Top 21 Iowan Foods

Toppling Goliath Brewing is an independent craft brewery founded in 2009 in the town of Decorah, Iowa, by Clark and Barbara Lewey. What began as a homebrewing hobby quickly gained recognition within the local community and later across the broader USA market, thanks to the brewery’s high-quality IPAs and barrel-aged stouts.

Today, Toppling Goliath operates a modern production facility, employs several hundred people, and distributes its beers in over 30 U.S. states. Among their most renowned offerings are award-winning beers such as Pseudo Sue, King Sue, and Kentucky Brunch Brand Stout, which have earned a strong reputation in the craft beer world. The brewery has received numerous accolades at both national and international competitions, underscoring its commitment to quality.

What further distinguishes Toppling Goliath is its ability to balance consistency with innovation - ranging from experimentation with beer styles to the introduction of new products. The brewery stands as a leading example of a modern craft operation that values craftsmanship, creativity, and reliability in equal measure.Expand

Dimensional Brewing is a craft brewery based in Dubuque, Iowa, founded by a group of local homebrewers and entrepreneurs with the aim of expanding the region’s beer scene through a diverse and experimental approach. Established in 2018 and located at 67 Main Street in a renovated historic building, the brewery combines traditional brewing techniques with a strong emphasis on innovation, offering a wide range of styles including lagers, IPAs, stouts, and sour beers.

Its portfolio reflects a balance between approachable classics and more unconventional, small-batch releases, often incorporating barrel-aging and creative flavor profiles. Beyond production, Dimensional Brewing operates as a community-oriented taproom, hosting events, collaborations with other breweries, and limited releases that attract both local visitors and craft beer enthusiasts from surrounding states.

Over time, it has positioned itself as a notable player in the Midwest craft beer landscape, recognized for its dynamic lineup and commitment to both quality and creativity.Expand

Pine River, based in Newton, specializes in the production of cheese spreads. The company has a history dating back to the 1960s.

Pine River uses aged Wisconsin cheddar in their products, and their offerings include a variety of flavors such as sharp cheddar, Swiss with almonds, and jalapeño. Pine River is a family-owned company that over the decades has established itself as one of the leading American producers of high-quality cheese spreads. Their philosophy is based on using premium milk and traditional recipes combined with modern technologies, which has earned them numerous awards at national and international cheese competitions.

They are especially known for their “cold pack” cheese spreads, which are prepared without melting to preserve the natural flavor and texture of the aged cheese.Expand

Crave Brothers is a family-owned dairy company located in Waterloo, Wisconsin, USA. It was founded by brothers Charles, George, Tom, and Mark Crave, who grew up on a farm with 40 cows in Beloit, Wisconsin.

In 1980, they purchased a farm in Waterloo where they began producing milk, and in 2001 they opened a cheese-making facility. Today, the company is owned by the fourth generation of the family, including Andy and Patrick Crave. Crave Brothers produces high-quality cheeses using exclusively milk from their own farm.

Their production is based on sustainability principles: they use 100% green energy generated on the farm and apply biodigesters to process manure and wastewater, producing more energy than needed for the dairy and farm operations. This approach makes them a company with a negative carbon footprint.

Their milk comes from Holstein cows fed with locally grown corn, alfalfa, and soy, cared for individually and raised in fresh air.Expand

Cedar Ridge Distillery, located in Swisher, Iowa, is renowned as the state's first licensed distillery since Prohibition. Established in 2005, it has garnered acclaim for producing award-winning whiskeys, spirits, and wines.

The distillery emphasizes a grain-to-glass philosophy, utilizing locally sourced Iowa corn and grains to craft its products. Notably, Cedar Ridge's Iowa Straight Bourbon has achieved significant recognition, becoming the top-selling bourbon in Iowa in 2020.

Visitors to Cedar Ridge can enjoy a comprehensive experience that includes a tasting room, dining options, and live entertainment. The distillery offers tours that provide insights into their production process, from fermentation to distillation and aging.

Additionally, Cedar Ridge hosts various events and live music performances, enhancing its reputation as a destination for both spirits enthusiasts and those seeking a vibrant social atmosphere. Expand

Milton Creamery is a family-owned cheese producer based in Milton, Iowa, established in 2006. The company is known for crafting artisan cheese using milk from local Amish dairy farms.

Among their products, Prairie Breeze, a white cheddar cheese, has won several awards at national and international cheese competitions.Expand

Ww Homestead Dairy, located in Waukon, Iowa, specializes in producing a variety of dairy products including cheese curds, block cheeses, and ice cream. The dairy prides itself on using milk only from local family farms to craft its products, ensuring freshness and quality.

The facility offers a viewing area for visitors to watch the cheese-making process.Expand

Pulpit Rock Brewing is an independent microbrewery located in Decorah, Iowa, founded in 2015 in a former dairy building. From the very beginning, they have focused on producing small batches of beer with an emphasis on quality, creativity, and experimentation with styles.

The founders, four Luther College alumni, joined forces with two head brewers to blend local identity with contemporary brewing trends. The brewery has its own production facility and taproom, which has become a gathering place for the local community and craft beer enthusiasts.

Their creative approach is reflected in experimental series that combine unconventional ingredients and aging methods. Pulpit Rock Brewing often collaborates with other craft breweries, bringing limited-edition releases to the market that attract collectors and beer aficionados.

The brewery frequently rotates its tap list, ensuring visitors always have something new to try. With a constant drive for innovation, they remain committed to quality and their strong connection to the community.Expand

Lua Brewing from Des Moines, Iowa, is an independent craft brewery that has built its identity on a creative approach, high quality standards, and a strong connection to the community. Their production focuses on small batches, ensuring that each beer is carefully crafted and carries its own distinctive character.

With an emphasis on premium ingredients, modern fermentation techniques, and innovative aging methods, they create beers that stand out for their depth of flavor and aromatic complexity. Lua Brewing values both experimentation and consistency, allowing them to explore new directions while maintaining a recognizable style.

The brewery has positioned itself as one of the leading craft beer producers in the region, known for combining artisanal precision with a keen awareness of contemporary brewing trends. Their approach includes close collaboration between brewers and chefs, ensuring that the beers and culinary offerings complement and enhance one another.

Through ongoing engagement with visitors and beer enthusiasts, Lua has cultivated a loyal customer base and built a reputation as a reliable, innovative, and passionate producer.Expand

The pork tenderloin sandwich consists of a breaded and deep-fried pork cutlet that is usually served on a hamburger bun. Typical side dishes include french fries and onion rings, while the condiments of choice are usually mustard, lettuce, pickles, or mayonnaise. The sandwich is popular throughout the Midwest, especially in the states of Indiana and Iowa. According to estimates, the sandwich is served in at least fifty percent of Indiana restaurants. The most popular theory suggests that the pork tenderloin sandwich originated in Huntington, Indiana, when Nicholas Freinstein opened a restaurant called Nick's Kitchen in 1908. From there, the sandwich has spread across central Indiana and beyond, acting as a unique substitute for its similar, famous cousin called the Wiener schnitzel.Expand

Corn on the cob is an American snack made by steaming, roasting, grilling, or boiling sweet corn. Ideally, it should be freshly picked, while its kernels are tender. The corn can be grilled in its husk or without it. Once done, the corn is placed on a stick, a cob shank, or a skewer, which is used so that the hands don't touch the piping hot kernels. The snack is quite often seasoned with salt or smeared with butter. Although it is not known who was the first to place corn on the cob, it is known that the ancient Mayans ate corn off the cob after it has been boiled or roasted.Expand

Maytag Blue is an American blue cheese originating from just outside Newton, Iowa, on Maytag Dairy Farms. The cheese is made with Holstein cow's milk since 1941. It ripens for 6 months, and during the time it develops a texture that is dense and crumbly. The aromas are strong and pungent, while the flavors are tangy and lemony. It is recommended to crumble Maytag Blue in salads, melt it on burgers, and pair it with a glass of lager or ale.Expand

Also known as tavern sandwich, loose meat sandwich is an American invention consisting of a hamburger bun that is split and filled with ground beef and sautéed onions. The beef is unseasoned (it's often slowly cooked in various blends of flavorings), and the sandwich is usually additionally filled with mustard, ketchup, cheese, or pickles. In a sandwich shop, you’ll probably get a spoon with this sandwich so you can eat all of the scattered ground meat that’s fallen off. The first tavern sandwich was prepared by David Heglin in Sioux City, Iowa in 1924, while the same thing, but with the name loose meat sandwich was prepared in Muscatine, Iowa by Fred Angell in 1926. The sandwich gained popularity over the following years, and nowadays it is served throughout the American Midwest.Expand

Although its name might suggest otherwise, Snickers salad is more of a dessert than a conventional salad, consisting of Snickers bars, whipped cream, Granny Smith apples, and pudding. In order to prepare it, the ingredients are simply chopped, then combined. There are many versions of this salad, with added ingredients such as bananas, buttermilk, sour cream, lemon juice, or crushed pineapple. This unusual dessert is traditionally served in a bowl, and it is a staple at potlucks in Iowa, the place of its origin.Expand

This unique pizza style originates from the Quad Cities region of Iowa and Illinois and is characterized by an unusual strip cut and a slightly spicy sauce. The crust has a nutty taste due to a generous amount of malt syrup, and the sauce contains chili and cayenne pepper flakes. The pork sausage used for the topping should be cooked and allowed to rest in its juices for several hours before being spread over the entire pizza. Due to its malt-enriched crust, this dish naturally pairs well with beer.Expand

Flory's Truckle is an American variety of cheddar hailing from Iowa. The cheese is made from raw Jersey cow's milk and it's aged wrapped in a cheesecoth. It's left to dry for 10 days, then coated with lard and aged for 12 months. As a result, the texture underneath its natural rind is dry, crumbly, and dense. The aromas are spicy and rich, while the flavors are fruity, grassy, buttery, and nutty, with hints of caramel. The cheese is named after cylinder-shaped truckles in which cheddars get molded. It's recommended to serve Flory's Truckle with plum jam and pair it with a glass of pale ale.Expand

Steak de Burgo is a traditional beef dish originating from Des Moines, Iowa. Invented in the 1950s at Vic's Tally-Ho or at Johnny & Kay's, the dish consists of beef tenderloin that's served with butter-based or cream-based sauce. Both sauces contain generous amounts of Italian herbs and garlic. Apart from butter or cream (or both), the sauce usually includes herbs such as basil, oregano, and thyme. The steak is browned on both sides and removed from the pan. The skillet is often deglazed with white wine and the sauce is then prepared in the same skillet. Once thickened and reduced, the sauce is spooned over the steaks and served. It's recommended to accompany the steak with a fresh green salad on the side.Expand

Sour cream raisin pie is a traditional pie that’s especially popular in Iowa and its State Fair. The pie consists of a pie shell with a creamy filling containing raisins, and a top layer of fluffy meringue. The ingredients usually include pie shell, sour cream, sugar, raisins, flour, cream of tartar, and eggs. Once done, the warm filling is poured into a pie shell, and the meringue is then spread over the filling. The pie is baked, then chilled before serving. At the Iowa State Fair, sour cream raisin pie is regularly baked by eager contestants.Expand

A haystack is a highly customizable, layered meal built by piling a starchy base, warm proteins, crisp raw vegetables, and savory condiments into a tall, conical mound on a single plate. The separated components always sit in large bowls across a long table, requiring the meal to be assembled individually by walking down a line and stacking the ingredients vertically. The sheer volume of the final pile demands a large fork to slowly collapse the towering structure and mix the cold and hot layers. The meal serves almost exclusively as a communal feast engineered for large gatherings, church functions, and agricultural fundraising events. The specific origins trace directly to two distinct religious groups in the United States during the mid-20th century. In 1955, a woman named Ella May Hartlein introduced a meatless version of the meal, then known as Hartlein Special, at a Seventh-day Adventist camp meeting in Pennsylvania, in need of a fast, easily scalable lunch to feed a massive crowd. Simultaneously, Amish and Mennonite farming communities across the American Midwest adopted this exact layered format to serve at massive benefit dinners, utilizing cheap, shelf-stable ingredients to feed thousands and maximize charity profits. Assembling a typical haystack starts by covering a wide dinner plate with a handful of crushed corn chips or crumbled saltine crackers. A heavy scoop of warm, cooked white rice goes directly over the crunchy base. A thick layer of savory protein follows, typically consisting of heavily spiced ground beef, warm pinto beans, or a thick tomato-based chili. A ladle of melted, sharp cheddar cheese sauce instantly floods the warm layers. Cold, raw ingredients stack on top next. Massive handfuls of shredded iceberg lettuce, diced tomatoes, and chopped white onions build the physical height of the mound. Sliced black olives, pickled jalapeños, thick sour cream, and chunky red salsa finish the absolute peak. A prominent adaptation, known as the Hawaiian haystack, completely abandons beef, cheese, and corn chips. This sweet-and-savory iteration uses a base of plain white rice smothered in a thick, creamy chicken gravy, then topped with crispy chow mein noodles, diced pineapple chunks, toasted sliced almonds, celery, and shredded coconut. A strict vegetarian modification, widely favored in the original Adventist communities, replaces ground beef entirely with seasoned soy crumbles or extra black beans to maintain a dense protein layer without using any animal products.Expand