Ever wonder if your friends in Minnesota are cooking the same dinner as your friends in Florida? Do you think the most popular dinner recipe is the same in Alaska as it is in New York? Of course you don't, and thanks to Google Trends, you can see exactly how different those dinner recipes are.
While it's not the most scientific, Google Trends can tell you the dinner recipes that each state is searching for online more than anything else. According to the fine folks at Google, if you live in Colorado, for example, you're likely searching for chicken fried steak. If you live in Nebraska, you're most likely searching for brisket. (We'll take Nebraska for the food, Colorado for the... mountains.)
Based on their list, not surprisingly, many states are Googling chicken, spaghetti and steak. Somewhat mysteriously, on the other hand, some states (we don't want to name names, but that's what we're here to do, North Dakota) are searching for chicken spaghetti. Check out the list below to see what dinner recipe is the most often searched recipe in your state. Who knows? Maybe you'll be inspired to move to Idaho!
As you can see from the map, the categories of food are well dispersed throughout the country. States interested in bread and pasta aren't all clumped together, and neither are states searching for seafood recipes. A bit of a red meat belt exists in the South, and chicken is popular in the Northeast, but beyond those loose generalizations, the map looks pretty random, and also unexpected. We would have guessed, for example, that states on the coast would be more likely to search for seafood recipes over landlocked states, but this map disproves that assumption. We're not sure which one is more curious: that Wyoming is searching for lobster or that Hawaii is searching for chicken salad. In any case, we're proud of Oregon and South Dakota: they're both searching for ramen recipes more than any other recipe.
Alabama: Potato Salad
Alaska: Prime Rib
Arizona: Shrimp
Arkansas: Tortillas
California: Chicken Breast
Colorado: Chicken Fried Steak
Connecticut: Moroccan Chicken Thighs
Delaware: Dinner Salad
District of Columbia: Stuffed Peppers
Florida: Chicken
Georgia: Lemon Pepper Chicken
Hawaii: Chicken Salad
Idaho: Tilapia Fish Tacos
Illinois: Salmon
Indiana: Potato Skillet
Iowa: Pizza Dough
Kansas: Casserole
Kentucky: Sweet Potato
Louisiana: Chili
Maine: Boiled Ham
Maryland: Chicken
Massachusetts: Chicken
Michigan: Meatloaf
Minnesota: Salmon
Mississippi: Steak
Missouri: Chicken Wrap
Montana: Bean Taco Soup
Nebraska: Brisket
Nevada: Indian Dinner
New Hampshire: Corned Beef
New Jersey: Chicken
New Mexico: Egg Burger
New York: Chicken
North Carolina: Chili
North Dakota: Chicken Spaghetti
Ohio: Spaghetti
Oklahoma: Steak
Oregon: Ramen
Pennsylvania: Steak
Rhode Island: Butternut Squash
South Carolina: Steak
South Dakota: Ramen
Tennessee: Grilled Ribs
Texas: Chicken
Utah: Spaghetti
Vermont: Chicken
Virginia: Paneer
Washington: Fried Rice
West Virginia: Tacos
Wisconsin: Rice Ball
Wyoming: Lobster
Photo credit for main image: A Beautiful Mess
CORRECTION: The map originally categorized chicken fried steak as white meat, when in fact it is red meat. A previous version also suggested that the recipes compared most-searched recipe unique to each state, when in fact the data reflects the most-searched recipes by state.