Hotdish, Scotcheroos and Puppy Chow: 16 Midwestern Grandma Recipes the Rest of America Never Understood Until Now

Midwestern grandma recipes were never meant to impress anyone, and that is exactly why they last. They were built for church basements, harvest crews, funeral lunches and Sunday suppers where twenty people showed up and nobody went home hungry. Outsiders have teased the region for years over hotdish, bars and a snack mix called puppy chow, but the rest of the country is finally catching on. These dishes are cheap, generous and made from pantry staples, and many carry the flavors of the German, Czech, Polish, Swedish and Norwegian families who settled the farm towns. Here are 16 classics that still show up at every potluck from Ohio to the Dakotas, with simple steps so you can make them in your own kitchen, no recipe card required..

Cheesy Hashbrown Hotdish, the Midwestern Grandma Recipe That Started It All

In Minnesota, anything baked in one dish with a starch, a protein and a can of creamed soup is a hotdish, and this cheesy hashbrown version is the one that disappears first. Seasoned ground beef and vegetables simmer in a creamy sauce, then a thick blanket of shredded potatoes and sharp cheddar bakes on top until the edges turn crisp and golden. Allrecipes recently rounded up Midwestern grandmother recipes that readers keep coming back to, and this kind of one dish supper is exactly the comfort they mean. Grandma made it on Sunday and reheated it all week..

You will need: 1 lb ground beef, 1 diced onion, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1/2 cup milk, 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, 1 tsp garlic powder, salt and pepper, 4 cups frozen shredded hash browns (thawed), 2 cups shredded cheddar, 2 tbsp melted butter.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 375°F. 2. Brown the beef with the onion, drain, then stir in soup, milk, vegetables, garlic powder, salt and pepper. 3. Spread in a greased 9×13 dish. 4. Toss the hash browns with the butter and half the cheese and pack them over the beef. 5. Bake 35 minutes, add the remaining cheese and bake 10 minutes more until golden and bubbling.

Puppy Chow, the Sweetest of All Midwestern Grandma Recipes

Say puppy chow anywhere outside the Midwest and people picture a bag of dog food. Here it means a sweet, crunchy snack mix of square rice cereal coated in melted chocolate and peanut butter, then shaken in a bag of powdered sugar until every piece looks dusted with snow. Other regions call it muddy buddies, but Midwestern grandmas made it in giant batches for holidays, graduation parties and road trips. It takes about ten minutes, needs no oven, and it is nearly impossible to stop eating once the bowl hits the table.

You will need: 9 cups square rice cereal, 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, 1/4 cup butter, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar.

How to make it: 1. Put the cereal in a large bowl. 2. Microwave the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter in 30 second bursts, stirring until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. 3. Pour over the cereal and fold gently until coated. 4. Tip into a large zip bag with the powdered sugar, seal and shake well. 5. Spread on a sheet pan to cool and set before serving.

Scotcheroos, the Chewy Peanut Butter Bars Found at Every Bake Sale

Scotcheroos are the bar every Midwestern kid knows by heart. The recipe spread across the region in the 1960s after it was printed on a cereal box, and it has been copied into church cookbooks ever since. Crispy rice cereal gets stirred into a hot syrup of sugar, corn syrup and peanut butter, pressed into a pan and topped with melted chocolate and butterscotch chips. The result is chewy, crunchy and rich all at once. Among Midwestern grandma recipes, few disappear faster, and a 9×13 pan rarely lasts the afternoon.

You will need: 1 cup sugar, 1 cup light corn syrup, 1 cup creamy peanut butter, 6 cups crispy rice cereal, 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 cup butterscotch chips.

How to make it: 1. Butter a 9×13 pan. 2. Heat the sugar and corn syrup in a large pot over medium heat, stirring, just until it bubbles. 3. Remove from the heat and stir in the peanut butter until smooth. 4. Fold in the cereal and press evenly into the pan. 5. Melt the chocolate and butterscotch chips together, spread over the top and let set before cutting.

Seven-Layer Bars From Grandma’s Church Cookbook

Every Midwestern church cookbook seems to have a page for seven-layer bars, sometimes called magic cookie bars or Hello Dollies depending on whose grandma you ask. Nothing gets mixed. You simply layer a buttery graham cracker crust, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut and nuts, then pour sweetened condensed milk over everything and let the oven do the work. The milk caramelizes into a chewy glue that holds it all together. Of all the Midwestern grandma recipes here, this may be the easiest, and the bars taste even better the next day.

You will need: 1/2 cup butter, 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 cup butterscotch chips, 1 1/3 cups sweetened shredded coconut, 1 cup chopped walnuts, 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 350°F. 2. Melt the butter in a 9×13 pan in the oven, then sprinkle the crumbs over it and press down. 3. Layer the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut and walnuts evenly. 4. Pour the condensed milk over the top. 5. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until golden, cool completely and cut into squares.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, a Polish and Ukrainian Gift to Midwestern Grandma Recipes

In Chicago, Cleveland, Milwaukee and Detroit, cabbage rolls came straight from Polish and Ukrainian kitchens, where they are called gołąbki and holubtsi. Tender cabbage leaves are wrapped around seasoned beef and rice, then baked low and slow in a sweet and tangy tomato sauce until everything melts together. Grandmas made dozens at a time for weddings and holidays and froze the extras. If you still have half a head left, try one of these cozy cabbage dinners next. Cabbage rolls taste even better reheated the next day.

You will need: 1 large head green cabbage, 1 lb ground beef, 1/2 lb ground pork, 1 cup cooked white rice, 1 diced onion, 1 egg, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 can (28 oz) tomato sauce, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 2 tbsp lemon juice.

How to make it: 1. Core the cabbage and simmer it in a large pot, peeling off 12 leaves as they soften. 2. Mix the beef, pork, rice, onion, egg, salt and pepper. 3. Place a scoop on each leaf, fold in the sides and roll up. 4. Lay seam side down in a baking dish. 5. Stir the tomato sauce with brown sugar and lemon juice, pour over and bake covered at 350°F for 1 1/2 hours.

Kolaches, the Czech Pastries Nebraska and Iowa Grandmas Never Stopped Baking

Czech immigrants carried kolaches to the farm towns of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Texas, and the soft little pastries are still the star of town festivals today. Wilber, Nebraska even calls itself the Czech capital of the USA. A rich, slightly sweet yeast dough is shaped into rounds, pressed in the center and filled with poppy seed, prune, apricot or sweet cheese, then dusted with a buttery crumb topping. Grandmas baked them by the tray on Saturday so there was something special for Sunday coffee after church.

You will need: 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast, 1 cup warm milk, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter, 2 egg yolks, 1 tsp salt, 4 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups poppy seed or fruit filling; for the crumb topping: 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tbsp butter.

How to make it: 1. Mix the yeast, milk, sugar, butter, yolks and salt, then knead in the flour and let rise 1 hour. 2. Shape into 24 balls on greased sheet pans and let rise 30 minutes. 3. Press a deep well in each and add a spoonful of filling. 4. Rub the topping ingredients together and sprinkle over. 5. Bake at 375°F for 15 to 18 minutes until golden.

Beef and Cabbage Bierocks, Nebraska’s Favorite Handheld Supper

Volga German families brought these stuffed buns to Kansas and Nebraska in the late 1800s, and a whole regional sandwich tradition later grew out of them. Bierocks are soft yeast rolls wrapped around a savory filling of ground beef, onion and shredded cabbage, baked until the tops turn glossy and brown. Farm wives packed them in lunch pails for harvest crews because they stay warm and need no fork. Like many Midwestern grandma recipes, they freeze beautifully, so make a double batch for busy school nights.

You will need: 1 lb ground beef, 1 diced onion, 4 cups finely shredded cabbage, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (optional), 2 lb frozen bread dough (thawed), 2 tbsp melted butter.

How to make it: 1. Brown the beef with the onion, add the cabbage, salt and pepper and cook until soft, then drain and cool. 2. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll each into a 6 inch circle. 3. Spoon filling into the center, add cheese if using, pinch the edges closed and set seam side down. 4. Let rise 20 minutes. 5. Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes and brush with butter.

Lefse, the Norwegian Potato Flatbread Minnesota Grandmas Guard Like Treasure

In Minnesota and North Dakota, lefse season starts the minute the weather turns cold. This thin Norwegian flatbread is made from riced potatoes, butter, cream and flour, rolled paper thin with a grooved pin and cooked quickly on a hot griddle until speckled with brown spots. Families gather around the kitchen table to make dozens at once before Christmas, and grandmas guard their technique closely. The classic way to eat it is warm, spread with butter, sprinkled with sugar and rolled up tight. Some families add cinnamon too.

You will need: 4 cups riced cooked russet potatoes, 1/2 cup butter, 1/3 cup heavy cream, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, 2 cups flour, butter and sugar for serving.

How to make it: 1. Mix the hot riced potatoes with butter, cream, sugar and salt, then chill overnight. 2. Work in the flour and shape into 16 balls. 3. Roll each paper thin on a well floured cloth. 4. Cook on a dry griddle at about 450°F for 1 minute per side until brown spots appear. 5. Stack under a towel to soften, then spread with butter and sugar and roll up.

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup, a Minnesota Classic

Wild rice is the official state grain of Minnesota, and Ojibwe communities have harvested it by canoe from northern lakes for centuries. Minnesota grandmas turned it into this thick, creamy soup loaded with chicken, carrots, celery and onion. The grains stay pleasantly chewy and nutty, so every spoonful has texture. It became a staple at tearooms, church suppers and holiday buffets, and it is still one of the Midwestern grandma recipes many families make on the first snowy weekend of the year. Serve it with warm rolls.

You will need: 1 cup wild rice, 4 tbsp butter, 1 diced onion, 2 diced carrots, 2 diced celery ribs, 1/3 cup flour, 6 cups chicken broth, 3 cups cooked shredded chicken, 1 cup heavy cream, 1 tsp dried thyme, salt and pepper.

How to make it: 1. Simmer the wild rice in salted water for 45 minutes until tender, then drain. 2. Melt the butter in a soup pot and cook the onion, carrots and celery for 8 minutes. 3. Stir in the flour for 1 minute, then whisk in the broth. 4. Add the chicken, rice and thyme and simmer 15 minutes. 5. Stir in the cream, season and heat through without boiling.

Iowa Loose-Meat Sandwiches, Among the Most Talked About Midwestern Grandma Recipes

Iowa has been serving loose-meat sandwiches since the 1920s, and they are not sloppy joes. There is no tomato sauce. Crumbled ground beef simmers with onion, a splash of broth and a little seasoning until it is tender and juicy, then gets piled on a soft steamed bun with yellow mustard, pickles and chopped onion. Grandmas loved them because a couple of pounds of beef fed the whole family. Keep a spoon handy, because the meat always tumbles out of the bun, and honestly that is half the fun.

You will need: 2 lb ground beef, 1 finely diced onion, 1 cup beef broth, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp yellow mustard, 1 tsp sugar, salt and pepper, 8 soft hamburger buns, dill pickle chips, extra mustard and onion for topping.

How to make it: 1. Crumble the beef into a skillet with the onion and cook, breaking it into very fine pieces. 2. Drain the fat. 3. Add the broth, Worcestershire, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper. 4. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed. 5. Steam the buns briefly, then pile on the meat with pickles, mustard and onion.

Supper Club Style Crispy Oven Fried Chicken

Friday nights at a Wisconsin supper club often meant a basket of golden pressure fried chicken with juicy meat and a crackly crust. Grandma could not fit a commercial pressure fryer in her kitchen, so she made this oven version instead. Chicken pieces soak in buttermilk, get rolled in a seasoned flour and cracker crumb coating, and bake in a hot oven on a buttered pan until the skin is crisp and deep golden. It is easier and less messy than frying on the stove, and it belongs with the best Midwestern grandma recipes.

You will need: 3 lb bone-in chicken pieces, 2 cups buttermilk, 1 cup flour, 1 cup finely crushed saltine crackers, 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1/2 cup butter.

How to make it: 1. Soak the chicken in buttermilk in the fridge for 2 to 8 hours. 2. Heat the oven to 425°F and melt the butter on a rimmed sheet pan. 3. Mix the flour, cracker crumbs and seasonings. 4. Lift the chicken from the buttermilk, coat well and lay skin side down in the butter. 5. Bake 25 minutes, flip and bake 20 to 25 minutes more until it reaches 165°F inside.

Caramel Pecan Sweet Rolls Grandma Flipped Out of the Pan on Sunday Morning

Few smells say Sunday morning at grandma’s house like caramel pecan rolls coming out of the oven. Soft cinnamon dough is rolled up, sliced and nestled into a pan lined with brown sugar, butter and toasted pecans. When the pan comes out, it gets flipped onto a platter so the gooey caramel runs down over every roll. Farm families in Iowa and Minnesota made them for holidays, threshing days and overnight company. Start the dough the night before and let the rolls rise in the fridge, so breakfast is simple.

You will need: 2 lb sweet roll dough or frozen bread dough (thawed), 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon; for the caramel: 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1 1/2 cups pecan halves.

How to make it: 1. Simmer the caramel butter, brown sugar and cream for 1 minute, pour into a 9×13 pan and scatter the pecans over it. 2. Roll the dough into a 12×18 inch rectangle, spread with butter and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. 3. Roll up tightly and cut 12 slices. 4. Set them on the caramel and let rise 45 minutes. 5. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes, rest 2 minutes and flip onto a platter.

Rhubarb Crunch, the Midwestern Grandma Recipe Made From the Backyard Patch

Almost every farmhouse in the Midwest had a rhubarb patch by the back door, and grandmas called it pie plant. When the first stalks came up in spring, this rhubarb crunch was on the table. It is a cross between a crisp and a bar, with a buttery oat and brown sugar crumble on the bottom and on top, and a glossy, tangy rhubarb filling in the middle. Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream. Chopped rhubarb freezes well, so you can bake it any time of the year.

You will need: 1 cup flour, 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 tsp cinnamon, 4 cups chopped rhubarb, 1 cup sugar, 2 tbsp cornstarch, 1 cup water, 1 tsp vanilla.

How to make it: 1. Heat the oven to 350°F. 2. Mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon until crumbly, then press half into a greased 9 inch square pan. 3. Spread the rhubarb over it. 4. Cook the sugar, cornstarch and water until thick and clear, stir in the vanilla and pour over the rhubarb. 5. Sprinkle on the remaining crumbs and bake 1 hour.

The Supper Club Relish Tray, a Wisconsin Tradition Worth Bringing Back

At a Wisconsin supper club, the meal begins before anyone orders. A relish tray lands on the table with crisp carrot and celery sticks, radishes, olives, pickled beets, sweet pickles and a little crock of cheddar spread with crackers and breadsticks. Grandmas copied the idea for holidays and Sunday dinners because it looked elegant and kept hungry relatives busy while the roast rested. Midwestern grandma recipes like this one prove that a cheap, colorful spread can feel special, and it fits right in next to modern snack boards.

You will need: carrot and celery sticks, radishes, green and black olives, sweet gherkin pickles, pickled beets, 8 oz cream cheese, 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar, 2 tbsp milk, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, crackers and breadsticks.

How to make it: 1. Cut the vegetables into sticks and keep them in ice water until serving. 2. Beat the cream cheese, cheddar, milk and Worcestershire until smooth. 3. Chill the cheese spread in a small crock. 4. Drain the vegetables well and arrange everything in a divided dish. 5. Add the crackers and breadsticks just before serving.

Swedish Meatballs in Cream Gravy, Straight From Minnesota Church Suppers

Swedish settlers helped make Minnesota the heart of Scandinavian America, and their tender meatballs became a fixture at Lutheran church suppers and Christmas buffets. The secret is a little nutmeg and allspice in a soft mixture of beef, pork and milk soaked breadcrumbs, browned and finished in a silky cream gravy. In Sweden they come with mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam, while many Midwestern grandmas spooned them over buttered egg noodles to feed a crowd. Either way, keep extra gravy on the table.

You will need: 1 lb ground beef, 1/2 lb ground pork, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs soaked in 1/3 cup milk, 1 egg, 1/2 grated onion, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp allspice, 1 tsp salt, 3 tbsp butter, 3 tbsp flour, 2 cups beef broth, 1/2 cup heavy cream, cooked egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

How to make it: 1. Mix the meats, soaked crumbs, egg, onion, spices and salt, then roll into 1 inch balls. 2. Brown in butter in batches and set aside. 3. Whisk the flour into the pan drippings for 1 minute. 4. Add the broth and cream and simmer until thickened. 5. Return the meatballs and simmer 10 minutes, then serve over noodles or potatoes.

Chicken Booyah Stew, Green Bay’s Giant Kettle Tradition

In northeast Wisconsin, booyah is more than a soup. It is an event. Church picnics, fall festivals and tailgates around Green Bay cook it in enormous kettles that simmer for hours, stirred by volunteers with long paddles. The thick stew is packed with chicken, beef, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, peas, beans and corn, and the name is often said to come from the word bouillon. Grandma made a smaller pot at home, and it remains one of the heartiest Midwestern grandma recipes around. It tastes even better the next day.

You will need: 3 lb bone-in chicken pieces, 1 lb beef chuck (cubed), 12 cups water, 1 diced onion, 3 diced potatoes, 3 sliced carrots, 2 sliced celery ribs, 3 cups shredded cabbage, 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, 1 cup each frozen peas, green beans and corn, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper.

How to make it: 1. Simmer the chicken and beef in the water with the salt for 2 hours. 2. Remove the chicken, shred the meat and discard the bones and skin. 3. Return the chicken and add the onion, potatoes, carrots, celery, cabbage and tomatoes. 4. Simmer 1 hour, stirring often. 5. Add the peas, beans and corn, season with pepper and cook 30 minutes more until thick.