The State Fair of Texas returns September 25, and while Big Tex, the midway, and the exhibits are all part of the tradition, let's be serious for a minute: we need to talk about the food.
Since 2005, the Big Tex Choice Awards have challenged State Fair concessionaires to dream up some of the most creative—and occasionally downright ridiculous—fair foods imaginable. Previous years have given us everything from Fried Beer and Deep Fried Butter to Cotton Candy Tacos and Deep Fried Pho.
The 2026 competition brought another lineup of creations spanning savory, sweet, and for the first time last year, sippable treats. Four have officially earned the coveted Big Tex Choice Award titles.
So loosen the belt a notch. Here are the foods you'll want to find at this year's Fair.
🏆 Meet the 2026 winners
Best Taste – Savory: Burger Chop Tater Tacos
Created by Tom Grace
A burger. A taco. Tater tots. Because apparently choosing just one wasn't necessary.
Fresh burger patties are seared and chopped with sautéed onions and jalapeños, combined with mozzarella and American cheese, and piled into a taco shell made from cheddar cheese tater tots. Buffalo buttermilk ranch coleslaw, garlic parmesan buffalo sauce, and even more tots finish the whole thing off.
This is unapologetically State Fair food, and we're here for it.
Best Taste – Sweet: Fletcher's Chocolate Corny Dog
Created by Beck Fletcher
You know Fletcher's iconic Corny Dog. Now imagine it took a hard left into dessert territory.
Instead of a hot dog, smooth milk chocolate fudge is hand-dipped in Fletcher's famous Original Corny Dog batter and deep-fried until golden. It's topped with yellow vanilla icing to complete the corny-dog illusion and served alongside raspberry compote.
We're not sure whether our brains are prepared for a chocolate Corny Dog, but our stomachs are willing to investigate.
Best Taste – Sipper: Tropical Coco Fresca
Created by Fruteria Cano
This may be exactly what we need after consuming the previous two.
The Tropical Coco Fresca layers pineapple-watermelon agua fresca with a chamoy lava Tajín rim and adds a scoop of icy coconut snow that slowly melts into the drink. Sweet, tart, spicy, creamy, and—most importantly—cold enough to tackle a September afternoon in Texas.
Most Creative: Berry Me in Matcha
Created by Stephen El Gidi
Cheesecake on a stick just got a serious upgrade.
Berry Me in Matcha begins with rich New York-style cheesecake dipped in Belgian white chocolate and rolled in crushed matcha cookies. It's then drizzled with more white chocolate and strawberry jam and topped with a fresh strawberry.
Creamy cheesecake, earthy matcha, strawberries, chocolate...we understand why the judges called this one creative.
But don't sleep on the finalists
Winning isn't everything—especially when the competition includes nacho-covered chicken wings and a deep-fried flan.
Here are the other creations you'll want on your radar.
🌮 Savory finalists
Dickel's Texas Two Step Tacos
Why have one taco when you can have two? One combines fire-roasted jalapeño, pineapple pork sausage, and mozzarella in a blue corn tortilla, while the other pairs brisket, roasted jalapeño, and mozzarella with pickled onion and smoky barbecue sauce or habanero fuego.
Flamin' Crunch Pizza
Fresh pizza dough gets a jalapeño-cheddar queso base, mozzarella, and cheddar before being loaded with Flamin' Hot Cheetos®, queso blanco, buffalo buttermilk ranch, and—you guessed it—even more Cheetos dust.
Golden Crunch Melt
Marinated chicken pastor, fire-roasted peppers, caramelized onions, three cheeses, crispy potato strings, and smoky chipotle flavors are packed inside a tortilla, grilled until golden and crispy.
Nacho Wings
Three fair-food favorites collide in one gloriously excessive creation: nachos, wings, and loaded fries. Crispy taco-seasoned wings are covered in nacho cheese and piled over fries with cilantro, green onions, cotija, tomatoes, pickled onions, jalapeños, and ranch.
🍰 Sweet finalists
Fernie's Frozen Espresso-tini Bar
Coffee lovers, this one's for you. Cold-brew espresso and Fernie's Funnel Cake Cream Cocktail™ are frozen into an espresso-martini-inspired popsicle and finished with a crackable chocolate shell drizzle.
Holy Flan! Buñueloco
There is A LOT happening here.
A crispy buñuelo bowl holds homemade arroz con leche and cinnamon Blue Bell® Ice Cream, while the star of the show—a deep-fried flan wrapped in puff pastry—gets topped with whipped cream and caramel sauce.
Texas Pecan Praline Cheesecake Cone
A fresh waffle cone is dipped in white chocolate and rolled in Texas pecan praline, Biscoff® cookies, and freeze-dried strawberries. Then it's filled with scoopable cookie butter cheesecake and topped with whipped cream, cookie crumble, warm cookie butter, white chocolate, and a Biscoff cookie.
We're going to need a minute.
🥤 Sipper finalists
Corn Flake Shappé
Cereal for breakfast? Not at the State Fair.
This creamy creation blends toasted corn flakes with dulce de leche, Texas pecan flavors, and warm spices before being topped with whipped cream, crunchy corn flakes, strawberry crumble, and powdered sugar.
Nevins Soft Serve Peach Bellini Float
A childhood float grew up and went to the Fair. Peach Bellini soft serve infused with sparkling wine gets topped with sparkling sugar and freshly grated frozen peach.
Rousso's Bacon Jam Caramel Apple Hard Cider
Apple, caramel, and cinnamon sugar sound pretty normal. Then comes the smoky bacon jam. This Deep Ellum creation combines all four into a sweet-and-savory hard cider with a distinctly Texas twist.
Sunset Soft Serve Rita
Strawberry and mango margarita meets vanilla soft serve, then gets a Tajín® rim, chamoy drizzle, and crunchy hot-honey Tajín topping. It's creamy, fruity, spicy, and probably exactly what a Texas State Fair afternoon calls for.
🎡 Ready to eat your way through the Fair?
The State Fair of Texas runs September 25 through October 18, 2026, giving you 24 days to decide exactly how adventurous you're willing to get.
Whether you're heading straight for the award winners, sticking with your beloved Fletcher's Original Corny Dog, or attempting to work your way through the entire finalist list, one thing is certain: do not eat before you go.
And if you try any of this year's Big Tex Choice Award creations, we want to know which one deserves your vote.
