Map of America’s Top Last Meal Requests by State

John Wayne Gacy asked for fried shrimp, a bucket of original recipe KFC, fries, and a pound of strawberries. Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh requested two pints of mint chocolate chip ice cream. And Ted Bundy declined the offer of a special meal, so was given the standard: a medium-rare steak, served with over-easy eggs, hash browns, toast, butter, jelly, milk, and orange juice.

But what would your last meal be? It’s an interesting (albeit somewhat morbid) question—and now, a new study by insurance experts Choice Mutual has sought to uncover Americans’ most popular last meal choices. 

1. What Americans Want to Eat for Their Last Meal
2. What Americans Want to Drink With Their Last Meal
3. Most Popular Last Meals by State
4. Most Popular Final Drinks by State
5. Last Meals by Type
6. Who’s Cooking?

What Americans Want to Eat for Their Last Meal

Top of the list of last meal dishes was a steak, with other luxury entrees such as lobster (seventh place), crab (18th) and salmon (25th) finding themselves on the list too. In second place was potatoes, with vegetables coming in fifth, followed by the likes of bread (sixth), fries (eighth), salad (13th), and rice (17th). Pasta and noodle dishes came in third, and pizza in fourth.

Comfort food and takeout choices also proved popular, with the likes of mac and cheese (ninth), a burger (10th), fried chicken (11th), sushi (14th), and tacos (21st) also making the list. The most popular dessert choice, meanwhile, was ice cream, which ended up in 12th place overall, followed by cake in 16th and fruit in 24th place. You can see the full list in order below.

The Top 25 Final Meal Foods:

1. Steak
2. Potatoes
3. Pasta/Noodles
4. Pizza
5. Vegetables
6. Bread
7. Lobster
8. Fries
9. Mac and cheese
10. Burger
11. Fried chicken
12. Ice cream
13. Salad
14. Sushi
15. Chicken
16. Cake
17. Rice
18. Crab
19. Shrimp
20. Soup/Stew
21. Tacos
22. Cheesecake
23. BBQ
24. Fruit
25. Salmon

What Americans Want to Drink With Their Last Meal

To go with the meal, the survey’s authors also asked people to nominate a favorite last drink. Soda came out on top on this list, followed by a glass of wine in second, and nothing more than a glass of water in third. Tea (fourth) and coffee (seventh) also made the top 10 drinks list, alongside a handful of more indulgent choices—including beer (fifth), cocktails (eighth), and other hard liquor (ninth). 

The Top 10 Beverages Americans Want Accompanying the Meal:

1. Soda
2. Wine
3. Water
4. Tea
5. Beer
6. Juice
7. Coffee
8. Cocktail
9. Hard Liquor
10. Milk/Dairy

The Most Popular Drink Brands:

1. Coca-Cola
2. Dr. Pepper
3. Diet Coke
4. Pepsi
5. Sprite

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Most Popular Last Meals by State

Breaking the data down state by state showed that steak came out on top in 25 different locations, including Texas, Florida, and California, and tied in two other states. Pasta was top of the list in eight states (and tied for first in two others), this time beating potatoes into third place with four states.

Most Popular Final Drinks by State

As for drinks, soda topped the charts in every single state in the country, and wine proved the second most popular drink overall, coming second to soda in a total of 17 states (and tying with another choice in an additional eight). 

Last Meals by Type

Aside from the specifics, the survey’s authors also asked people to consider what type of food they would choose, with the majority—just shy of 40 percent of all respondents—saying that they would choose their favorite food overall. A further third of people opted for something familiar or comforting, while one in six respondents opted for something fancy or special, and one in eight chose a dish that meant something to them for sentimental reasons.

Interestingly, just 1 percent of people decided to use their last meal on Earth as the choice to try something new and unusual that they had never had before.

Who’s Cooking?

When it came to who people wanted in the kitchen given the choice, meanwhile, almost one third (29.48 percent) of respondents said that they would like to have their last meal cooked by a friend or family member, while just under 16 percent of people would like a celebrity chef. Nearly 11 percent would opt for a chef from their favorite restaurant, and 6.62 percent said they’d cook themselves. A majority of people, however, had no preference of cook whatsoever—just so long as the food tasted good.

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