Have you heard the claim that breadsticks and cheese sauce are a uniquely Indiana duo?  Let's take a look into why that is.

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Viral Video Claims Breadsticks and Cheese Are Uniquely Hoosier

I came across a video on Tik Tok by a creator named Mels Cooking Adventure, and she has a series where she is creating a signature three-course meal from every state.  Of course the first video of this series I came across was her three-course meal inspired by Indiana staples.

@melscookingadventureSTATE MEAL SERIES: INDIANA - breadsticks w/ cheese sauce - pork tenderloin sandwich - sugar cream pie♬ Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes

Her meal consisted of the first course which she chose breadsticks and cheese sauce, the main course which was a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich (which was recently named Indiana's favorite comfort food), and she finished up the meal with a sugar cream pie, which is also called a Hoosier pie.

Is this the holy trinity of Hoosier dishes?

What stood out to me most about this video, was I didn't realize breadsticks and cheese sauce was a uniquely Hoosier thing.  In fact, it turns out I'm not the only one.  The top comments on the video are from people who also didn't know this was a uniquely Indiana thing.

 

Hank Lew

The biggest plot twist of my adult life was finding out cheese sauce with breadsticks was an Indiana thing

Rayne DeVivo

People … don’t …. Eat nacho cheese with their breadsticks everywhere?!

Kristen

I was today years old when I learned cheese dip with breadsticks is an Indiana thing. The rest of ya'll are missing out.

Unsolicited Advice

I grew up in IN & I miss the breadsticks and nacho cheese from Pizza King

So let's dive into this internet conundrum.

Breadsticks and Cheese Sauce: A Tasty Duo

I did some digging to try to find out if this was true.  Now, I want to preface this by saying, I am a born and raised Hoosier, and getting an order of cheese sauce with your breadsticks is like ordering ketchup with your french fries, or meatballs with your spaghetti, I just thought it was a dynamic duo and everyone knew about it.

Well, I went to the internet, and while I can't find an official source anywhere saying where this tasty combo originated I have found several message boards from people all across the country, and it seems that many from out of state are unaware of this delicious Hoosier delicacy.

On a Yelp post, one man who lives in Washington state, but grew up in Indiana said:

Growing up, no matter where we ordered breadsticks from, it came with a small dish of nacho cheese to dip your breadsticks in (it's also great for pizza crust). No one was ordering marinara or garlic sauce. CHEESE SAUCE, MAN!

But once you step outside the borders of Indiana, people cannot fathom dipping breadsticks into nacho cheese. It's just... beyond belief!

On a Reddit thread on R/Indiana, this topic was brought up and a few responses agreed that when they left Indiana, it was hard to find breadsticks served with cheese sauce.

jennyandthejets:

We’ve been out of the state for a month and my husband has had a lot to say about the lack of cheese served with breadsticks elsewhere. Lol

 

TrippingBear

As a native east coaster, this was the second weirdest culinary culture shock I experienced in the Midwest. Nothing's gonna top peanut butter and chilli though...

 

HaggisMcD

The first time I tried to order this in New Hampshire, they gave me Alfredo sauce.

 

CaptainAwesome06

It's the weirdest thing I've seen since moving to Indiana last year. Caramel sauce with sweet potato fries is a close second.

Even weirder that everybody here just assumes it's normal. Why would an Italian restaurant even have nacho cheese???

And if this doesn't convince you that breadsticks with cheese sauce are uniquely Hoosier, how about this post from Pizza King that says "Only people from Indiana will understand this, cheese dip is an Indiana thing."

So are breadsticks and cheese dip an exclusively Indiana thing?  Well I'm sure you can get it elsewhere, but it seems to be mostly known in the Hoosier state. and hey, there are worse things we could claim, and as a Hoosier, this is one food I'll gladly claim!