A person’s last meal is a final comfort, a memory on a plate. Across the U.S., last meal requests often reflect deep cravings for childhood favorites, fast-food classics, or rich, indulgent dishes.
While the tradition is no longer common in every state, the choices made over the years say a lot about what Americans love most.
Here are 20 popular last meal picks that show what people truly hunger for when everything else fades away.
1. Fried Chicken
Golden-crisp skin gives way to juicy meat, seasoned deeply with salt, pepper, and love. The smell alone feels like home.
Fried chicken delivers crunch, flavor, and familiarity. When people choose one final bite, this Southern classic rises to the top.
2. Cheeseburgers And Fries
Thick patties, melted cheese, toasted buns, and a side of salty fries hit every nostalgic craving.
Fast food turned comfort ritual, this combo speaks to simple pleasures. It’s the taste of drive-thrus and long summers.
3. Steak With Potatoes
A well-marbled ribeye, seared until crusty, with buttery mashed or crisped wedges on the side.
Hearty and primal, it’s a meal of richness and reward. Few dishes feel more complete.
4. Pizza With Extra Cheese
Stretchy cheese over a bubbly crust, dripping grease and oregano from each triangular slice.
It’s sharable, customizable, and satisfying. Pizza delivers joy whether New York-thin or deep-dish thick.
5. Ice Cream Sundae
Scoops of vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry, topped with sauces, whipped cream, and a bright red cherry.
Cold, creamy, and sugar-sweet, it brings back birthdays and summer nights. Dessert as a hug.
6. Barbecue Ribs
Sticky, slow-smoked ribs that fall off the bone, lacquered in molasses-sweet sauce and kissed with char.
Barbecue captures the flavor of tradition and indulgence. One rib becomes four before you know it.
7. Lobster Tail With Butter
Steamed or broiled, the meat is rich, sweet, and luxurious, dripping in clarified butter.
This is special-occasion seafood, chosen to savor every bite. A reminder of coastlines and candlelight.
8. Macaroni And Cheese
Tender noodles coated in molten cheddar and baked until golden at the edges.
Soft, creamy, and endlessly soothing, this dish sticks to both ribs and memories.
9. Fried Shrimp
Puffy batter surrounding delicate shrimp, served with lemon wedges and spicy cocktail sauce.
Crisp yet tender, this coastal comfort food feels like beach days wrapped in crunch.
10. Biscuits With Gravy
Biscuits with gravy is a Southern comfort food that many choose as their final meal. This dish is celebrated for its hearty, flavorful goodness.
The flaky biscuits, smothered in rich, savory gravy, offer a taste of Southern hospitality. It evokes memories of leisurely breakfasts and weekend brunches.
Choosing this meal reflects a love for home-style cooking and a desire for warmth and familiarity in one’s last culinary experience.
11. Chocolate Cake
Moist layers cloaked in glossy frosting, sometimes with a molten center or dusted with cocoa.
It satisfies the deepest dessert cravings. Rich, timeless, and impossible to refuse.
12. Tacos With Hot Sauce
Soft or crunchy shells stuffed with meat, cheese, and a fiery drizzle of hot sauce.
Tacos are casual, fun, and full of flavor. They’re celebration and comfort in one bite.
13. Pecan Pie
Sticky-sweet filling over a flaky crust, packed with toasted pecans and a hint of vanilla.
A Southern staple with old-fashioned charm. Nutty, rich, and syrupy to the core.
14. Meatloaf With Mashed Potatoes
Ground beef glazed with ketchup, sliced thick beside buttery mash and maybe a spoon of gravy.
This is retro comfort food. Hearty, warm, and undeniably nostalgic.
15. Donuts And Coffee
Fried dough rings, iced or powdered, paired with a steaming cup of strong coffee.
Simple and comforting, this combo feels both everyday and indulgent.
16. Spaghetti With Meatballs
Long noodles swirled in tomato sauce, topped with plump, garlicky meatballs and a snow of Parmesan.
It’s cozy, hearty, and full of Sunday supper energy. Forkful after forkful, it satisfies.
17. Cornbread And Collard Greens
Sweet crumbly cornbread next to smoky, slow-cooked greens spiked with vinegar and fatback.
This soul food duo balances soft and savory. It’s a plate steeped in memory.
18. Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwiches
Creamy peanut butter and sticky jam between slices of soft white bread, maybe crusts off.
A childhood lunchbox classic that never stops comforting. Sweet, salty, and deeply familiar.
19. Buffalo Wings
Crispy-skinned wings tossed in hot sauce and butter, often with blue cheese dip on the side.
They’re spicy, messy, and wildly craveable. Wings speak to bold flavor and zero regrets.
20. Coca-Cola Or Root Beer Float
Scoops of vanilla ice cream fizzing in cold soda, bubbling up with creamy foam.
This treat tastes like diners and after-school snacks. A bubbly, icy finale with retro flair.