sprinkle of herbs.
Image credit: Erren Hart for Erren’s Kitchen.

Creamy Mashed Sweet Potatoes are whipped smooth with butter and just a hint of maple. Sweet, savory, and a serious side dish upgrade.

GET THE RECIPE: Creamy Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Hummingbird Poke Cake

A dinner plate filled with rice and topped with a fried chicken cutlet and scratch-made country gravy.
Image Credit: Lyuba Brooke for Will Cook for Smiles

Hummingbird Poke Cake takes the tropical flavors of banana, pineapple, and pecan and floods them with cream cheese filling. It’s Southern, sweet, and totally soaked.

GET THE RECIPE: Hummingbird Poke Cake

Sweet & Spicy Southern Jezebel Sauce

A crispbread with cottage cheese and yellow jam sits on a plate next to additional crispbreads, a bowl of cottage cheese, and a jar of yellow jam, all arranged on a wooden board.
Photo credit: Not Entirely Average

Sweet & Spicy Southern Jezebel Sauce is sassy in a jar—pineapple, mustard, and horseradish combine for a spread that stirs up every bite. Try it with ham, cream cheese, or right off the spoon.
Get the Recipe: Sweet & Spicy Southern Jezebel Sauce

Southern Oven-Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Herb Crust

Sliced roast pork tenderloin arranged on a wooden board with sprigs of fresh herbs, beside a jar of yellow sauce or jelly.
Image Credit: Not Entirely Average

Southern Oven-Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Herb Crust roasts up tender and juicy with a herby crust that smells like Sunday dinner. It’s low effort, big payoff, and even better the next day (if there’s any left).

To learn more: Southern Oven-Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Herb Crust

Best Southern Ham Gravy with Cheesy Biscuits and Eggs

A plate of cheesy eggs and biscuits smothered in southern ham gravy.
Image Credit: Jenny DeRemer for Not Entirely Average

Best Southern Ham Gravy with Cheesy Biscuits and Eggs is a brunch plate you’ll brag about. Savory ham gravy, fluffy eggs, and cheesy biscuits come together for a fork-and-knife masterpiece.

GET THE RECIPE: Ham Gravy

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About Jenny deRemer

I am a Charleston, South Carolina-based culinary novice, an ardent authority on all things travel, a designer by trade, and the creator of Not Entirely Average. I have a weakness for farmers' markets, delight in adventures way off the beaten path, enjoy documenting my many moods through photography, and have been known to conquer the occasional yard sale with gusto!

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