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Midwestern cuisine is a regional cuisine of the American Midwest. It draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Native North America, and is influenced by regionally and locally grown foodstuffs and cultural diversity.

Everyday Midwestern home cooking generally showcases simple and hearty dishes that make use of the abundance of locally grown foods. Its culinary profiles may seem synonymous with "American food."

The Midwest's restaurants also offer a diverse mix of ethnic cuisines as well as sophisticated, contemporary techniques

Sometimes called "the breadbasket of America", the Midwest serves as a center for grain production, particularly wheat, corn and soybeans. Graham bread, steamed cornbread, and johnny cakes are traditional Midwestern foods, as are butter cakes like chocolate cake, devil's food cake, coconut cake and fruit cake. Flour was also used to make light sponge cakes, doughnuts, cookies, pastry, and quick breads like soda bread and baking powder biscuits. Cereals like oatmeal, cracked wheat and corn meal were used to make gruel or "mush" when prepared without milk.

Early history

In the 19th century, as the frontier advanced westward, recipes had to be adapted based on the availability of ingredients. A traditional Midwestern breakfast in the 19th century might have included lamb chops, liver, bacon, pan-fried fish, oysters, eggs, potatoes, fruit compote or preserves, and hearty dough-based dishes like pie, doughnuts or cookies. At harvest time families would have eaten mostly home-produced foods. The table would be laden with fried chicken, pickles, relish, beets, cottage cheese, roast meats, potatoes, pork chops, fresh bread, fried green tomatoes, pies and biscuits.

German and Swiss immigrants made dairy products including cheese, butter, white sauces and homemade cottage cheese. They raised milk-fed veal and produced a type of white beer called weisse bier. Swedes, Norwegians and Finns began to settle the Midwest in the late 18th century, introducing rich, butter-laden cakes and cookies.

At the turn of the century, cruise ships operating along the Great Lakes offered varied dining selections. Seasonal fruits, oats, hash browns puffed rice, sirloin steak, and lamb kidney saute with mushrooms were some of the breakfast offerings available in 1913.

Beginning in the 1930s fine dining on railroads included cashew chicken, baked filet of Lake Superior whitefish au gratin and floating island dessert with custard sauce. The expansion of railroads in the 1870s and 1880s allowed fresh citrus fruits to be shipped to the Midwest.