10 Foods You’ll Find at Almost Every Midwest Holiday Gathering

There's something about a holiday gathering in the Midwest.

You can almost guarantee three things: somebody brought a Crock-Pot, there's enough food to feed twice as many people as were invited, and at least one dish is made with a can of cream-of-something soup.

Whether it's Thanksgiving, Christmas, or the family get-together somewhere in between, certain dishes have earned a permanent spot on the holiday table.

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10 Foods That Belong at a Midwest Holiday Gathering

1. Deviled Eggs: There could be 47 different dishes on the table, and somebody is still going to ask who brought the deviled eggs. Bonus points if they're served on that special egg-shaped platter that only comes out for holidays.

2. Sweet Potato Casserole: Is it a side dish? Is it dessert? Does it even matter? Whether your family tops it with toasted marshmallows or a buttery brown sugar and pecan crumble, sweet potato casserole deserves its place at the table.

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3. Green Bean Casserole: Green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and those crispy fried onions on top. A holiday classic that somehow makes eating vegetables feel like an indulgence.

4. Little Smokies in a Crock-Pot: You know the ones. Tiny sausages swimming in some combination of barbecue sauce and grape jelly. They sound questionable until you've eaten approximately 17 of them.

5. The Holiday Cheese Ball: A giant ball of cheese rolled in chopped nuts, surrounded by crackers, and somehow the first thing to disappear from the appetizer table.

6. Cheesy Potato Casserole: Hash browns, cheese, sour cream, and usually some kind of crunchy topping. Call them cheesy potatoes, funeral potatoes, or whatever your family prefers. They're delicious.

7. Peanut Butter Balls (Buckeyes): Peanut butter and chocolate are a holiday dream team. And if someone shows up with a tin of homemade buckeyes, you know they love you.

Erika Croner

8. Homemade Christmas Cookies: Sugar cookies, peanut butter blossoms, snickerdoodles, and those little powdered sugar cookies that leave evidence all over your shirt. There's always a tray, and it's never quite big enough.

9. The Mysterious Fluff Salad: Is it a salad? Technically, that's what we're calling it. Marshmallows, whipped topping, fruit, and possibly Jell-O. Every family has a version, and somebody's aunt has been making it since 1978.

10. A Big Pan of Baked Mac and Cheese: Golden, bubbly, cheesy goodness. Some families insist on a crunchy breadcrumb topping, while others believe the only acceptable topping is more cheese. Either way, there's rarely much left to take home.

The Best Part of a Midwest Holiday Table

The food is delicious, but the traditions surrounding it are what make these gatherings special.

It's the recipes passed down through generations, the dishes everyone expects to see, and the family member who makes that one thing nobody else can quite get right.

And if you leave with a plate of leftovers wrapped in aluminum foil, you know you've been to a proper Midwest holiday gathering.