The Favorite Foods Of 17 First Ladies

If you try to look up what the first ladies of the United States really loved to eat, you’ll often get their husbands’ favorites, recipes the first ladies made often, or recipes that the public frequently requested. While there’s little doubt that the first ladies in these administrations liked those same dishes, were those truly their favorites?

Much of the publicity was on the president, of course, but the first lady has her own preferences that set the tone for the culinary side of the administration. The first lady usually serves as the hostess for gatherings and helps create the general menu that White House chefs need to follow (Fun fact: Not every first lady in the country’s history was the president’s wife; in some administrations, the role was taken on by sisters, daughters, daughters-in-law, and so on). Information about food preferences isn’t available for all first ladies, but here are 17 whose favorite foods were noted by biographers, chefs, and sometimes the first lady herself.

Read more: Canned Foods That Were Popular 50 Years Ago But No One Eats Anymore

Abigail Adams: Apple pan dowdy and Indian pudding

Abigail Adams was the second first lady of the new United States, and the first first lady to live in the new White House. When she and her husband, John Adams, moved into the new structure, it wasn’t nearly as fancy as it is now, and the role of first lady wasn’t as glamorous, either. Abigail Adams handled work like collecting firewood, and she did a lot of cooking, too.

Two of the dishes she made that are likely to have been her favorites are Indian pudding and apple pan dowdy, which you’ll also see written as pandowdy. Apple pan dowdy isn’t quite like a pie but sounds similar; it has a pastry crust filled with spiced apple chunks. Indian pudding is a cooked mix of cornmeal, milk, and molasses that sometimes has other ingredients, like butter and spices. Indian pudding was a staple dish — not a dessert — that the Adams would often serve first at a meal.

Dolley Madison: Ice cream

James Madison’s wife, First Lady Dolley Madison, loved ice cream. There’s a lot of misinformation about her role in having ice cream at the White House. She wasn’t the first to serve it there, nor did she invent it. However, people did notice that the desserts at White House dinners no longer contained as many pastries as they had before. While cake and smaller treats were still served, if you were a guest at the White House, you could count on being served ice cream toward the end of a meal.

Many say Dolley Madison preferred oyster ice cream, but that appears to be unsubstantiated. She did personally know Mary Randolph, whose cookbook had a recipe for oyster ice cream, but it’s unclear whether the flavor was her absolute favorite. Others say she preferred various flavors like strawberry, Parmesan, or asparagus, too. This is pretty much hearsay, and all we really know is that she liked ice cream itself.

Sarah Polk: Hickory nut cake

First Lady Sarah Polk did a lot to modernize the White House, or at least modernize it to the standards of the 1840s. She switched the lighting from candles to gas, for example. While her public personality was one of typical femininity of the day, she was very involved in politics in private, taking part in some negotiations.

As for food, she preferred hickory nut cake, which was similar to a pound cake with chopped nuts mixed in. The recipe is relatively simple to make but does require beating egg whites to stiff peaks. The cake is often baked in a tube pan and is served without frosting or a glaze. Hickory nuts are really a group of nuts, many of which are edible and some of which are too unpleasant-tasting to eat. Among edible hickory nuts are those from shagbark and shellbark hickory trees, as well as pecans, which you can use in place of other hickory nuts in the cake recipe.

Mary Todd Lincoln: White almond cake

It’s well-known that the white almond cake made by First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln was one of Abraham Lincoln’s favorite desserts, and there’s evidence that it was one of her favorites, too. The cake was a product of either her family’s favorite bakery or a caterer in Lexington, Kentucky. In both cases, her family managed to get the recipe, and it remained one of their most treasured. Mary Todd Lincoln brought the recipe with her when she moved to Springfield after her older sister’s marriage.

Another dish that keeps showing up with her name is strawberries and cream, which seemed to be a regular treat at parties. The Lincolns would even throw “strawberry parties” where they’d serve strawberry ice cream. Again, just serving something a lot doesn’t mean it’s her favorite — but when you read about the food she served and the parties they’d hold, the strawberries are ever-present. It’s not a stretch to think that maybe those are among her favorites, too.

Lucy Hayes: Corn soup and white cake

Lucy Webb Hayes was unfortunately the target of a lot of derision; the White House had a no-alcohol policy during Rutherford B. Hayes’ administration, and opponents blamed her for it, calling her “Lemonade Lucy.” She was the first first lady to have a college degree and was very interested in the well-being of veterans and their families.

Most of the recipe records that exist for Lucy Webb Hayes simply list ingredients and method. However, a recipe for corn soup contains the notes, “This is a very good soup,” and “This soup is very nice with no more addition.” If she took time to write that when she normally didn’t, that’s a sign that this might be a favorite. The other recipe is for white cake, with the note, “There is not to be found a better receipt [sic] for white cake than the following.” That certainly sounds like she was especially fond of this recipe.

Caroline Harrison: Corn and soup

Caroline Harrison also liked corn, and she liked soup, but as two separate foods. The first lady during Benjamin Harrison’s administration was known for liking bouillon and clear soup, so much that she would serve clear soup — even at teas that she hosted (Luckily, the entire family appeared to love soup). Clear soup was apparently such a favorite that it even made it into a 2015 luncheon held in her honor by the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was definitely a foodie and considered properly made food so important that she created a cookbook during her time in the White House.

Another of her favorite foods was corn, and apparently the entire family simply adored the stuff. Records from when she chose the White House china pattern show sketches that she did for the design, and apparently one of the plate designs shows little corn stalks around the edges. That’s a pretty good sign that corn was something she really liked.

Ida McKinley: Plain and usually starchy food

William and Ida McKinley ate very well, and both liked a number of dishes, but the defining quality of their food was “plain.” Ida McKinley would request plain dishes for meals; for example, a plain (albeit abundant) Thanksgiving dinner. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner might all featured the same foods with little variation other than dessert later in the day. She appeared to prefer this, along with starchy foods. While there are specific dishes that the two both liked, such as lobster on a green salad, the plain quality stands out.

Some of the foods may seem elaborate now, such as that Thanksgiving turkey, which was stuffed with oysters in 1897. However, oysters back then were very common and cheap. It’s estimated that the average person downed nearly 660 oysters every year. Lobster was also common. In other words, that stuffed turkey and that lobster salad were still considered plain as can be at the time.

Florence Harding: Waffles

President Warren G. Harding’s favorite food was waffles, specifically the recipe made by First Lady Florence Harding. However, they may have been her favorite food, too, according to one cookbook. Anyway, the family as a whole apparently considered the waffles as their favorites, which implies that they were hers, too.

Florence Harding’s waffle recipe is pretty basic, but one big change she made was that she’d beat egg whites until they were airy and then fold them into the batter. The result was a very fluffy waffle recipe that she’d serve not just to her family, but also to people like the campaign’s staff while on the campaign trail. People adored this recipe, and it became so highly requested in the press that she sent it to magazines and newspapers. Today, the Harding Presidential Library and Museum in Ohio hosts annual waffle breakfasts using Florence Harding’s recipe.

Grace Coolidge: Chicken chow mein and cornmeal muffins

Food in the White House took a different turn when Calvin and Grace Coolidge moved in. Grace Coolidge loved Asian food, and among the dishes that were reportedly her favorites were two made by White House chef Lee Ping Quan. One was his particular version of chop suey, but the other — reportedly her overall favorite — was chicken chow mein.

Her other favorite was a specific recipe for cornmeal muffins. She liked them so much (and Calvin Coolidge did, too) that she kept asking the kitchen staff at the White House kitchen to try to make them. Unfortunately, the staff at the time didn’t have the exact recipe and couldn’t get the muffins to turn out the way Grace Coolidge wanted them to. She ended up asking an inn for the recipe and adjusted it to her tastes. There are notes that point to a dessert called strawberry a la king pie as her favorite dessert, but there’s not a lot of information about that dish.

Lou Hoover: Salads and orangeade

Lou Henry Hoover had two favorite foods, but they aren’t really discussed in detail. It’s known that she really liked salads and orangeade, which is basically an orange version of lemonade. The Hoovers were very punctual with meals, too, and they were constantly hosting guests.

Lou Henry Hoover was already known for her connection to food by the time Herbert Hoover was elected in the late 1920s. She had worked to provide emergency food aid to Belgium during World War I when she lived in London. In 1917, she joined the Girl Scouts in the U.S. as national commissioner and started teaching the girls how to care for gardens during the war. After leaving the White House, she once again worked with the Girl Scouts, and it’s here that her most memorable connection to food was formed. She’s the one who decided that Girl Scout cookies, which at that point were mainly home-baked by different troops, could be produced commercially for nationwide sale.

Elizabeth Truman: Ozark pudding

Jumping ahead to the late 1940s and early 1950s brought another big change to food in the White House: it became very Midwestern and very mid-century. Elizabeth “Bess” Truman’s recipes were absolute comfort food, from macaroni and cheese to meat loaf to egg salad sandwiches. This is the food you picture when you think of comforting family meals in the 1950s.

One recipe that’s forever going to be linked to Bess Truman is Ozark pudding, a cakey mix of apples and nuts made in a pie pan. While she was first lady, she didn’t give a lot of interviews, so people didn’t have a good idea of who she was except for a few facts — such as her favorite dessert was Ozark pudding. That pudding, also known as Huguenot Torte, was the subject of a series of misprints that introduced errors into the ingredient list. Unfortunately, Bess Truman bore the brunt of the criticism, despite not being responsible for the printing mistakes.

Mamie Eisenhower: Convenience foods, fluffy turnips, and desserts

Bess Truman’s recipes were mid-century comfort food, but Mamie Eisenhower was all about convenience. From canned to frozen to gelatin-based, she was a huge fan of these quick wonders. She also loved certain desserts that she’d make for her husband, including sugar cookies and deep-dish apple pie. One other favorite of hers was her “fluffy turnips” recipe, which was a baked casserole with mashed turnips, eggs, and seasonings.

Mamie Eisenhower’s fondness for using gelatin played a role in creating a pie recipe that you’ll still see in cookbooks and on food blogs today: pumpkin chiffon pie. She was getting inquiries from the press about this oddly named pie that she had made, and she had her secretary send the recipe out to anyone who inquired. The recipe became so popular that it ended up being reprinted every year for several years at Thanksgiving.

Lady Bird Johnson: Spoon bread

OK, you want to talk about a first lady who influenced food? Let’s talk about Lady Bird Johnson. Her recipes were and are legendary, from Pedernales River chili to her lemon bars to her use of RoTel canned tomatoes in King Ranch casserole (Though she apparently did not create Texas sheet cake, despite the rumors). If you want to cook a good meal, especially one that’s particularly Texan, you can’t go wrong with her recipes.

Her own favorite food was the simple dish called spoon bread, also spelled spoonbread. This is a dish that tastes similar to cornbread but has a texture that’s softer and, well, able to be eaten with a spoon. She apparently preferred rather simple food, with deer bacon, spareribs, and pickled okra among her other favorites. Milk was another favorite of the family as a whole, as were steak and barbecue.

Pat Nixon: Roast turkey, salad with avocado and grapefruit, baked grapefruit, Chinese walnut chicken, and more

When Richard and Pat Nixon arrived in the White House, the food made in the kitchen transformed into lower-fat, healthier fare. Both Nixons loved fresh food and were big fans of baked grapefruit. Pat Nixon also loved roast turkey, salad with avocado and grapefruit, and a Chinese-style chicken-and-walnut dish that the White House chef, Henry Haller, created. The recipe apparently created some humorous confusion when she told the press that the recipe was a favorite of “Henry’s.” The press misinterpreted that Henry as being Henry Kissinger instead of the chef.

Pat Nixon also liked celery in Thanksgiving stuffing — a lot of celery. A rather enormous amount of celery; 1 cup of the stuff, which surprised Haller, who wasn’t used to adding that much celery to stuffing recipes.

Rosalynn Carter: Strawberry cake

The Carter Administration and household continued the theme of having lots of vegetables and salads, but the recipes were Southern instead of Californian. Fish on Fridays also became a routine. As the years of the administration went on, the menus changed to incorporate more Chinese-American dishes, too.

One thing that didn’t change over the years was Rosalynn Carter’s love for her strawberry cake recipe, which the National Archives released to the public after her death in November 2023. The recipe is a 20th-century time capsule, using boxed cake mix and packaged Jell-O mix along with added eggs, flour, nuts, and strawberries. Everything is mixed together and baked; other than serving the cake with whipped cream if desired, there are no second stages or reserved ingredients that you have to worry about. It’s a very accessible recipe, one that beginners and expert cooks could both put together quickly.

Barbara Bush: Pizza from Fuzzy’s and chocolate chip cookies

One of Barbara Bush’s favorite foods is pizza from Fuzzy’s Pizza and Cafe in Houston. The small pizzeria got a huge boost in popularity after she mentioned the place on TV. The Bushes had moved to Houston after George H.W. Bush left office, and one day, he tried a slice. He was so amazed at the owner’s determination (arriving in the U.S. from Syria with little money and working his way up to open his own cafe) that he’d bring others to the cafe to meet him. Both George and Barbara Bush liked the pizza so much that they now each have pizzas named after them on the menu.

The other food is Barbara Bush’s famous chocolate chip cookie with oatmeal. You can actually buy them if you go to the Houstonian Hotel, Club, & Spa in Houston, to which Barbara Bush graciously presented the recipe. Apparently she got it from a friend; just the fact that she asked for it implies that it was one she didn’t want to be without.

Laura Bush: Enchiladas

We’ll end with Laura Bush, whose favorite food is well-known because she mentioned it in an interview with Oprah back in May 2001: enchiladas. Oprah asked her straight up what her favorite food was, and that was her one-word answer. Oprah also asked if she ever thought that she could order anything she wanted, and her answer was that she didn’t. She instead felt very fortunate to be in the White House, calling it a dream.

Interestingly, recollections from White House staff in the book, “White House Chef,” note that food wasn’t a big deal to George W. and Laura Bush. If they found something the Bushes liked, they would put that dish into regular rotation. For Laura Bush, spicy food, Tex-Mex, Southwestern cuisine, and especially beets were listed as go-to foods. She also apparently enjoyed the dishes that Hillary Clinton had during the Clintons’ time in the White House, such as wraps and salads.

Want more food knowledge? Sign up to our free newsletter where we’re helping thousands of foodies, like you, become culinary masters, one email at a time.

Read the original article on Chowhound.