Western Americana Recipes

Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe

Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe

Recipe for triple chocolate flourless chocolate cake with fudge frosting baked in a cast-iron skillet, inspired by the famous Yellowstone TV show “cake with steak” dinner scene.

Cornbread Bread Pudding Casseroles

Cornbread Bread Pudding Casseroles

Cornbread casseroles made with chunks of freshly-baked cornbread cooked in a rich custard sauce in individual cast-iron ramekins, making a decadent yet rustic dessert.

Deviled Egg Potato Salad Recipe

Deviled Egg Potato Salad Recipe

Deviled egg potato salad is a flavor filled, Western Americana dish that merges potato salad with deviled eggs in spicy mustard, mayo and chipotle sauce.

Campfire Grilled Whole Fish

Campfire Grilled Whole Fish

How to grill freshly caught trout or other whole freshwater fish over an open campfire using a camp stove and foil. This recipe is an excerpt from The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook by Jackie Alpers.

Sonoran Caldo de Queso

Sonoran Caldo de Queso

Caldo de Queso is a Sonoran cheese and chunky potato soup with green chiles, onions, and tomatoes in a light broth. Recipe by Taste of Tucson cookbook author Jackie Alpers.

Cast Iron Roasted Mushrooms

Cast Iron Roasted Mushrooms

Recipe for oven roasted mushrooms cooked in a cast iron skillet from The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook by Jackie Alpers.

Masa Versus Cornmeal: What’s the Difference?

Masa Versus Cornmeal: What’s the Difference?

What’s the difference between cornmeal and masa harina? How is masa used to make corn tortillas? Can cornmeal be used in tortillas? Get the answers and recipe for Sonoran corn tortillas from Taste of Tucson cookbook author Jackie Alpers.

Roast Goose

Roast Goose

Recipe for how to defrost and roast a whole goose, and shred the meat for tacos or sandwiches with step-by-step instructions.

Super Lucky Texas Cowboy Caviar

Super Lucky Texas Cowboy Caviar

You may know that eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s day brings good luck in the new year, but did you know that Texas Cowboy caviar was invented in the 1940’s by Helen Corbitt, head chef at the Zodiac Room, at the flagship Neiman Marcus Department Store in Dallas, Texas?  Cowboy Caviar is the perfect mix of simple cowboy taste and upscale living which is why I had to include my version of the recipe in The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook. Everyone knows the Dutton family needs all the luck they can get. 

Parmesan Ranch Macaroni Salad

Parmesan Ranch Macaroni Salad

A creamy parmesan ranch macaroni salad adorned with festive grape tomatoes and parsley. Recipe and food photography by Sonoran cookbook author Jackie Alpers

Homemade Chile Powder

Homemade Chile Powder

How to dehydrate and grind chile peppers, with recipes for chili powder and custom spice blends using fresh homegrown and/or exotic store bought chiles. Preserve expensive and/or hard to find chiles.

Arizona Cheese Crisp

Arizona Cheese Crisp

Tucson’s Sonoran style Mexican Arizona cheese crisp made with flour tortillas, roasted Hatch green chile strips and a creamy green chile Ranch salsa. Thank you Fry’s Foods for sponsoring this recipe.

Chipotle Lime Grilled Corn

Chipotle Lime Grilled Corn

Recipe for a lighter version chipotle lime grilled corn on the cob from the Sonoran Arizona-Mexico borderlands cookbook author Jackie Alpers

Lentil Cowboy Caviar

Lentil Cowboy Caviar

Sonoran Lentil Cowboy Caviar made with is made with lentils, chile peppers and red onion in a spicy citrus vinaigrette. It’s similar to Texas Caviar made with black eyed peas and the lentils do resemble fish eggs.

Salsa Chicken Tacos

Salsa Chicken Tacos

Chicken slow-simmered in salsa, then shredded for serving in as a filling for tacos, tostadas, enchiladas, and is keto when served in lettuce cups. 

Chicken Fried Steak & Sausage Gravy & Mashed Potatoes

Chicken Fried Steak & Sausage Gravy & Mashed Potatoes

How to make the perfect chicken fried steak dinner – includes recipe links to my smoky mashed potatoes, sausage gravy, and garlic butter green beans. Fun fact!: The vintage plate shown in this photograph matches the one from Yellowstone that this meal was served to “Jimmy” on at the 6666 Ranch in Texas.

Watermelon Moonshine

Watermelon Moonshine

Easy recipe for Watermelon Moonshine inspired by the Lainey Wilson song featured on Yellowstone. Made in a mason jar and served with lime to cut the burn. 

Pot Roast Braised in Irish Stout Beer

Pot Roast Braised in Irish Stout Beer

Pot roast with carrots and potatoes braised in Irish Stout beer is similar to recipes brought to the American West by Irish settlers. Inspired by the Yellowstone 1923 TV series. Use as the base for Cara Dutton’s Irish Pasties recipe.

Spicy Sonoran Salsa Verde

Spicy Sonoran Salsa Verde

Recipe for Sonoran Style hot green tomatillo salsa developed by Patricia Schwabe for her restaurant Penca. From the Taste of Tucson Cookbook by Jackie Alpers.

Spicy Bourbon Whiskey Cocktail

Spicy Bourbon Whiskey Cocktail

Bring the heat to your usual bourbon neat with “The Fire and the Fury Cocktail” a dramatic, hot and spicy whisky cowboy cocktail inspired by Yellowstone and served in the same glassware used in the Dutton family home. Get the recipe for this spicy bourbon whisky cocktail infused with lime and chiles served over ice.

Mexican Chicken Salad Tacos

Mexican Chicken Salad Tacos

Mexican chicken salad tacos recipe served in lettuce wraps made with rotisserie chicken. Featured in the Glamour.com article, A Week of Delicious Chicken Recipes.

Sonoran-Style Charro Beans

Sonoran-Style Charro Beans

Vegan recipe for the saucy, whole Sonoran-style pinto beans that you see cowboys (charros) eating in old Western movies, from the Taste of Tucson cookbook by Jackie Alpers.

Sonoran Shrimp Topopo Salad

Sonoran Shrimp Topopo Salad

The topopo, Tucson’s most iconic salad is visually stunning. It’s made to look like volcano in Sonora with lettuce piled on a bean tostada and surrounded with grilled shrimp, Tajin dipped vegetables and cheese. It’s crowned with a green olive and a slice of tomato.

Sonoran-Style Red Pozole

Sonoran-Style Red Pozole

Pozole is a traditional “low-and-slow” braising recipe. It takes about 3½ hours to cook from start to finish because pork shoulder is a fatty cut of meat that takes a while to break down. But the pork fat is what gives this soup its richness. My Sonoran-style version of this dish is topped with lots of fresh vegetables and citrus.

“Train Station” Funeral Potatoes Casserole

“Train Station” Funeral Potatoes Casserole

A healthier recipe for the comforting cheese and hash brown potatoes casserole that’s covered in baked sour cream and cheddar potato chips, with a cowboy inspired spin from Yellowstone’s “train station.”

Bison Nachos

Bison Nachos

Bison are a seminal component of Western American history. The massive bison hunts of the 19th century resulted in their near extinction. With conservation efforts in place, the Yellowstone bison are considered the last truly wild herd of American plains bison in existence. Regenerative bison farms have reintroduced this healthy beef alternative into American food systems.

Easy Chile Colorado con Carne

Easy Chile Colorado con Carne

Cubed beef simmered in red chile sauce for enchiladas, tacos, tostadas, salads or burritos. From the Taste of Tucson Cookbook by Jackie Alpers.

Sonoran-Style Corn Chowder with Popped Amaranth

Sonoran-Style Corn Chowder with Popped Amaranth

Recipe for a rich and creamy, Sonoran-style charred corn chowder made with ingredients local to the Arizona-Mexico borderlands and topped with popped Amaranth a gluten-free, ancient grain native to the Western and Southwestern United States that can be popped like popcorn which adds a nice crunch.

Wild Morel Mushrooms, Onion and Acorn Soup

Wild Morel Mushrooms, Onion and Acorn Soup

Wild morel mushroom and onion soup with toasted bread and melted cheese inspired by ingredients local to Northern Montana where the TV series Yellowstone is set. From The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook by Jackie Alpers.

The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook Resource & Gift Guide

The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook Resource & Gift Guide

Shop for products from the Yellowstone TV series as seen in The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook by Jackie Alpers. This comprehensive list includes ingredients featured in the cookbook, cookware and plates and glassware used as props on Yellowstone, 1883 and 1923, and cooking resources.

Texas-Style Chili con Carne

Texas-Style Chili con Carne

Chile Colorado con Carne recipe from The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook. In the season 4 finale of Yellowstone, the bunkhouse gets into a heated debate over whether or not chili has beans. The Unofficial Yellowstone cookbook shares a recipe for both chili with and without beans because Texas where the character “Jimmy” had recently visited, is famous for their Chile Colorado which is made without beans – it’s mainly beef and red chiles, and it is fabulous. Get the chili with beans recipe… and more in The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook.

Berry Tinted Irish Soda Bread

Berry Tinted Irish Soda Bread

Recipe for Irish soda bread with blueberries and currants inspired by 1923 from The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook author Jackie Alpers. 

Mixed Nut Brittle

Mixed Nut Brittle

Inspired by ingredients local to the Northwestern U.S. this crunchy, spicy, sweet mixed nut brittle is perfect for holiday gifting. Walnuts, hickory nuts, and hazelnuts are grown in Montana where the television series Yellowstone is set

Sheet Pan Garlic-Butter Green Beans

Sheet Pan Garlic-Butter Green Beans

After a hard day’s work at the 6666 Ranch in Texas, Jimmy devoured a plate of Country Fried Steak smothered with gravy and a side of green beans. I’m sharing my recipe for Sheet Pan Roasted Green Beans to whet your appetite… you’ll have to wait for The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook for the main course.

Dry-Fried Asparagus

Dry-Fried Asparagus

Dry-fried asparagus is charred and crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside. It has direct contact to the pan without oil or butter. Asparagus grows wild in Montana where the Yellowstone TV series is filmed.

Cara Dutton’s Butte Pasties

Cara Dutton’s Butte Pasties

Traditionally made with leftover Sunday pot roast, Butte pasties are a beloved Montana via Ireland tradition to this day. 

Tri-Colored Smashed Potatoes

Tri-Colored Smashed Potatoes

These tri-colored smashed potatoes utilize heirloom varieties of produce, which help restore diversity to local agriculture. This recipe is an outtake, cut for space from The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook by Jackie Alpers

Montana Whiskey Mule

Montana Whiskey Mule

The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook’s Montana Mule cocktail is made with whisky and sarsaparilla and served in a copper mug.

The Red Domino Cocktail

The Red Domino Cocktail

A cocktail recipe from The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook author Jackie Alpers for Gin & juice – Yellowstone Style! With ingredients local to the Dutton family ranch. Drinks from the Yellowstone Bunkhouse: The Red Domino Cocktail.

Sonoran “Beanie Weenie” Hot Dog Tacos

Sonoran “Beanie Weenie” Hot Dog Tacos

Is it a hot dog? Is it a taco? Is it Beans & Franks? Yes, it is! My hot dog tacos are made with charro beans and topped with pickled red onion and a special sauce. This recipe is an excerpt from Taste of Tucson: Sonoran Style Recipes Inspired by the Rich Culture of Southern Arizona by Jackie

Campfire Corn on the Cob

Campfire Corn on the Cob

How to perfectly grill corn in the husk for campfires or cookouts using a grill or fire pit. The secret is soaking the ears first.

Sonoran Hot Dogs Recipe from El Guero Canelo Restaurant

Sonoran Hot Dogs Recipe from El Guero Canelo Restaurant

Authentic Sonoran Hot Dogs recipe from El Guero Canelo Restaurant, winner of the James Beard American Classic award for their Sonoran Hot dogs. This recipe was featured in Taste of Tucson: Sonoran-Style recipes inspired by the rich culture of Southern Arizona.

Carne Asada CRUNCH Quesadillas

Carne Asada CRUNCH Quesadillas

Sonoran carne asada, scallions, cheese and crunchy tortilla chips stuffed in quesadillas and grilled. Many years ago, Ben Galaz owner of BK Tacos taught me how to make Sonoran-style carne and cebollas asada. I’m using his recipe though he cooks the meat on a Santa Rita style grill with a wheel to adjust the height of the grate, and I use a Weber Kettle. If mesquite wood is not available, hickory, pecan or cherry are good substitutes.

Spicy, Smoky, Southwestern Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

Spicy, Smoky, Southwestern Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

Because I’ve been known to eat a Thanksgiving meal that consists almost entirely of mashed potatoes and gravy, I replace the cream and some of the butter in the recipe with an aromatic garlic and chile infused broth that I cook the potatoes in, resulting in lighter mashed potatoes that are BIG on flavor.

Order Jackie's Cookbooks

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The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook Cover
cover of The Unofficial Elf Cookbook by Jackie Alpers. Treat every day like Christmas with recipes inspired by the classic film "Elf".
The Unofficial Elf Cookbook by Jackie Alpers
Food photography by Alpers of loaded hot dogs is an American Photography 41 winner.
Jackie Alpers 2025 World Food Photography Awards for Food Influencer and Food in the Field
Tucson City of Gastronomy designation for Taste of Tucson cookbook