If there’s one thing the Amish know better than anyone, it’s how to turn basic pantry staples into mouthwatering, comforting meals. With no need for overpriced ingredients or high-end appliances, Amish cooking is rooted in tradition, simplicity, and a deep appreciation for every scrap of food in the kitchen. These recipes aren’t just delicious – they’re practical, affordable, and deeply satisfying.
Whether you’re feeding a big family, meal-prepping on a tight budget, or just craving the warmth of homemade food, these 24 Amish recipes are here to prove you don’t need fancy to eat well. These classic Amish meals are as frugal as they are flavorful. Let’s dig in.
1. Amish Baked Oatmeal
Forget mushy stovetop oats – this baked version is a whole new experience. Amish baked oatmeal is more like a breakfast casserole than a bowl of porridge. Made with rolled oats, eggs, milk, brown sugar, and butter, it comes out of the oven with a crisp top and soft, cake-like interior. You can add fruit like apples, bananas, or berries, or throw in chocolate chips or nuts to customize it.
It’s filling enough to keep you satisfied all morning and perfect for batch cooking – you’ll get several servings out of one bake. And the best part? The ingredients are cheap and almost always on hand.
2. Amish White Bread
Soft, fluffy, and just a little sweet, Amish white bread is the kind of loaf that never makes it to the freezer because it gets eaten too fast. The recipe is incredibly simple: flour, yeast, sugar, salt, milk, and butter. No preservatives, no additives – just a pillowy, golden loaf that’s perfect for sandwiches, toast, or slathered with apple butter.
Two loaves from one batch? That’s budget-friendly baking at its finest.
3. Fried Cornmeal Mush
This one might sound humble, but fried cornmeal mush is a crispy, golden slice of genius. It starts out as a simple cornmeal porridge, cooked until thick, then cooled in a pan, sliced into slabs, and fried in butter or oil. The result? A crunchy outside with a soft, creamy center – perfect for breakfast, lunch, or a side dish.
Top it with maple syrup for sweet, or enjoy it savory with a little salt and butter. Either way, it’s incredibly cheap to make and surprisingly addictive.
4. Chicken Corn Soup
Move over, chicken noodle. This Pennsylvania Dutch favorite is the real deal when it comes to comfort in a bowl. Chicken corn soup features shredded chicken, egg noodles, corn, and a light broth that’s often enhanced with hard-boiled eggs for extra richness. Some families add saffron, giving the broth a warm golden hue and slightly floral taste.
Not only is it hearty and flavorful, it’s also budget-conscious. Stretch one chicken across multiple meals, and you’ve got a soup that keeps on giving.
5. Amish Funnel Cakes
Yes, funnel cakes – the kind you dream of at county fairs – but these are homemade and better. Amish funnel cakes are light, crispy, and fried to golden perfection using basic ingredients like flour, eggs, milk, and sugar.
No deep fryer needed – just a pan and some hot oil. Once fried, they’re dusted in powdered sugar or drizzled with syrup or jam. For a dessert that feels indulgent but only costs pennies per serving, this one’s a showstopper.
6. Amish Custard Pie
Smooth, silky, and incredibly easy to make, Amish custard pie is proof that elegance doesn’t have to cost a dime. It’s made with eggs, sugar, milk, vanilla, and a basic pie crust – ingredients that most people already have in their kitchens.
The magic is in the texture: a creamy filling that’s just sweet enough without being overpowering. This was the Amish answer to expensive store-bought sweets, and it’s still just as delightful today.
7. Pickled Red Beets and Eggs
This dish is equal parts beautiful and practical. Hard-boiled eggs and beets are soaked in a vinegar-based brine with sugar and spices, turning the eggs a vibrant magenta. It’s tangy, slightly sweet, and totally unique.
Not only does it stretch a few basic ingredients into a flavorful snack or salad topper, it also stores well, making it perfect for weeks of munching. This was long-term food storage before fridges were even a thing.
8. Amish Peanut Butter Spread
Think peanut butter, but fluffier and sweeter. Amish peanut butter spread blends peanut butter with marshmallow fluff and honey or syrup, creating a silky, spreadable treat that’s a lunchtime legend.
It’s a way to stretch expensive peanut butter while creating something that feels like a treat. Slather it on warm bread, pancakes, or just enjoy a spoonful straight from the jar. You won’t regret it.
9. Amish Apple Dumplings
Take everything you love about apple pie, then wrap it into an individual-sized bundle of joy. These dumplings are made by wrapping whole, peeled apples in pastry, then baking them in a cinnamon-spiced syrup until golden and tender.
They’re rich, fragrant, and downright decadent – but the ingredients are surprisingly simple: apples, flour, butter, sugar, and cinnamon. A show-stopping dessert that’s easy on the wallet and sure to impress.
10. Amish Soft Pretzels
Once you try one, you’ll never go back to the mall version. Amish soft pretzels are huge, buttery, and wonderfully chewy. Made with flour, yeast, salt, and water, the dough is rolled, twisted, and dipped in a baking soda bath before baking to achieve that signature pretzel crust.
Eat them plain, with mustard, or brushed with cinnamon sugar and butter. It’s an inexpensive snack that feels indulgent and fills up a crowd.
11. Amish Strawberry Jam
Forget corn syrup-laden store-bought jellies – this jam is thick, fruity, and bursting with real strawberry flavor. Made with just strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice, it’s slow-cooked until it thickens into a deep red spread that tastes like summer.
Whether you spoon it onto toast, swirl it into oatmeal, or layer it in baked goods, it adds a burst of sweet sunshine without breaking the bank.
12. Amish Poor Man’s Steak
Here’s how to turn ground beef into something that tastes like a five-star meal. Poor man’s steak is made by forming seasoned ground beef into thick patties, chilling them, then dredging in flour and pan-frying until golden. Finally, they’re smothered in rich gravy and slow-simmered until fork-tender.
It’s the ultimate budget comfort food – no need for fancy cuts of beef when you can make this instead.
13. Amish Bean Soup
Sometimes, the most humble dishes are the most comforting. Amish bean soup combines dried beans, carrots, onions, garlic, and a ham bone or broth to create a simple but hearty meal. The slow simmering draws out all the flavor, and the result is a rich, thick soup that warms you from the inside out.
This one’s a crowd-pleaser, stretches for days, and costs just a few dollars to make. Add a slice of Amish white bread on the side, and you’ve got dinner done right.
14. Amish Corn Pie
If there’s a dish that captures the spirit of Amish home cooking in a single bite, it might be Corn Pie. This hearty, comforting dish turns humble ingredients like fresh or canned corn, diced potatoes, and hard-boiled eggs into something unforgettable. The filling is a creamy mix, often bound together with a simple white sauce or a splash of cream, and it’s baked inside a flaky double crust that turns golden and crisp.
The beauty of this pie is in its simplicity. There’s no meat, but it’s so filling and savory that you won’t miss it. The potatoes provide body, the corn adds sweetness, and the eggs bring extra protein and richness. It’s often seasoned only with salt, pepper, and a little onion, but you could easily adapt it with herbs or leftover veggies.
15. Shoofly Pie
Shoofly Pie might just be the most iconic dessert to ever come out of an Amish kitchen. With its deep roots in the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition, this pie dates back to the 1800s and was designed to last on the counter without refrigeration – something vital before modern conveniences. At its core, Shoofly Pie is all about molasses. The filling is a gooey, spiced, almost caramel-like mixture with molasses at the forefront, often enriched with brown sugar and a hint of cinnamon or nutmeg.
The crust is a standard flaky pie shell, but what sets Shoofly apart is the crumb topping. Made from flour, butter, and sugar, the streusel adds a rustic, sweet crunch to balance out the rich filling. There are two variations: “wet bottom” and “dry bottom.” Wet bottom versions leave a layer of sticky molasses at the base, while dry bottom pies are fully set throughout. Both are delicious, and choosing one comes down to personal preference.
Legend has it that the pie earned its quirky name because the molasses aroma was so sweet, it attracted flies – leading folks to constantly “shoo” them away
16. Dandelion Salad
It may sound unconventional, but dandelion salad is one of the smartest budget dishes the Amish have ever embraced. Free, wild, and packed with nutrients, dandelion greens are tossed with bacon, hard-boiled eggs, and a warm vinegar-based dressing. The bitterness of the greens is perfectly balanced by the salty and tangy flavors, making this a refreshing, protein-rich salad that costs practically nothing.
17. Amish Pickled Cabbage
This one might not win you over on name alone, but one bite and you’ll be hooked. Pickled cabbage is the Amish take on coleslaw, except it skips the mayo in favor of a vinegary, slightly sweet brine that wakes up your taste buds.
It’s made by slicing cabbage thin and soaking it in a mix of vinegar, sugar, salt, and mustard seeds. The result? A crunchy, bright, and shelf-stable side dish that pairs beautifully with heavy meals like stews or roasts.
Pickling was essential for Amish households before refrigeration. This dish is a delicious example of how food preservation turned into culinary tradition.
18. Amish Macaroni Salad
Amish Macaroni Salad takes the familiar creamy pasta salad and gives it a tangy, slightly sweet twist that makes it uniquely satisfying. This dish is a staple at picnics, potlucks, and Sunday dinners – and for good reason. It starts with elbow macaroni cooked until just tender, then tossed with chopped hard-boiled eggs, crisp diced vegetables like celery, onions, and sometimes bell peppers.
What really sets this macaroni salad apart is the dressing. Instead of a heavy, all-mayo base, the Amish version blends mayonnaise with vinegar, sugar, and a touch of mustard to create a creamy but bright sauce. That touch of sweetness combined with the zip of vinegar gives the salad its signature balance that keeps you coming back for more.
19. Amish Apple Butter
Despite the name, there’s no actual butter here. Amish apple butter is a thick, deeply spiced apple spread that puts applesauce to shame. Apples are cooked down low and slow with brown sugar, cinnamon, and cloves until they caramelize into a rich, dark paste.
It’s spreadable magic and one of the best ways to preserve a bumper crop of apples. Apple butter was often made in huge batches during harvest season and stored in jars to be eaten all year long.
Put it on toast, swirl it into oatmeal, or use it as a glaze for meats – it’s endlessly versatile and unforgettable.
20. Amish Friendship Bread
Amish Friendship Bread is more than just a loaf – it’s a baking tradition built around community and sharing. The name comes from the starter dough, which is made from flour, sugar, and milk and passed along between friends and neighbors like a culinary chain letter. After feeding the starter for about ten days, it’s divided: part is used to bake the bread, and the rest is gifted to others to continue the tradition.
The bread itself is soft, sweet, and full of warm spice – somewhere between banana bread and coffee cake. The base recipe includes cinnamon, vanilla, and sugar, with optional add-ins like chocolate chips, raisins, or chopped nuts. A cinnamon-sugar topping creates a caramelized crust that’s downright addictive.
21. Amish Custard Cottage Cheese Pie
Amish Custard Cottage Cheese Pie is one of those humble desserts that surprises you with just how good it is. At first glance, it might sound a little unusual – cottage cheese in a pie? But one bite will win you over. The cottage cheese gives the custard a delicate, slightly grainy texture that blends beautifully with the silky smoothness of eggs, milk, and a touch of vanilla.
This pie is lightly sweet and incredibly comforting. The filling bakes into a golden, firm custard that’s nestled inside a simple homemade or store-bought pie crust. Some versions include a dusting of nutmeg or cinnamon on top for added warmth, while others keep it plain and let the dairy flavors shine.
22. Amish Ham and Green Bean Soup
This soup is rustic comfort in a bowl. It features tender chunks of ham, green beans, onions, and potatoes simmered in a flavorful broth. It’s the kind of recipe that makes the most of leftovers – especially that ham bone from Sunday dinner.
The flavors deepen the longer it cooks, and it reheats beautifully, making it a meal prep dream. Pair it with a slice of warm bread and you’ve got yourself a full meal that’s rich in protein, fiber, and old-fashioned charm.
23. Amish Apple Schnitz Pie
Amish Apple Schnitz Pie is one of those old-fashioned, deeply flavorful desserts that doesn’t need any bells and whistles. “Schnitz” refers to dried apple slices, which the Amish would often dehydrate in bulk after harvest season to preserve fruit for the winter. These dried apples are rehydrated and simmered with sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg until soft and sticky, then layered into a classic pie crust.
What makes this pie unique is the concentrated apple flavor that comes from the drying process. The fruit becomes denser, more flavorful, and slightly chewy, creating a texture you just don’t get from fresh apples. The filling is thick, almost like apple butter, and the spices are warm and comforting.
24. Amish Casserole
Last but never least, Amish casserole is a one-dish wonder. It starts with ground beef or sausage and combines with egg noodles in a creamy sauce made from condensed soup or milk. It’s topped with breadcrumbs or crushed crackers for a crispy finish.
This casserole is endlessly adaptable – use what you’ve got in the fridge. Cheese, veggies, or leftover chicken all work. It’s the ultimate fridge-clean-out meal that still tastes like a million bucks.
Warm, rich, filling, and shockingly cheap to make – it’s the perfect way to end this list on a high (and hearty) note.
Timeless Cooking for Modern Budgets
What makes Amish meals so special isn’t just their flavor – it’s the resourcefulness behind them. These dishes aren’t born from luxury ingredients or gourmet technique. They’re the product of necessity, family tradition, and respect for every ingredient.
Whether you’re trying to feed a large family, save money at the grocery store, or just crave a warm and hearty dish that feels like home, these 25 Amish recipes deliver. They prove that with a little care and a lot of heart, simple food can be truly extraordinary.
Now that you’ve got the full list, try a few this week. Make a soft pretzel. Bake a custard pie. Whip up that casserole on a rainy night. And remember – just like the Amish, you don’t need a lot to eat well. You just need to know what really matters.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.