Eat Like a President: 25 Favorite Recipes of First Families

Presidential eating habits are often an intriguing topic, especially when a new first family moves into the White House. First ladies are expected to be the ultimate hosts, and sometimes that includes having signature or family recipes at the ready. Whether a president served these dishes at formal state dinners or ate them privately with family, these are some favorite presidential recipes.

First lady Martha Washington’s crab soup was served often during the Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eisenhower administrations. It’s a very simple recipe, with lots of milk or cream and crab meat. Don’t skip the sherry as it’s essential to the flavor. 

Recipe: The American Moms

Barack Obama used to brag about his chili, and unlike many chili lovers, he’s shared the recipe. It’s not complicated but it does include some unusual ingredients, including turmeric and red wine vinegar. If you’d like a little heat in your chili, make sure you add your favorite hot chile powder. 

Recipe: Huffington Post

Jefferson is well known for serving and eating ice cream year round with ice harvested from a nearby river in winter and kept in Monticello’s ice house. The recipe only includes four ingredients, including a vanilla bean, and was made in an old fashioned ice cream maker. 

Recipe: Monticello

Louisa was the wife of John Quincy Adams, and she had a very simple four-ingredient recipe for clam chowder with just clams, butter, flour, and milk. This recipe has been gussied up for modern tastes with additions like onion and potato. 

Recipe: America’s Table

This recipe from first lady Mamie Eisenhower became very popular after it was published in the 1950s. It’s pretty easy to make thanks to a pint of fluffy marshmallow cream. It includes nuts, but feel free to add other mix-ins instead. 

Recipe: Eisenhower Library

Oh dear. Leave it to Nixon to enjoy something this unpleasant. This molded gelatinous dish includes ground ham, tomato juice, beef consommé, whipped cream, and mayonnaise. Yikes. 

Recipe: Atlas Obscura

First ladies always seem to love serving cookies in the White House, and many release their favorite recipes. Chocolate chip is a perennial favorite, of course, including Hillary Clinton’s version, made with oats and shortening to keep them soft and moist. 

Recipe: Tucson.com

Herbert Hoover loved sweet potato casserole, especially when topped with that controversial ingredient: marshmallows. The mashed potatoes are flavored with nutmeg and butter, plus walnuts for crunch and plenty of toasted marshmallows on top. 

Recipe: Pieces of History

There is a variety of persimmon native to North America, making first lady Nancy Reagan’s persimmon pudding recipe much more American than you’d think. The pudding is spiced with cinnamon and gets a coating of creamy brandy sauce. 

Recipe: Esquire

First lady Betty Ford deemed these cookies to be worthy enough to serve at Thanksgiving, so they must be good. Plenty of cocoa powder makes the dough chocolatey, while white chocolate chips and Brazil nuts or almonds get mixed in. 

Recipe: The Takeout

First lady Lady Bird Johnson used to share this chili recipe with her guests. It’s extra meat heavy and has very few ingredients. You’ll want to use a coarse ground beef or dice it into tiny cubes for the right texture. 

Recipe: Saveur

Jimmy Carter grew up on a peanut farm, so of course the first family ate all kinds of peanut dishes. This recipe is a classic peanut brittle, full of caramel-like flavor and crunch. Eat it like candy or crush it up for an ice cream topping. 

Recipe: Pieces of History

Schnitzel is a wonderful recipe for entertaining since it feels fancy but it’s pretty easy. This is first lady Laura Bush’s recipe with thinly pounded chicken cutlets seasoned with garlic salt, coated in breadcrumbs, and fried until crisp and brown.  

Recipe: America’s Table

Thankfully, Nixon didn’t eat only gelatinous ham mold. This is first lady Pat Nixon’s meatloaf recipe, and it was reportedly shared freely with guests. It’s seasoned with thyme, marjoram, and parsley, and interestingly has breadcrumbs on top of the tomato glaze. 

Recipe: The Historical Homemaker

Apparently LBJ had an affinity for lemon because Lady Bird loved to make these lemon squares. With the zest and juice of two lemons, they’re nice and tart with a big lemon flavor. 

Recipe: Tucson.com

The Kennedy family and New England are forever linked, so it makes sense that John F. Kennedy enjoyed this fish (not clam!) chowder. It’s made with haddock, a white firm fish, plus plenty of salt pork, potatoes, and milk.  

Recipe: 31 Daily

Most people consider squirrel pests, so why not eat them? People used to, including James A. Garfield, who enjoyed this squirrel soup recipe that was printed in a White House cookbook in 1887. Unless you’re into eating roadkill though, you can substitute rabbit. 

Recipe: Daily Beast

Well, we’re back in gelatin territory again. Cucumber salad sounds pretty inoffensive, if not delicious, but Teddy Roosevelt’s version is gross. Cucumbers and whipped cream are mixed and molded with gelatin, then served with French dressing on top in case it wasn’t bad enough. 

Recipe: Cooking With Congress

Nancy Reagan’s monkey bread recipe is very different from what most people consider monkey bread today: there’s no cinnamon. In fact, this recipe is barely sweet at all, so it’s more like a pull-apart dinner roll instead of a brunch or dessert.  

Recipe: Esquire

It doesn’t seem like a stretch to assume that Donald Trump probably loves his mother’s meatloaf. You begin the recipe by cooking down a mixture of onions, red and green bell peppers, and tomato, then mixing that with parsley into a loaf. Serve with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy, per the recipe.

Recipe: KTAL News

Though this recipe dates to at least the time of the Civil War, it still sounds delicious and was Ulysses S. Grant’s favorite. It’s made similar to a souffle with whipped egg whites, so it’s light and fluffy when baked. Vanilla and lemon give it a unique flavor. 

Recipe: Courier Journal

Laura Bush’s cowboy cookies may be one of the most popular and well-known presidential recipes. They’ve got all kinds of goodies in them, including coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips in an oatmeal cookie base. 

Recipe: The White House

First lady Michelle Obama was widely known for her White House vegetable garden, and this recipe would be a great way to use its bounty. Snow peas, radishes, and white beans all get dressed in a refreshing and light lemon vinaigrette.  

Recipe: The American Moms

Who doesn’t like chicken parmesan? This is Jill Biden’s recipe which starts with a simple homemade marinara sauce with lots of basil. That’s layered with breaded chicken breasts and cheese for a hearty, casserole-style dish. 

Recipe: Fran DeWine

Laura Bush’s deviled eggs are spiced heavily with Dijon mustard and something that not everyone will love: habanero hot sauce. Yucatan Sunshine is the brand the Bushes preferred, but you can tone it down with Tabasco if you need to.

Recipe: The White House

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