It's no secret that some of the planet's most popular dishes and food brands hail from the USA. But once they've achieved world dominance, their humble beginnings are often forgotten. Here, we take a step back in time to find out the origins of our favourite American foods – and learn how they've taken the world by storm.
Click or scroll through our gallery to discover the most incredible foods to come out of the USA, counting down to the most iconic of all.
We’ve based our ranking on the ubiquitous nature of each food, as well as on the opinions of our expert team. This list is unavoidably subjective.
In the early 1900s, peanut butter was a luxury served in the elegant tea rooms of Manhattan. It wasn't until the 1920s, when sliced bread was invented, that the peanut butter sandwich really started to come into its own. Around the same time, famous peanut butter brands like Skippy hit the shelves and, during the Great Depression, the popularity of this simple yet filling sandwich grew. After World War II, jelly (jam, to some other countries) came into play. Along with peanut butter and bread, jelly was on the US military's ration list, and it didn't take long for soldiers and their families to combine the ingredients.
Traditionally made with two slices of white bread, two tablespoons of strawberry jelly (although grape is now very popular) and two tablespoons of peanut butter, the iconic sandwich has crossed continents, and its flavour has gained an almost cult-like status. PBJ was a popular Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavour from 1989 to 1990 – and these days, you can find all sorts of peanut butter and jelly–flavoured cakes, brownies and doughnuts throughout the globe. The world just can't get enough of this simple yet classic combination.
Whether you prefer them as a tasty snack or as an easy accompaniment to a frozen meal, tater tots are an American classic that the world has got on board with. They’ve been known by different names around the globe over the years – 'oven crunchies' in Europe and 'potato gems' in Australia – but ultimately, they’re the same thing: fluffy bites of potatoey goodness that are deep fried until golden brown.
The name tater tots – and the product itself – was the creation of frozen food company Ore-Ida, which now sits under the Kraft Heinz umbrella. Founders F. Nephi and Golden Grigg invented the potato nuggets in the 1950s as a way to use up leftover potato from the French fry–making process. Decades later, tater tots had become Ore-Ida’s signature offering in the States, and copycat products are still well loved around the globe.
Purportedly invented in 1943 at Chicago's Pizzeria Uno, the deep-dish pizza has long been a symbol of the Windy City. The dough is parbaked before being stuffed with layers of cheese, pepperoni and tomato sauce – and yet more cheese. After its creation, the new style of pizza soon took off, and many of Pizzeria Uno's cooks and employees moved on to open other successful pizza places in Chicago.
Fast-forward to today, and the original Pizzeria Uno is still open in Chicago – in fact, the Uno Pizzeria & Grill chain owns more than 100 locations around the US and beyond. The love for Chicago deep dish doesn't end in America, either; many pizza restaurants around the world now feature deep-dish pizzas on their menus, while Chicago Town is one of the most-loved frozen pizza brands in the UK.
Krispy Kreme operates in more than 30 countries, selling glazed, iced and filled doughnuts in all kinds of flavours (as well as coffee to wash the doughy delights down with). The history of the company stretches back to 1937, when Vernon Rudolph bought a yeast-raised doughnut recipe from a French chef in New Orleans, rented a building in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and started selling to local grocery stores. He soon started selling to passersby too, creating a hole in the wall so that those tempted by the smell of frying doughnuts could stop and buy some.
Krispy Kreme’s first retail-only store didn’t open until 1989, but the company continued to grow. By 2015, there were 1,000 Krispy Kreme locations, with the first branch outside of North America opening in Australia in 2003. The original glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut is still a bestseller – but these days, flavours include everything from chocolate and strawberry to s’mores and rocky road. Plant-based doughnuts are also available in the UK, offering a vegan option that everyone can enjoy.
Invented by Oscar of the Waldorf (a popular nickname for Oscar Tschirky, the Walforf Hotel's maître d'hôtel), the Waldorf salad took New York City by storm when it was first served in the 1890s. The original recipe – outlined in Tschirky's book, The Cookbook by Oscar of the Waldorf – only contained apples, celery and mayonnaise; however, chopped walnuts, grapes and blue cheese have all become an integral part of the dish over time.
In Europe, one of the first mentions of Waldorf salad can be found in legendary chef Auguste Escoffier's 1903 cookbook, The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery. Something of a culinary bible, the book left an impact on restaurants across the continent, which all started including versions of the Waldorf salad on their French-inspired menus. Back at the Waldorf, despite the dish's age, it's still one of the most ordered plates of food on the menu, with more than 20,000 servings leaving the restaurant's kitchen every year.
A reference to Buffalo, New York rather than real-life buffaloes, this chicken wing style was invented by Teressa Bellissimo in 1964 at the Anchor Bar (pictured). Three versions of the story exist: one, her son came in late with his friends and demanded a snack; two, the bar received a delivery of too many chicken wings; and three, Teressa's husband came up with the idea of serving a quick meat snack at midnight on Friday (at the time, Catholics used to avoid meat on Fridays).
Whoever Teressa was supposed to feed, she came up with the idea of grilling the wings before slathering them in a spicy sauce and serving them with celery and blue cheese sauce – and the whole world has been having a love affair with this zingy and delicious snack ever since. These days, Americans eat an estimated 1.45 billion chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday alone, according to the National Chicken Council.
Tex-Mex food is the first version of Mexican food that many people outside of the Americas get to experience. Even a bar or restaurant with no other dishes that are even vaguely Mexican may offer a bowl of nachos to hungry patrons. Nachos were invented in Mexico by a Mexican maître d’hôtel, Ignacio Anaya, just across the border from Texas. He put them together in 1943 for some US military officers’ wives, and over the next couple of decades, the popularity of the dish spread through Texas and the American Southwest.
The original nachos, as made by Anaya, featured pieces of fried tortillas, grated cheese and pickled jalapeños. However, these days there are endless variations and toppings. Nachos might include cheese sauce instead of melted cheese, or feature the likes of salsa, meat, beans, vegetables, guacamole and sour cream. They’re loved around the world, with National Nacho Day observed on 6 November in the US, and International Day of the Nacho celebrated worldwide on 21 October.
Since 1952, millions of people around the world have been starting their day with a bowl of Frosted Flakes. Today, it remains one of the bestselling cereals both in America and internationally, with its loveable mascot Tony the Tiger earning it extra fans. In the US, you can get your hands on plenty of tasty variations on the original – including Frosted Flakes with Marshmallows, and Cinnamon Frosted Flakes.
You might be surprised to learn that Tony's favourite breakfast cereal isn't known as Frosted Flakes everywhere. Most countries, apart from the US and Canada, know the ubiquitous cereal as Frosties. Meanwhile, it's called Zucaritas throughout Spanish-speaking nations, Sucrilhos in Brazil and Corn Frosty in Japan. In fact, even in America, Frosted Flakes had a different name until 1983. The cereal was previously known as Sugar Frosted Flakes; the word 'sugar' was dropped when the nation became more conscious about its daily sugar intake.
In the US, corn dogs are a must at state fairs and on boardwalks – but they’ve also gained fans elsewhere. In Australia, they’re often found at agricultural shows and carnivals, while in South Korea, they’re a highly popular street food that’s often covered in all kinds of toppings and sauces (like the ones pictured here). These cornmeal-battered wieners have a slightly murky history, with several people and places having laid claim to their invention over the years.
The Oregon diner Pronto Pup is one of the possible birthplaces of the corn dog; the diner was selling battered hot dogs on sticks as long ago as 1941. The Cozy Dog Drive-In, in Springfield, Illinois, also claims to have invented the snack around the same time. By 1942, two brothers were selling corn dogs at the Texas State Fair, where they’re still sold today. To complicate things further, the original corn dog likely has its roots in Texan German cuisine, and could date back as far as the 1920s. Whoever invented it, there’s no denying it’s seen as iconically American today.
The history of the BLT isn't entirely clear, though there's little evidence that the tasty sandwich existed before the 1900s. In fact, a recipe in the 1903 Good Housekeeping Everyday Cook Book that included bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and a slice of turkey is thought to be one of the first mentions of a BLT-like sandwich. It gained popularity rapidly after World War II, when the rise of supermarkets meant ingredients were available throughout the year.
It wasn't until the 1970s that the abbreviation BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomato) came into common use – but fast-forward to today, and it's hard to find a deli or a sandwich shop that would shy away from the classic combo and its catchy name. It's long been recognised as a national favourite in both the US and the UK.
Cheesecake has a long history, and different versions of it exist throughout the world; Hawaiian cheesecake is topped with pineapple, while in the UK, the dessert is generally made with cream cheese and isn't baked. However, it's the New York version that the world can't get enough of. A stripped-back recipe, it has no extravagant flavourings, and it's rarely served with fancy toppings or indulgent sauces. The origins of New York–style cheesecake can be traced back to 1872, when New York dairyman William Lawrence accidentally made cream cheese while trying to recreate the soft French cheese Neufchâtel.
The New York cheesecake itself didn't see daylight until the 1900s, when Arnold Reuben, a German Jewish immigrant (apparently the same man who created the legendary Reuben sandwich), purportedly came up with the classic cheesecake recipe after having tasted a variation of it at a dinner party. Reuben began serving the new recipe in his restaurant, Turf Restaurant, where it quickly gained popularity. Both the Turf Restaurant and the Reuben Restaurant and Deli are now closed; however, you can still get a taste of the original, no-frills New York cheesecake at a number of the city's delis, including Katz's.
Although the history of the humble sausage can be traced to a time way before Columbus sailed to the New World, the American hot dog was born a little later. Either wrapped in bacon, covered in cheese or topped with chilli, the classic frankfurter and bun combination was invented by German immigrants in America. It's widely believed that the first hot dog – then known as a 'dachshund sausage' – was sold out of a food cart in New York City in the 1860s.
The hot dog really took off when Nathan Handwerker opened a hot dog stand in Coney Island in 1916. By the 1920s, Nathan's Famous was exactly that – famous. Hot dog fever had taken America by storm, and it hasn't shown any sign of stopping since. Hot dogs have become a staple of American-style diners and cafés around the world, and new hot dog stands are popping up in trendy food markets, where you'll find delicious modern takes on the classic recipe. Korean kimchi hot dogs, anyone?
Eggs Benedict is such a quintessential brunch staple that even McDonald's based its breakfast hero, the Egg McMuffin, on the recipe. The classic combination sees a toasted English muffin topped with Canadian bacon and a poached egg, all slathered in Hollandaise sauce. But many variations on the dish exist, including eggs Blanchard, which substitutes Hollandaise for béchamel sauce, and eggs royale, which sees the Canadian bacon switched out for smoked salmon.
Several eggs Benedict origin stories exist; however, the most widely accepted is that of Lemuel Benedict, a Wall Street stockbroker. Hungover and hungry, Benedict wandered into New York City's Waldorf Hotel (now the Waldorf Astoria) in 1894 and ordered buttered toast, poached eggs, crisp bacon and Hollandaise. According to the story, Oscar Tschirky, the maître d'hôtel, was so impressed with the dish that he put eggs Benedict on the menu, swapping toast for an English muffin and crispy bacon for Canadian bacon. The dish has remained an icon at the hotel, served to everyone from presidents to movie stars.
Given Ben & Jerry’s worldwide appeal, it’s hard to believe that the ice cream titan had such humble beginnings. The company began in the 1970s with two men (Ben and Jerry, of course) and a scoop shop in a renovated gas station in Vermont. Word spread quickly, though, and over the next couple of decades, Ben & Jerry’s became a household name. Described by Ben & Jerry’s itself as 'the World’s Most Popular Pint', Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough came onto the scene in 1984.
The well-loved flavour was actually a customer idea, but Ben & Jerry’s saw the sweet suggestion as a no-brainer and soon whipped up a recipe. It was an instant hit, in pint form by 1991, and across the pond in the UK by 1994. Ben & Jerry’s is still widely credited with inventing the cookie dough ice cream flavour, and it’s ubiquitous today in supermarkets and ice cream parlours around the globe.
The chocolate chip cookie is one of the most quintessentially American sweet treats out there. It’s now found around the world – both in its original soft and chewy form, and as a firmer biscuit with a little more crunch. It might seem like it's been around forever, but the chocolate chip cookie was only invented in the 1930s. It can be traced back to the Toll House restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts, where Ruth Graves Wakefield first made the all-American recipe.
While some try to claim that the cookie was invented by accident, Wakefield herself said that she spent time working out the recipe while travelling. Though the original Toll House (pictured) burnt down in 1984, the legend of the chocolate chip cookie lives on – not just in the cookie itself, but also in chocolate chips. It’s because of the popularity of the chocolate chip cookie that Nestlé began to make chocolate chips, then called ‘morsels’; Wakefield asked them if they could sell her chocolate in smaller pieces. Nestlé still sells Toll House cookies today, too.
Delicious chocolate nibbles with a crunchy shell, M&M’s got their start in 1941. Forrest E Mars Sr. started selling M&M’s Plain Chocolate Candies (together with Bruce Murrie) after returning from the Spanish Civil War. While in Spain, he saw soldiers eating Smarties, a similar British sweet with a hard shell and a chocolate centre. Once home, he was inspired to create his own version, and the first batch was made for US soldiers during World War II. Their popularity soon grew, and M&M’s began to be stamped with the iconic ‘M’ to give them their distinctive look.
In 1954, Peanut M&M's came onto the scene. Another popular sweet, Starburst, began as M&M’s Fruit Chewies in the 1960s, before becoming a product in its own right. But it wasn’t until the 1980s that M&M’s started to go global, expanding into Europe, Australia and the Asia Pacific region. They’re instantly recognisable worldwide today, with variations including Crispy M&M’s, Almond M&M’s and M&M’s Minis, and there are whole stores dedicated to selling them in all their colours and flavours.
One of the world's most loved and trusted food brands, Heinz was born in 1869, when business partners Henry J Heinz and L Clarence Noble launched Heinz & Noble to sell horseradish sauce. The US got its first taste of Heinz ketchup in 1876 – and only 10 years later, it was launched in the UK. The company grew quickly, broadening its range to include soups, sauces and even baby food.
In the 1990s, Heinz decided to expand its operations east and started distributing its products in countries like Russia and China. Today, the company exports Heinz Beanz to 60 countries; however, its most popular product is still Heinz tomato ketchup. The famous red sauce is available in more than 140 countries around the world, and the company estimates that 650 million bottles are sold globally every year.
Developed in 1912 by the National Biscuit Company (today known as Nabisco), the first Oreo was sold on 6 March 1912 to a grocer in Hoboken, New Jersey. It was here that the nation's – and indeed the world's – obsession with the black-and-white cookies began. Today, Oreo is the bestselling cookie in the world, sold in more than 100 different countries and bringing in over £1.5 billion ($2bn) in annual sales. Apart from the alternative versions, like Mini Oreos and Oreo Thins, Oreos have a very precise biscuit-to-filling ratio: they're 71% cookie and 29% cream.
Oreo cookies come in countless weird and wonderful flavours and limited editions around the world. China, Indonesia and Japan are known for having a taste for flavours like green tea and birthday cake. In China, doubled-up flavours (like orange and mango, and raspberry and blueberry) are also fan favourites, while in Chile and Argentina, Oreo varieties have included banana split and dulce de leche.
The Southern American interpretation of fried chicken spread across the world thanks to fast food chain KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), but its history is surprisingly complex. The method of frying chicken may have been brought to the US by Scottish settlers; however, some have linked it to West Africa, and it has strong ties to Black communities in the American South. The first recipe for fried chicken printed in the US comes from 1824, appearing in The Virginia Housewife by Mary Randolph. However, a much earlier British cookbook, 1747's The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse, describes a method involving marinating chicken, covering it in batter, then frying it in boiling pig fat.
Wherever the method of deep frying chicken originated from, people in the South made it their own – particularly in terms of the flavours used. Enslaved people combined the frying method with their own seasonings, and fried chicken became embedded in the Southern way of life. Southern fried chicken went global when KFC launched in 1952, with the first UK branch opening in 1965. It’s now even enjoyed on Christmas Day in Japan. Today, more fried chicken chains are expanding across the world, including Popeyes and Dave’s Hot Chicken.
Lay’s products are sold in many countries, though some people might not realise it. In Australia and Ireland, Lay’s trades under the name Smith’s, while in the UK, the brand is Walker’s. Meanwhile, Egyptians open a bag of Chipsy crisps and Colombians munch on Margarita. The story of the global giant began in 1932, when Herman Lay started a snack business in Nashville, Tennessee. Eight years later, he bought a potato product manufacturing company, renamed it H.W. Lay Lingo and Company, and started selling the products from his car as he travelled across the Southern States.
In 1961, Lay’s merged with the Frito Company to become Frito-Lay – and in 1965, that company merged with the Pepsi-Cola Company to become PepsiCo. One of the things people love best about Lay’s today is the huge variety of flavours, which change from country to country. In Belgium, you can grab paprika, ketchup and burger flavours, and in Egypt you can get charcoal-grilled kebab, and tomato and za’atar flavours. Meanwhile, Greece has tzatziki and oregano flavours.
Masterminded by Michael James 'Jim' Delligatti – a McDonald's franchisee who owned a store near Pittsburgh – the idea for a double-patty burger was turned down by McDonald's executives several times. The new burger had a sesame seed bun that wasn't used in any of the brand's other products, and it had a special sauce, too. However, Jim's persistence led to the Big Mac finally getting a space on McDonald's menu in 1967. In its first year, it was such a hit among customers that it soon got rolled out across all existing McDonald's locations.
Big Mac superfans can visit the Big Mac Museum Restaurant in Irwin, Pennsylvania. The museum, which is also a functioning McDonald's restaurant, displays Big Mac boxes from over the years, as well as the first Big Mac bun toaster. Today, McDonald's sells about 550 million Big Macs per year in the US alone.
In 1886, pharmacist John Pemberton, inspired by simple curiosity, mixed a fragrant caramel-coloured liquid with carbonated water, then gave it out for Jacobs' Pharmacy's customers to sample. The new drink was such a hit that the pharmacy started selling it for five cents a glass – and the rest is history. After decades of success with Coca-Cola, the company developed more drinks, including Fanta and Sprite; however, it was Coca-Cola that slowly but surely conquered the world.
The fizzy drink is now available in more than 200 countries across the globe, and Coca-Cola is estimated to be the second most widely understood term on the planet after 'OK'. In fact, it's thought that nearly 10,450 soft drinks manufactured by The Coca-Cola Company are consumed every second of every day around the world.
Now discover where to go to try America's most famous dishes
Last updated by Laura Ellis.