Famous Delaware Foods

Famous Delaware Foods come from English, German, and Dutch influences.

They include blue crabs, saltwater taffy, scrapple, fries with vinegar, and goulash.

Many dishes in Delaware are from the sea because of the seas’ fresh selection and close proximity.

Check out our 50 states unit study for some fun states info!

feature pin with four famous Delaware photos with the text, "30 Famous Delaware Recipes"

Don’t forget to check out this Delaware Unit Study as well to learn more about fun state facts and history.

These 30 recipes will help brings the famous Delaware foods into your home without needing to go to a restaurant or even to the state.

The selections range from sweet and salty taffy (my absolute favorite!), apple butter, cream-chipped beef, and chicken and slippery dumplings. Be sure to try them all!

Table of Contents

Capriotti’s Bobbie

Capriotti is a restaurant in Delaware that serves a famous sandwich called the Bobbie. It’s made with turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce on a sweet roll. It’s served all year round here but most commonly on the days right after Thanksgiving.

Blue Crabs

Steamed blue crabs made with Old Bay seasoning are a classic dish in Delaware. If you can get fresh blue crabs, you need to try this dish!

Salt Water Taffy

Taffy made with saltwater is sweet and slightly salty. They come in all different flavors like watermelon, cherry, lime, and cinnamon. Here are some easy recipes to try your hand at making them.

Apple Butter

Contrary to what you may think, apple butter is NOT made with butter. After cooking the apples for hours on the stovetop or in a slow cooker, they become rich, dark, and creamy. This texture tastes almost like you’d put butter in it.

Cream Chipped Beef

Cream chipped beef served on toast is popular comfort food in Delaware. Dried pieces of beef are put in thick white cream gravy and then served over hot toast.

Chicken and Slippery Dumplings

Chicken and slippery dumplings is a hearty chicken noodle soup made with fresh noodles instead of dough-like dumplings.

Fries with Vinegar

French fries seasoned with salt and vinegar is popular in Delaware and really should be served in every restaurant!

Goulash

American goulash is made with ground beef, onions, peppers, carrots, and elbow pasta in a tomato-based sauce. Hungarian goulash is made with chunks of tender beef, onions, peppers, potatoes, and lots of sweet paprika. Both styles are delicious.

Scrapple

Scrapple is a New England comfort food. It was first created to use all the castoff parts of an animal efficiently. You can use organs or not, it’s up to you. It’s made by boiling the pork in aromatics, creating a thick texture with buckwheat flour and cornmeal, pouring it into a loaf pan, and refrigerating for a few hours.