What's on the Grill? America's Top Grilled Foods

Grilling is one of America's favorite warm-weather traditions. It turns ordinary weeknight dinners into backyard events, gives people an excuse to gather outside, and somehow makes almost every food taste a little better. Whether it's a family cookout, a block party, or a quick dinner on the patio, millions of Americans fire up the grill every year.

In fact, roughly 7 in 10 U.S. households own a grill or smoker, making outdoor cooking one of the country's most popular culinary pastimes.1 But while grilling may be nearly universal, what Americans choose to put on the grill is far from uniform.

Do Americans actually grill the same foods? Or do local tastes shape what ends up over the flames?

To find out, we analyzed Google Trends search data from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., identifying each state's favorite grilled food, the states most interested in grilling overall, and the foods gaining momentum in the weeks leading into summer.

Here's what's on America's grill.

• America agrees on one thing: beef belongs on the grill. Burgers rank No. 1 nationwide as the top grilled food of interest, while steaks top the list in 18 states — more than any other category. The results suggest that Americans enjoy variety, but beef is king of the grill.
• Minnesota, Wisconsin, and South Carolina lead the nation in grilling enthusiasm. Meanwhile, California, New York, and Hawaii finish surprisingly close to the bottom.
• Chicken wings rule much of the South. Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee all choose chicken wings as their favorite grilled food. Apparently, wing season extends well beyond football season.
• Americans are heading into a corn-filled summer. In an analysis of the hottest rising trends in search over the three weeks leading into summer, corn is the hottest rising trend in 23 states, including California, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. No other food comes close.
• The Southwest loves carne asada. Arizona, Nevada, and Utah all choose carne asada as their favorite grilled food, creating one of the clearest regional patterns in the study.
• Vegetables are more popular than you might expect. Nine states choose a vegetable as their favorite grilled food, including mushrooms in Kansas and Maine, zucchini in Nebraska and Rhode Island, peppers in Kentucky, green beans in Minnesota, and eggplant in Washington, D.C. The side dishes appear to be getting ambitious.
• Texas picked onions. Grilled onions ranked as the state's favorite grilled food, beating out burgers, steaks, ribs, and everything else on our list. Texas also finished near the bottom of the grilling-interest rankings. Perhaps Texans simply prefer grilling to searching about grilling.
• The Mid-Atlantic is hot dog country. Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia all choose hot dogs as their favorite grilled food. The humble dog still has plenty of fans.
• Seafood wins just a handful of states. Hawaii chooses shrimp, South Carolina goes with oysters, Massachusetts picks cod, and both Louisiana and Virginia choose tuna steaks. Proximity to the coast still seems to matter.
• Idaho and Ohio are the fruit grillers. Idaho chooses pineapple, while Ohio picks peaches, making them the only two states where fruit comes out on top. We expected potatoes from Idaho. We did not expect tropical produce.

This state map reveals that Americans agree on at least one thing: beef belongs on the grill. Steak-related foods dominate much of the country. The only real debate seems to be which part of the cow deserves the honor.

Ribeye leads in Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and North Dakota. Flank steak wins Alaska, Connecticut, and Washington. New York and Illinois favor skirt steak, while Delaware opts for filet mignon and Georgia chooses porterhouse. Not every beef-loving state lands on steak, however. Arkansas, South Dakota, and Wisconsin all choose burgers as their favorite grilled food.

What's more interesting than beef's dominance is how differently states express that preference. California and Oregon choose tri-tip, a cut closely associated with California's Santa Maria-style barbecue tradition. For decades, tri-tip was largely overlooked by butchers and often ground into hamburger meat before California pitmasters helped transform it into one of the region's signature barbecue foods.2

Meanwhile, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah all land on carne asada. While many Americans associate carne asada with marinated steak, the term itself simply means "grilled meat" in Spanish. Traditionally, it features thin cuts of beef such as skirt or flank steak that are marinated, cooked over an open flame, and sliced for serving. Its roots trace back to the cattle-ranching traditions of Northern Mexico, where beef cooked over open flames became both a staple food and a social gathering centered around grilling and community.3 In many places, an asada refers as much to the cookout itself as it does the meat being served.4

Taken together, the results leave little doubt that beef remains America's preferred grilling protein.

The South has a thing for wings

Beef may dominate much of the map, but Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee all choose chicken wings as their favorite grilled food.

That's an interesting choice for a food that was once considered little more than a leftover cut. Before the 1960s, chicken wings were rarely featured on restaurant menus and were often used for stock or broth. Their rise began in Buffalo, New York, where the now-famous buffalo wing was first popularized before spreading across the country through bars, restaurants, and eventually major chains.13

Wings proved to be the perfect food for gatherings: inexpensive, shareable, and easy to eat while watching a game. Their popularity grew alongside sports bars and televised sports, eventually turning them into one of America's favorite finger foods.

While wings may have started in New York, they appear to have found an especially enthusiastic audience across parts of the South.

The coast prefers seafood

Regional patterns appear along America's coastlines as well. Hawaii chooses shrimp, South Carolina favors oysters, Massachusetts picks cod, and both Louisiana and Virginia land on tuna steaks.

Every seafood-winning state has direct access to the ocean or Gulf Coast. That's hardly a coincidence. These results suggest that proximity to the water still shapes what people think about putting on the grill.

Grills aren't just for meat anymore

Not all of the map is driven by meat. Nine states choose vegetables as their favorite grilled food, including mushrooms in Kansas and Maine, zucchini in Nebraska and Rhode Island, peppers in Kentucky, green beans in Minnesota, and eggplant in Washington, D.C.

That's part of a broader shift in how Americans use their grills. What was once primarily a tool for cooking burgers, steaks, and hot dogs is increasingly used for vegetables, fruit, and other foods as well.5 While burgers and steaks still dominate many cookouts, vegetables have become a regular part of the grilling experience as well.

Whether they're serving as side dishes, toppings, or the main attraction, vegetables are showing up on grills across much of the country.

The Mid-Atlantic is hot dog country

Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia all choose hot dogs as their favorite grilled food. No premium cuts, no regional seafood — yet hot dogs aren't quite as simple as they seem. Across the region, local variations have developed devoted followings, from Carolina dogs topped with chili and slaw to West Virginia dogs piled high with mustard, onions, chili, and coleslaw. Pennsylvania alone is home to multiple regional styles, each with its own loyal supporters.

Unlike ribeyes or tuna steaks, hot dogs are also closely tied to community gatherings. They're the food of Little League games, church picnics, county fairs, volunteer fire department fundraisers, and backyard cookouts. In a study full of specialty cuts and regional delicacies, the Mid-Atlantic's answer may be the most communal one on the map.

Then things get weird

Texas picks onions. At first glance, it's surprising. Then you remember fajitas, burgers, steaks, and brisket and realize: actually, yeah, that kind of tracks. Texans seem to agree that grilled onions make just about everything better. And maybe Texans already know enough about grilling meat and just need an extra helping hand from search when it comes to the veggies.

Ohio goes with peaches. For a state not especially known for peach production, it's an unexpected choice.

And then there's Idaho with pineapple. Potatoes we would understand. Grilled pineapple is a bit harder to predict. Then again, grilled pineapple is delicious, so maybe that's explanation enough.

The state map tells us which food wins in each state. The rankings above answer a different question: which foods generate the most grilling interest across the country as a whole.

That's an important distinction. A food only needs to be the favorite in one state to win that state, but national rankings reward foods that perform well almost everywhere. In other words, a food that consistently finishes second or third can still outrank a food that dominates a handful of states.

So what's the verdict? Burgers ultimately claim the No. 1 spot, but the more interesting story may be just below that.

While beef dominates many individual states, chicken appears throughout the rankings in a remarkable number of forms. Chicken breast lands at No. 2 nationally, while chicken thighs and wings also crack the top ten. Further down, legs, kabobs, and tenders all make appearances. No other protein shows up in as many forms.

That mirrors broader eating habits. According to the USDA, chicken surpassed beef as America's most-consumed meat in 2010 and has maintained its lead ever since.6 Beef may claim the top spot in many individual states, but when the rankings are viewed nationally, chicken remains one of the country's most reliable grilling staples.

Vegetables are holding their own

Corn ranks fourth nationally, making it the highest-ranked vegetable in the study and placing it ahead of hot dogs, ribs, and pork chops.

That's fitting for one of North America's oldest cultivated foods. Indigenous peoples were growing corn across much of the continent centuries before European settlement, and it remains one of America's defining crops today.7 8

The bigger surprise, however, may be asparagus at No. 10. It outranks potatoes, onions, sausage, and dozens of other cookout staples. For a vegetable that rarely gets top billing at a barbecue, that's an impressive finish.

Seafood stays in its lane

Shrimp is the highest-ranked seafood item, followed by lobster, salmon, cod, and tuna steaks. Yet no seafood item cracks the top ten, and only shrimp breaks into the top fifteen.

The gap is substantial. Americans consume roughly three times more chicken than seafood each year, according to USDA and NOAA data. 6 9 Seafood clearly has a place on the grill, but nationally it remains a smaller part of cookout culture than beef, chicken, and pork.

Pineapple is America's grilling fruit

Pineapple ranks as the most popular fruit in the study, comfortably ahead of watermelon and peaches.

That may be because pineapple is practically built for the grill. Its natural sugars caramelize quickly over high heat, creating the sweet-and-smoky flavor that pairs especially well with rich grilled meats. At many Brazilian steakhouses, it's even served between courses as a palate cleanser—a role few other fruits can claim.10

Pineapple may lead the fruit rankings, but it's just one of many surprises in the data.

Curious where your favorite landed? From burgers and chicken breast to halibut and cauliflower, here's how the entire field performed.

Full rankings of all grilled foods

Some states reveal their passion for grilling far more than others. The Midwest makes a remarkably strong showing, with Minnesota topping the rankings, followed by Wisconsin. South Carolina takes third, adding a bit of geographic diversity to the proceedings. (And don’t worry, North Carolina — you’re in the top ten, too.)

New England also shows up in force. Maine, New Hampshire, and Connecticut all land in the top ten — a result that feels slightly at odds with the region's reputation for lobster rolls, clam chowder, and surviving winter. Yet here we are.

The bottom of the rankings contains some of the study's biggest surprises. California, Texas, and New Mexico all finish near the bottom despite their strong outdoor cooking traditions.

The contrast is striking. Minnesota ranks nearly twelve times higher than Texas in relative search interest and more than seven times higher than California. It’s possible that Texans are simply master grillers already and don't need to search for any instructions. We should note, also, that this study excludes the subject of barbecue from its scope entirely. That’s a world unto itself.

If one food is winning the summer, it's corn.

Based on search activity during the three weeks leading into summer, corn emerged as the fastest-rising grilled food in 23 states, including California, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. No other food comes close.

The timing makes sense. Sweet corn reaches peak season during much of the summer, and grilling enhances its natural sweetness while requiring almost no preparation.11 Americans may disagree about steaks, burgers, and hot dogs, but they seem remarkably united on corn.

Chicken is the second story hiding beneath the surface.

Chicken-related foods lead the trend rankings in 11 states, including Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. By comparison, only five states show a beef-related food as their top-rising grilling item.

That shift may reflect more than taste. Chicken has been America's most-consumed meat since 2010, while beef prices have climbed to record highs amid the smallest U.S. cattle herd in more than 70 years. 6 12 When steak gets expensive, chicken starts looking even more attractive.

Beyond corn and chicken, the trend map becomes much more fragmented. Ribs are gaining momentum in Arizona, Florida, and Texas. Brats are rising in Michigan, South Dakota, and Washington. Salmon tops Montana, tri-tip leads Oregon, and asparagus claims Kentucky.

If our state-preference map revealed America's grilling loyalties, the trend map offers a glimpse of what may be hitting grills most often this summer.

To identify America's favorite grilled foods, we analyzed Google Trends search data across all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

We began by compiling a broad and diverse list of foods connected to grilling across America, using search volumes over a 12-month span as our guide. Food-specific searches were evaluated in association with grilling (e.g., "grilled corn" or "grilled ribeye", “how to grill corn”, “how long to grill corn”, etc.) to ensure results reflected grilling-related interest rather than general food popularity. From that list, we identified 57 foods of broad national interest to include, spanning beef, chicken, pork, seafood, fruits, and vegetables.

Using this data from the past 12 months, we identified each state's favorite grilled food and determined overall grilling interest across states by the relative strength across all of the search queries.

Then, to determine the hottest rising trends, we analyzed state-specific search activity surrounding the subject of the grill during the three weeks leading into summer (through the Tuesday following Memorial Day weekend, 2026).

Innerbody Research is dedicated to providing objective, data-driven insights that help readers better understand health, lifestyle, and consumer trends. We created this report to explore America's grilling preferences and encourage discussion around the regional patterns and food traditions that make summer cookouts unique.

You're welcome to reference or share these findings for editorial, educational, or noncommercial purposes. If you do, please credit Innerbody.com and include a link back to this page.