17 Delicious Pennsylvania-Only Foods Worth The Trip
Pennsylvania’s food scene is a treasure trove of flavors you won’t find anywhere else, tucked away in diners, street carts, and family-run joints.
From savory sandwiches piled high to sweet treats that make your taste buds sing, these local specialties are so good they turn any visit into a full-on food adventure.
Ready to ditch the usual and dive fork-first into some truly unique eats? Pennsylvania’s got your next craving covered with dishes that are as memorable as the Keystone State itself.
1. Philly Cheesesteak: The Sandwich That Launched a Thousand Debates
Thin-sliced ribeye sizzles on a flat-top grill while Cheez Whiz (yes, really) waits to crown this iconic sandwich. Locals argue passionately about whether Pat’s, Geno’s, or Jim’s serves the authentic version.
The proper ordering technique involves as few words as possible – “Whiz wit” means with cheese and onions.
Stuffed into a crusty Amoroso roll, this legendary street food has sparked more Philly arguments than Eagles games.
2. Roast Pork Sandwich: The Cheesesteak’s Sophisticated Cousin
Secret confession from Philadelphians: many locals prefer this juicy masterpiece to the famous cheesesteak.
Slow-roasted pork shoulder, dripping with savory jus, gets layered with sharp provolone and garlicky broccoli rabe.
DiNic’s in Reading Terminal Market serves the gold standard version that made grown food critics weep with joy.
The combination of tender meat, bitter greens, and tangy cheese creates a harmony that makes taste buds dance the Pennsylvania polka.
3. Scrapple: Pennsylvania’s Breakfast of Champions
Grandma always said, “Don’t ask what’s in it, just enjoy it.” This Pennsylvania Dutch breakfast staple combines pork scraps and cornmeal into a sliceable loaf that’s fried until crispy outside, creamy inside.
Farm families have started mornings with scrapple for generations.
The perfect slice should shatter on your fork like crispy armor protecting the soft interior. Drizzle with maple syrup or ketchup depending on your county of origin.
4. Shoofly Pie: Molasses Magic in Pastry Form
My first bite of authentic shoofly pie at Lancaster Central Market ruined me for all other desserts.
This Amish classic features a gooey molasses bottom layer topped with crumbly streusel – no actual flies involved, despite the name!
Legend claims it got its name because the sweet molasses attracted flies that needed “shooing.”
Traditional bakers make two versions: dry-bottom (cake-like) and wet-bottom (with a gooey layer). True connoisseurs know wet-bottom reigns supreme.
5. Lebanon Bologna: Not Your Average Lunch Meat
Smoky, tangy, and deliciously funky, this fermented beef sausage bears zero resemblance to its Italian namesake.
Pennsylvania German butchers developed this distinctive cold cut, which gets its character from a slow smoking process over hardwood.
Kids across Pennsylvania find this dark burgundy meat in their lunchboxes. Sweet Lebanon bologna offers a milder gateway version with added sugar.
Locals know the perfect serving method: thick-sliced on white bread with yellow mustard and a side of potato chips.
6. Pittsburgh Salad: Where French Fries Become Vegetables
Only Pittsburghers would look at a perfectly innocent salad and think, “You know what this needs? French fries on top!” This Steel City creation starts with standard greens and veggies, then takes a delicious detour.
Hot, crispy fries crown the greens, along with grilled chicken, steak, or fish. The warm potatoes slightly wilt the lettuce while melting the shredded cheese.
Primanti Bros. popularized the concept of putting fries on everything, but Pittsburgh salads appear on menus throughout western Pennsylvania.
7. Tomato Pie: Pizza’s Saucier, Cheese-Free Cousin
Philadelphia bakeries transform simple ingredients into rectangular sheets of heaven. Thick, focaccia-like dough gets slathered with seasoned tomato sauce so good you’ll forget cheese exists.
Served room temperature and cut into squares, tomato pie was historically working-class food from Italian neighborhoods.
Corropolese Bakery makes a version that’s spawned marriage proposals. A sprinkle of grated Romano might appear, but never mozzarella – that would make it pizza, and that’s a different beast entirely.
8. Tastykake: Packaged Perfection Since 1914
Philadelphians away from home have been known to receive emergency care packages containing nothing but these beloved snack cakes.
Butterscotch Krimpets – spongy yellow cakes with butterscotch frosting – remain the flagship product after more than a century.
The Tastykake factory once perfumed entire neighborhoods with sweet vanilla scents.
Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes feature a chocolate-dipped disk with a peanut butter layer atop yellow cake. Pennsylvania children learn to peel off the chocolate top before devouring the rest.
9. City Chicken: The Meatball-on-a-Stick Deception
Despite the name, not a single feather is involved in this Depression-era Pittsburgh specialty. Cubes of pork and veal (sometimes just pork) are skewered, breaded, and baked or fried to resemble chicken drumsticks.
Frugal Pittsburgh grandmothers created this dish when chicken was pricier than pork. The meat gets threaded onto wooden skewers, dredged in seasoned flour, and slow-cooked until tender.
Served with mashed potatoes and gravy, it remains a comfort food staple in western Pennsylvania homes.
10. Soft Pretzels (Philly-style): Twisted Perfection
Philadelphia soft pretzels bear little resemblance to those sad, doughy mall versions.
Distinctively shaped in a figure-eight rather than the traditional pretzel twist, these chewy treasures sport a mahogany exterior from their lye bath.
Street vendors once sold them from heated metal carts throughout the city. The proper way to eat one? Slathered with spicy brown mustard, never yellow.
Philadelphia schoolchildren regularly received these as classroom snacks, creating lifelong pretzel aficionados who judge all others against the Philly standard.
11. Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Pot Pie: Not Actually Pie
Forget everything you know about pot pie – the Pennsylvania Dutch version contains no crust whatsoever.
Instead, square egg noodles (pot pie squares) swim in rich chicken broth alongside chunks of meat and vegetables.
Farm families have simmered this hearty one-pot meal for generations. The hand-rolled dough gets cut into squares and dropped directly into the bubbling pot.
More stew than pie, this comfort classic appears at church suppers and family gatherings throughout Amish and Mennonite communities.
12. Pierogies: Pittsburgh’s Adopted Treasure
Half-moon pockets of potato-filled bliss, pierogies arrived with Polish immigrants but achieved cult status in Pittsburgh. The Pirates baseball team features pierogi mascots racing around the field between innings!
Traditional fillings include potato and cheese, sauerkraut, or prune, but creative variations abound. Properly prepared pierogies get boiled, then fried with onions in butter until golden.
Church ladies throughout western Pennsylvania gather for pierogi-making sessions, producing thousands for fundraisers that sell out in hours.
13. Italian Hoagie: The Sandwich Philly Locals Actually Eat
While tourists line up for cheesesteaks, locals slip into corner delis for these magnificent sandwiches. Layers of thinly-sliced Genoa salami, capicola, mortadella, and provolone nestle inside seeded Italian rolls.
The magic happens with the “hoagie spread” – a tangy oil mixture with herbs and spices. Shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and hot peppers complete the masterpiece.
Each Philadelphia neighborhood claims its local deli makes the definitive version, sparking debates as fierce as Eagles versus Steelers rivalries.
14. Apple Butter: Autumn in a Jar
Pennsylvania Dutch farmwives transformed fall apple harvests into this intensely concentrated spread.
Unlike regular butter, this contains no dairy – just apples cooked down for hours until they transform into a dark, spiced spread.
Traditional preparation involves copper kettles over open fires, with continuous stirring using wooden paddles.
The result: a mahogany-colored preserve with notes of cinnamon, clove, and allspice. Spread on warm bread or spooned over ice cream, apple butter captures Pennsylvania autumn in each bite.
15. Whoopie Pies: Pennsylvania’s UFO-Shaped Delight
Legend claims Amish children shouted “Whoopie!” upon discovering these treats in their lunch pails.
Two chocolate cake discs sandwich a fluffy white filling, creating a hand-held dessert that’s part cookie, part cake, and entirely addictive.
Originally made from leftover cake batter, whoopie pies have evolved beyond the traditional chocolate with vanilla filling.
Pumpkin, red velvet, and other variations appear seasonally at Pennsylvania bakeries. Size matters – authentic versions should be hamburger-sized, requiring two hands and multiple bites.
16. Haluski: Cabbage and Noodles, Elevated
Coal miners’ wives created this humble yet satisfying dish that’s now a staple at Pittsburgh church festivals.
Wide egg noodles tossed with butter-caramelized cabbage and onions sounds simple but tastes like home.
The secret lies in patience – allowing the cabbage to slowly caramelize until sweet. Some families add kielbasa or bacon for a heartier version.
During Lent, meatless haluski appears on Friday dinner tables throughout western Pennsylvania, where Eastern European culinary traditions remain strong generations after immigration.
17. Sticky Buns: Philadelphia’s Breakfast Indulgence
Long before cinnamon rolls conquered mall food courts, Philadelphia bakeries perfected these spiral-shaped morning treats.
Enriched yeasted dough gets rolled with cinnamon and brown sugar, then baked over a layer of pecans and caramel.
The result? A gooey, sticky masterpiece that requires a napkin arsenal. Reading Terminal Market’s Beiler’s Bakery creates the gold standard version.
German settlers brought the concept to Pennsylvania in the 1700s, calling them “Schnecken” (snails) for their spiral shape.