Elvis' 9 Favorite Southern Comfort Foods

In his 42 years of life, Elvis Presley built a lasting legacy for himself. His musical genius has graced the ears of people for generations, leaving him the lasting King of Rock and Roll. But his influence doesn't stop at chart-topping hits. The singer's appetite and interesting eating habits have garnered attention from fans and foodies alike, too. Presley's inkling toward a number of Southern comfort foods has been an especially important part of his identity.

Born in Mississippi and having moved to Tennessee during his younger years, Presley stayed true to his Southern roots by enjoying several staple dishes from the region. Southern meals were the King's bread and butter, from the famous Elvis sandwich to some good old mashed potatoes. To say he happily chowed down on these familiar foods every now and then would be an understatement, as he developed strong fixations toward many of them. Those who were close to him could even recall particular ways in which the musician enjoyed these meals and made them part of his everyday life. In turn, quite a few Southern delicacies can now be labeled fit for a king.

If it's not the catchy hits, charismatic personality, or hip-swinging movements Elvis is remembered by, it's his obsession with a very particular sandwich that uses an entire loaf of bread. An old menu item previously sold at the now permanently-closed Colorado Mine Company, the Fool's Gold Loaf sandwich consisted of a hollowed-out loaf of sourdough bread that was filled with creamy peanut butter, strawberry jam, and crispy bacon. Presley loved the hefty sandwich so much that he once hopped on his private jet and flew from his home in Tennessee all the way to the Denver-based restaurant. He then returned back home –- all in one night — simply to satisfy his intense craving for the stuff.

Naturally, Presley had his own version of the sandwich so he could enjoy a similar taste day in and day out whenever he'd like. As expressed in the nickname he gave it, a peanut butter and banana sandwich consisted of nearly the same ingredients as the Fool's Gold Loaf: peanut butter and banana pressed between two slices of bread. It's also debated whether or not the King's favorite meal used bacon, though many copycat recipes floating around online have taken the liberty of adding it in. Bacon or not, the whole thing is then fried in a skillet to create a warm and gooey, yet crisp texture.

Few ingredients are as versatile as eggs. From scrambled and sunny side up to boiled and poached, there are endless ways to enjoy the poultry product. In places around the world, the South being one of them, a common way to do so would be in the form of deviled eggs. Egg whites filled and topped off with a variety of ingredients, such as mayonnaise, mustard, and a variety of seasonings, are often brought to events like church gatherings and holiday parties. And as the story goes, it was brought to the feasts of legendary artists like Elvis Presley and the Beatles.

Presley was said to have met with the Beatles only once, which was when they came by late at night to his Los Angeles estate. In a meeting filled with supposedly awkward interactions between the Brits and the Southerner and a joint-jam session, there must have been a halt for a late-night snack. The musical trailblazers munched into quite a few dishes together. Aside from bacon-wrapped chicken livers, crab, and meatballs, deviled eggs were, of course, one of the prepared meals. We can only imagine that if Elvis were around today, he would've absolutely loved the deviled egg flights trend on TikTok.

We've all had our fair share of brief obsessions with foods, whether it's the D.I.Y. version of TikTok's peelable mango gummies or even TikTok's buttery onion boil trend. Elvis Presley's fixation, however, was centered around a dish that's much more timeless. The King of Rock wasn't enthralled by a unique ice cream flavor or a new type of candy. It was the classic pairing of meatloaf and mashed potatoes that Elvis just couldn't seem to get enough of.

According to Priscilla Presley, Elvis' ex-wife, the musician loved the combination so much that he ate it every single day for six months. More specifically, he ate it for dinner. An Instagram video of Angie Marchese, Graceland's Vice President of Archives and Exhibits, and Graceland's Chef Daniel Clark cooking the Sunday Meatloaf revealed that the standout element used in the meatloaf is half a cup of wheat germ. Though Clark refers to it as a "filler" ingredient, he also spoke of how wheat germ is not only a natural source of fibers and protein, but it also provides a sweet, toasty flavor.

From store-bought carrot cakes to freshly baked chocolate cakes, a walk through a bakery or the aisles of a grocery store will typically present you with all the classic cake flavors. You usually won't fall short of fan-favorite options like red velvet or vanilla, either. And if you find yourself in a Southern state, add coconut cake to the list, too. Coconut cakes are popular desserts in the southern region of the United States. People love it for its soft bed of white frosting and generous coating of coconut flakes.

Elvis Presley is part of that group of coconut cake lovers. For the most part, at least. While the icon loved his beloved mother's coconut cake, he preferred it to be made without any icing or glaze. It instead only used grated coconut between the cake's layers. Of course, those who attempt the recipe today can up the sweetness and create a creamier texture by adding in that missing frosting.

In an ideal world, people would get to spend the last few days of their lives doing exactly as they'd like, whether that's surrounded by the people they love or out exploring the world. And sometimes, it also means simply getting to enjoy your favorite things in life again for the last time. Elvis Presley was able to do that before he unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack in 1977, and him being the foodie he was, it was a serving of his favorite banana pudding that he was able to get in just a few days prior to the tragic incident.

Just days before the singer's death, he seemed to have an extremely late night (or rather, early morning) craving. At 3 a.m., he called for Marian Cocke, a friend and nurse he met during a hospital visit, to bring over the banana pudding she made that he loved so much. Even Elvis' daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, took after her father's love for the dessert.

Graceland's Chef Daniel Clark shared in a video tutorial of him and Angie Marchese making Presley-style banana pudding that he likes to prepare extra of when Lisa Marie came into town. The recipe consists of multiple alternating layers of vanilla wafers, banana slices, and the pudding. It's then topped off with a generous portion of an airy and fluffy meringue before being popped into the oven.

Of the many foods that characterize Southern cuisine, biscuits are an essential. Their buttery flavor combined with their soft, yet flaky texture are perfect for an endless amount of recipes. Think of some good old buttermilk biscuits and sausage cream gravy or perhaps even using the biscuit halves as a chicken pot pie crust. As most people know, they make the perfect side dish, too, such as to accompany a piece of fried chicken. Elvis Presley himself enjoyed them in more ways than one.

Presley's cook of 14 years, Mary Jenkins Langston, said he'd eat biscuits fried in butter alongside four scrambled eggs and sausage patties for breakfast. There would also be bacon sometimes. And every now and then, to switch things up, she'd stuff the butter-fried biscuit with the sausages. A fundamental part of the King's breakfast, it's no wonder the Graceland kitchen was stocked with at least six cans of biscuits at all times.

Even those with the privilege of having a personal cook on hand can't resist the pleasure and convenience of a fast food joint. Elvis Presley was no exception. After all, when you're busy living the rock star life he had, it doesn't hurt to get in a quick and satisfying meal that's ready for you in minutes. Presley experienced exactly that when he ate at Krystal, a Southern chain with a majority of its locations in Georgia and Tennessee.

In fact, the Krystal location that Presley frequented is situated on none other than Elvis Presley Boulevard, right near Graceland. Similar to White Castle, the establishment is known for its small, square sliders, which the "Jailhouse Rock" singer surely enjoyed plenty of during his time. His fondness for the restaurant can be drawn all the way back to 1954. Presley was being interviewed by radio show host DJ "Daddy-O" Dewey Phillips, and after the broadcast together, the pair ordered 100 of the sliders. They then handed each of these sandwiches out to the large crowd of fans that had come by to get eyes on the then-mostly-unknown singer.

Krystal wasn't the only eatery Elvis was a patron of. He was also fond of Coletta's Italian Restaurant, a family-friendly establishment in Memphis, Tennessee. Though its menu is filled with Italian-rooted classics like tortellini soup, chicken parmesan, and cannolis, it wasn't any of these options that made a fan of Presley and reeled him back into the restaurant every week. It was a Southern-inspired dish: the original barbecue pizza.

This pie uses barbecue sauce, cheese, and pulled pork as its topping. It became a best-selling item shortly after being released, and more notably, it was King-approved. The latter is an especially important feat considering the pizza wasn't Presley's first pick off the menu; his original choices were simply unavailable upon order. But it worked out in Coletta's favor, as he fell in love with the barbecue pizza. The very room in which Presley and his entourage happily ate the meal is now named "The Elvis Room" in his honor. Its walls are proudly adorned with a variety of memorabilia, such as photos, posters, newspaper articles, and an autographed receipt from the entertainer himself.

Despite his high-profile celebrity status, Elvis Presley's preference for foods remained largely simple and unexotic. Sure, he's said to have sometimes devoured whole cakes on his own and binged multiple sandwiches in one sitting, but he didn't have an insatiable yearning for caviar or tomahawk steaks. His appetite was for options as simple as cornbread.

Cornbread was somewhat of a midnight snack for Presley. He'd make his way into the kitchen in the late hours of the night and help himself to some of the sweet bread, which he supposedly would dunk chunks of in buttermilk. Chef Mary Jenkins Langston's recipe for the cornbread she served Presley calls for the mixture to be cooked until it's toasted to a golden brown color, so we can only imagine the crisp outer layer of the bread softened by the creamy buttermilk did wonders to satisfy Presley's cravings.