Meet the 2024 Iowa State Fair's 84 new foods, from deep-fried bubblegum to hot mess biscuits
The Iowa State Fair returns this Aug. 8-18 with music, butter cows and of course, new foods. This year brings a bumper crop of 84 new dishes that will make their debut at the 2024 Iowa State Fair.
This year looks very savory, with bacon cheeseburger eggrolls, a cheeseburger corn dog, a lobster corn dog, and pulled pork smoked snacks.
Sweets include candied bacon gnocchi, a Barbie-era funnel cake, cookies and cream ice cream nachos, cinnamon crunch apple taco, a funnel cake burger, maple bacon bliss sundae, pink lemonade whoopie pies, and lemonade doughnut drops.
For the lovers of all things deep fried, find deep-fried bubble gum, a deep-fried hot Cheetos pretzel, deep-fried PB&J, and deep-fried pepperoni chips.
This year, hungry fairgoers can nosh on garlic ranch pickle pizza and Iowa street corn specialty pizza.
For the breakfast lover, the brunchy burger, a bloody mary buffet, and a hot mess biscuit (among a variety of other new biscuit dishes) are ready to feed hunger fairgoers.
For the lobster roll fans, this year brings a two-foot Connecticut-style lobster roll or a basic two-foot lobster roll.
Here, a look at the 84 new foods at the Iowa State Fair.
What new foods are at the Iowa State Fair in 2024?
Apple fries
Bacon cheeseburger egg roll
Barbie era funnel cake
Beer belly fries
BLT on a stick
Breakfast sandwich
Brunchy burger
Pork’s bloody mary buffet
Butter beer ice cream
Calamari
Candied bacon gnocchi
Cheeseburger corn dog
Chicken flautas
DG chicken strips
Chicken mac attack bowl
Chicken nest
Cinnamon crunch apple taco
Connecticut-style lobster roll
Cookies and cream ice cream nachos
Corn in a cup
Crème brulée stuffed French toast
Deep-fried bubble gum
Deep-fried hot Cheetos pretzel
Deep-fried PB& J
Deep-fried pepperoni chips
Disco stick
Dough-chos
Fabulous fries
Fiesta egglote
Firecracker shrimp
Flight fry bread
Hot Cheeto float
Funnel cake burger
Garlic ranch pickle pizza
Golden fried veggie samosas
Handheld charcuterie
Hot chick chicken
Hot mess biscuit
Ice cream nachos
Iowa street corn specialty pizza
Iowa sm'oak'ed roll
Italian meatball sub
AE party balls
Lamb snack sticks
Lemonade doughnut drops
Lil' L'Roy bites
Lobster corn dog
Loose L'Roy sandwich
Louisiana mac bowl
Maple bacon bliss sundae
Nachorito
Not Your Daddy's burger
PB&J biscuit
Peanut butter pretzel brownies
Pickle pizza
Piggy in a doughnut
Pink lemonade whoopie pies
Pork belly corn dog
Pork belly corndog bites
Protein bowl
Pulled pork smoked snacks
Puppy chow
Ragin’ raspberry ravioli
Raspberry cheesecake frozen yogurt
Shoot tequila funnel cake
Siracha pickle
Spicy fever beefburger
Standby biscuit
Strawberries and cream waffle on a stick
Sunrise sugar pearl waffle sandwich
The Big Daddy burger
The illusion ice cream
The party biscuit
The regular biscuit
Bacon brisket smash burger
Tipsy peach
Tornado
Two-foot Connecticut-style lobster roll
Two-foot lobster roll
Up in smoke snacks
Up on the dill fries
Walking Frito pie
Walleye fish tacos
What's your wonton
Best New Food Contest winners
Next week, the Iowa State Fair invited in media personalities, Blue Ribbon Foundation members, State Fair queens and more to determine the three dishes that will vie for the best new food at the State Fair. The fair selected 10 dishes that will be sampled and voted on.
Follow the livestream on July 16 at 1 p.m. at facebook.com/iowastatefair.
The deep-fried bacon brisket mac-n-cheese grilled cheese from What’s Your Cheez took the top honors, as voted by fairgoers.
This novelty dish used the Rib Shack’s signature bacon brisket mac and cheese that’s then slathered between layers of American cheese and two slices of What’s Your Cheez bacon cheddar bread. It is then deep-fried and served with a raspberry chipotle barbecue sauce.
Previous Best New Foods at the Iowa State Fair
2013: Shrimp Corn Dog — Zag's Po Boys
2014: Funnel Cake on a Stick — multiple vendors
2015: The Rib Shack — Ultimate Bacon Brisket Bomb
2016: Iowa Turkey Federation — Not Your Mamma’s Taco
2017: Steer ‘N’ Stein — Pork Almighty
2018: Applishus — Apple Eggroll
2019: G Mig’s Wrap Stand — Georgie’s Roast with the Most Wrap
2021: Cluckin’ Coop by the Iowa Egg Council/Iowa Poultry Association — Chicken Egg Salad with Fry Bread
2022: The Rib Shack — The Finisher
2023: What's Your Cheez — Deep-Fried Bacon Brisket Mac-n-Cheese Grilled Cheese
Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. You can reach out to her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: The Iowa State Fair announces 84 new foods to try in 2024