2026’s Best College Dining in Texas Ranked by Niche

There's a lot that goes into deciding which college to attend. Some would consider tuition, location, and the programs offered by the university. But there's one thing that every student must think about: what's there to eat?

Niche has released its 2026 rankings for the best college food in Texas, highlighting schools that offer delicious, budget-friendly, and diverse dining options.

According to the Niche methodology, the best college food ranking takes into account both meal plan affordability and student satisfaction. Texas colleges that top the list offer exceptional dining, with convenient access to fresh, high-quality meals that serve a variety of cuisines and dietary needs.

The list considered student opinions about the quality of the campus food at the college they currently or recently attended and the average cost of a meal plan, as reported by the college.

Here are the top 20 colleges with the best food in Texas, as per the Niche ranking:

No. 1: University of North Texas (Denton, TX)

No. 2: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (Edinburg, TX)

No. 3: Texas Tech University (Lubbock, TX)

No. 4: Texas Southern University (Houston, TX)

No. 5: University of Texas at San Antonio (San Antonio, TX)

No. 6: Texas A&M International University

No. 7: University of Texas – El Paso (El Paso, TX)

No. 8: Texas A&M University (College Station, TX)

No. 9: University of Texas – Austin (Austin, TX)

No. 10: Rice University (Houston, TX)

No. 11: Our Lady of the Lake University (San Antonio, TX)

No. 12: Midland College

No. 13: University of Houston (Houston, TX)

No. 14: Texas State University (San Marcos, TX)

No. 15: University of the Incarnate Word (San Antonio, TX)

No. 16: Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi(Corpus Christi, TX)

No. 17: University of Texas – Tyler (Tyler, TX)

No. 18: University of Texas – Permian Basin (Odessa, TX)

No. 19: University of North Texas at Dallas (Dallas, TX)

No. 20: East Texas A&M University (Commerce, TX)