The Most Popular Foods Americans Want On The Menu
When people think about their last meal, their choices are rarely practical. They’re emotional, nostalgic, and often deeply personal. While some people reach for foods they grew up with, others choose restaurant favorites. Although the specifics of each course varied from one person to another, we still identified trends in the responses.
When grouping responses for appetizers, entrees, sides, and desserts into a single ranking, we found that the most common item Americans would want with their last meal is mashed potatoes. Overall, potatoes were very popular among respondents, with French fries ranking 3rd and baked potatoes 11th. It appears that Americans truly love their spuds.
Coming in second for the most popular last-meal items is cheesecake, as many people fantasize about the sweet treat they will enjoy. Another sought-after dessert for last meals is chocolate cake, which landed fifth overall. Other popular desserts include tiramisu, lava cake, and apple pie, which rank 16th, 18th, and 21st, respectively.
When it comes to the most popular foods by course, we discovered that mozzarella sticks, salad, and bread are the appetizers Americans desire most for their last meal. Moving on to the main course, steak, chicken, and pizza top the rankings. When considering their pairings, mashed potatoes, French fries, and salads were the most commonly requested sides.
Helping to wash all of these dishes down, soda ranked highest among most Americans, with Coca-Cola and Dr. Pepper as the most popular beverages reported. This is followed by water in third place, sweet tea in fourth, and beer in fifth.
While Coke and Dr. Pepper rank as the top two brands requested, they are not the only sodas mentioned by name; Diet Coke, Sprite, and Pepsi rank third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, among the most popular brands requested.
Even with nearly 1 in 3 Americans reporting they would eat three times as much as normal for their last meal, people are still keen on dessert. When analyzing the most popular requests overall, the top three were cheesecake, ice cream, and chocolate cake.
When analyzing dessert menus by state, cake ranked first in 25 states. This is followed by cheesecake, which was the most popular dessert in nine states, including Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia.
Finally, ice cream was the most popular dessert for last meals in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, and Massachusetts, while pie was the most sought-after in Indiana and West Virginia.
Finally, because we know Americans love fast food, we asked respondents which restaurants they would most likely order their last meal from. Topping the list is Chick-fil-A, so let’s hope last meals aren’t served on Sundays, or many people may be out of luck.
Next up on the list is a West Coast favorite, In-N-Out Burger, followed by Taco Bell, McDonald’s, and Culver’s in third, fourth, and fifth place, respectively.
Who People Want to Share Their Meal With
A last meal is about more than what’s on your plate. For many people, what’s on the menu matters just as much as the person sitting across from them and sharing the meal. That’s why, in addition to the foods Americans want, we asked about the people they’d want to dine with, whom they’d want cooking the meal, and more.
In this study, we gave respondents the option to select a famous chef to prepare their meal, and only 17% chose a celebrity chef. While nearly 2 in 5 people don’t care who cooks their meal as long as it tastes good, 1 in 3 would prefer a family member to cook their last meal.
For nearly 1 in 10 people, their ideal final meal would be cooked by a chef from their favorite restaurant, and 6% would prefer to cook for themselves.
When asked whom they would want to share their last meal with, 41% said they’d want a family member sitting across from them. Coming in second place as the most common response are romantic partners, as a third of Americans report they’d want to eat their final meal with their significant other.
If they had the chance, 12% of respondents shared they’d want to dine with someone who has passed away. For 1 in 9 people, this final meal would be best enjoyed alone, as they prefer solitude.
Methodology
In this study, we set out to learn what Americans would want for their last meal. To do this, we surveyed residents by state. We asked them what they would want to eat for each course of their final meal, including appetizer, entree, sides, dessert, and beverage.
We then analyzed responses to determine the most popular foods overall, most popular by category, and the top food category by course in each state. In addition to the foods Americans would want to eat, we also asked how much they would eat, who they’d want to cook their meal for, who they’d want to eat with, and more.
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Anthony Martin is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over 16 years of experience and has personally served over 10,000 clients with their life insurance needs. He frequently authors entrepreneurial and life insurance content for Forbes, Inc.com, Newsweek, Kiplinger, and Entreprenuer.com. Anthony has been consulted as an expert life insurance source for dozens of high-profile websites such as Forbes, Bankrate, Reuters, Fox Business, CNBC, Investopedia, Insurance.com, Yahoo Finance, and many more.
