Fair Warning: New State Fair Foods Feature Bacon, Cheese, Heat and Spice – Sometimes All at Once

Originally published July 9th, 2025 10:12 a.m.

Updated August 21st, 2025 6:23 a.m.

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(KNSI) — Bacon, cheese, heat and spice, and sometimes all of those flavors all at once are what’s on the menu for the 2025 Minnesota State Fair new foods list.

Afro Bean Pops from Afro Deli are savory deep-fried bites made with jalapeños and other seasonings, served with a spicy red chili sauce. This item is also vegan and gluten-free.

Athena’s Whipped Feta at Dino’s Gyros is topped with schug, which is described as a Middle Eastern green sauce made with jalapeños, garlic, cilantro, parsley, and fresh herbs.

Chicken-Fried Bacon Fries can be found at Soul Bowl. These beef bacon strips are double-breaded and fried, and customers have a choice of two dipping sauces, including Cashville Hot, a brown sugar Nashville-style hot sauce.

Deep-Fried Tofuego Bites are breaded tofu bites that are deep-fried and tossed in a tangy, spicy sauce. They are served on a bed of pineapple and napa cabbage slaw and topped with sesame seeds and scallions. This is a vegan option and can be found at Rooted & Wild Snack House.

Dill Pickle Iced Tea at Loon Lake Iced Tea is primarily a beverage, but this brewed black tea is infused with dill pickle flavor and includes a rim of chamoy, Tajín, salt, and dill, which can add a tangy, sometimes spicy, kick due to Tajín. It is also vegan and gluten-free.

Freaky Fryday can be found at The Herbivorous Butcher. It’s a vegan dish and features chicken-fried vegan bacon and vegan fried chicken strips infused with bacon flavor, with optional toppings that include a spicy option.

Hot Honey Jalapeño Popper Donut is a hand-cut yeast-raised donut frosted with homemade jalapeño cream cheese, topped with crumbled bacon and pickled jalapeños, and drizzled with hot honey. It can be found at Fluffy’s Hand Cut Donuts.

Hot Honey Pizza Ballzz from Green Mill are pizza dough balls stuffed with cheese curds, pepperoni, and herbs, then brushed with garlic butter and finished with a drizzle of hot honey.

Pimento Cheese Puffs from Shanghai Henri’s are made from pimento cheese, which is a blend of cheddar cheese, mayo, and pimento peppers. They’re wrapped in puff pastry and deep-fried, served with a side of pepper jelly.

This year, Richie’s Cheese Curd Tacos is giving us the Pizza Cheese Curd Tacos. It’s pepperoni, sausage and pizza-flavored fried cheese curds in a crispy flour shell, topped with marinara sauce and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Shrimp & Pork Toast On-A-Stick is at Union Hmong Kitchen. This item features a mixture of ground pork and shrimp combined with Hmong aromatics like lemongrass, ginger, garlic, shallots, and Thai chilis, seasoned with fish sauce, spread on Texas toast, and deep-fried.

Tandoori Chicken Quesaratha from Holy Land features spiced tandoori chicken layered with cheeses and a mixture of sautéed onions, mixed bell peppers, jalapeños, corn, cilantro, and green chilis, all folded inside a Middle Eastern flatbread called paratha.

New vendor Greater Tater is offering up Tater Kegs. They’re jumbo deep-fried tots with savory fillings, including a Bacon Jalapeño flavor.

The Dirty NoTini from Urban Glow Mocktails is a craft mocktail that includes lemon, dill pickling spices, and olive brine, which might offer a sharp, tangy, or slightly spicy profile from the pickling spices.

For those with a sweet tooth, there are plenty of offerings in this department.

Birthday Cake Cookie Dough On-A-Stick from Kora & Mila’s Cookie Dough is cake batter cookie dough made from scratch and covered in a crunchy cake confetti shell. It is topped with rainbow sprinkles and served on-a-stick.

Tasti Whip is back with their fan favorite frozen concoctions. This time around it’s the Cherry Bigfoot Limeade Float. While a beverage, it’s a sweet treat featuring limeade juice topped with cherry Dole Soft Serve. It is garnished with a lime slice and a cherry.

Cinna-sugar Crust Tidbits at Sara’s Tipsy Pies are freshly baked flaky pie crust strips covered in cinnamon and sugar. They are served with a side of whiskey-flavored caramel dipping sauce and can be made vegan upon request.

Croffle Cloud at Spinning Wylde is a croissant pressed in a waffle iron and topped with fresh whipped sweet cream and a drizzle of fruit puree, along with a cloud of cotton candy. There are three flavor choices: Banana Caramel, Berry Bliss, and Chocolate Cream.

Grandma Doreen’s Dessert Dog from West End Creamery is a family recipe from Elgin, Minnesota. It’s a unique dessert that consists of vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two pieces of Grandma Doreen’s Coffee Cake. It is skewered for easy eating.

Granny’s Apples + Lemonade is offering up Green Apple Sucker Ice Cream. Served in a cup, it’s a tart green apple ice cream with swirls of sweet caramel, designed to taste like a caramel apple lollipop.

The Land of 10,000 Cakes is a Bridgeman’s Marble Sundae featuring Butter Brittle Ice Cream layered in a cup with a trio of mini Nadia Cupcakes – Creme Brulee, Loaded Pistachio, and Chocolate Bliss. It is topped with whipped cream and a cherry.

Patisserie Sweets in Two Varieties are two pastries from Patisserie 46. One variety is Apple Glaze, a pull-apart donut dough baked with Minnesota-grown Honeycrisp apples, topped with brown sugar pecan streusel and orange blossom maple glaze. These delectable delights can be found at the Minnesota Farmer’s Union Coffee Shop.

Blue Barn has dreamed up something called Sweet Squeakers. These are white cheddar cheese curds coated in a funnel cake batter, deep-fried, and topped with a scoop of fresh lemon whipped cream. They are finished with a drizzle of berry sauce and are vegetarian.

Triple Chocolate Mini Donuts at Solem’s Cheese Curds & Mini Donuts are exactly what they sound like. These are chocolate mini donuts dusted with powdered sugar, drizzled with chocolate icing, and topped with chocolate sprinkles and mini milk chocolate chips. They are served in a bucket rimmed with more chocolate icing.

Three new vendors will also be serving up sweet treats, including one very popular item from The Big Easy. Beans & Beignets serves freshly made beignets, which are deep-fried pastry dough topped with powdered sugar, along with various hot and iced beverages.

Chocolate Strawberry Cup offers fresh strawberries in a cup with four topping flavors, including the Dubai Chocolate Strawberry Cup layered with Belgian-style chocolate, pistachio butter, and kataifi. Other flavors mentioned are Strawberry Cheesecake, Strawberry Crunch, and Strawberry Shortcake.

Magdalena’s Chimney Cakes serves Chimney Cakes, which are rotisserie-baked Hungarian pastries shaped like a cone. These are filled with vanilla ice cream and a choice of Nutella or caramel spread and various toppings like crushed pistachios or sprinkles.

Get your stretchy pants ready. The Minnesota State Fair runs August 21st through Labor Day.

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