The Appalachian comfort plate of slow-simmered pinto beans with country ham and a skillet of buttermilk cornbread, the most-resilient East Tennessee.
Pinto beans and cornbread is the foundational Appalachian working-class meal: protein, starch, salt and pork fat from the smokehouse, all in one pot, with the cornbread cracklin'd in a hot cast-iron skillet greased with bacon drippings. Sunspot on Cumberland Avenue, Litton's in Fountain City and Pete's downtown all run pinto-bean plates on the regular menu, the East Tennessee canon of the dish kept close to the country original.
3 editor picks for Pinto Beans and Cornbread in Knoxville, ranked by editorial score. All Knoxville signature dishes · Pinto Beans and Cornbread across every city.
Litton's Market and Restaurant ★ 4.6
fountain-city · 2803 Essary Drive, Knoxville, TN 37918
Litton's Market and Restaurant on Essary Drive in Fountain City since 1946, the family-run burger and bakery counter, sells the famous burger.
Pete's Restaurant and Coffee Shop ★ 4.6
downtown · 540 Union Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902
Pete's Restaurant and Coffee Shop on Union Avenue, the downtown Knoxville diner since 1986, runs the breakfast counter that voted Best Breakfast in town.
Sunspot ★ 4.4
the-strip · 2200 Cumberland Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37916
Sunspot on the Cumberland Avenue Strip near the University, the multicultural Southwestern and Caribbean room since the 1990s, anchors the UT dining scene.