Southern Soul Food Labor Day Recipe Collection
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Labor Day has evolved to embody the culmination of summer with festivities that honor and celebrate the contributions of American labor movements. Central to these celebrations is the array of traditional Labor Day food that not only tantalizes the taste buds but also unites us.
Whether it’s the smoky aroma of grilling meats, the vibrant array of summer salads, or the nostalgic sweetness of corn on the cob, these dishes are a homage to American cuisine. This celebration of American culinary culture includes African American soul food cuisine, combining traditional BBQ recipes, cookout and potluck sides, and refreshing drinks.
The Labor Day soul food collection
This is the Labor Day collection. Browse everything! From Black Southern potato salad to soul food burgers, baked beans, fried chicken, cobbler, and sweet tea, I’m sharing the best foods to put on your Labor Day menu of traditional Labor Day foods!
Need help deciding what to make? I’ve already narrowed down the options for you in my Easy menu plan: what should you make for Labor Day→ with my exact picks for the main dish, sides, dessert, and drinks, so you can build a cookout menu without overthinking it!
Main dishes for a Labor Day cookout
The backbone of any memorable Labor Day party lies in its variety of main dishes. This holiday is summer’s unofficial farewell, so it’s a day that urges us to fire up the grill for barbecue meats while not forgetting about oven-baked, favorite fried food recipes and vegan options, too! This ensures everyone at your gathering feels included.
Soul Food Homemade Burger
A Labor Day classic: A Southern soul food homemade burger is made with savory bell pepper and sweet onion for a thick, juicy, tender, well-seasoned ground beef patty.
Check out this recipe!
Steve Harvey’s Homemade BBQ Sauce
Steve Harvey shares his easy homemade BBQ sauce recipe, perfect for slathering your favorite Labor Day meats.
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Soul Food BBQ Ribs
Soul food BBQ ribs are a perfect crowd-pleaser and an all-time favorite main dish for Labor Day classics, potlucks, tailgates, game days, or a Black BBQ cookout menu.
Check out this recipe!
Southern Soul Food BBQ Chicken
This easy Southern soul food BBQ chicken recipe makes it easy to enjoy as a soul food Labor Day favorite.
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Southern Pulled BBQ Chicken
Whether making this dish from scratch or with leftover BBQ chicken, it's the ultimate no-fail BBQ chicken recipe. Its versatility makes it a favorite cookout holiday, especially on Labor Day!
Check out this recipe!
Curry Chicken Mango Kabobs
Curry chicken and mango kababs are a delightful summer appetizer or main dish, perfect for any occasion, whether it's Labor Day, a holiday, or a cookout.
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Soul Food Southern Fried Chicken
Soul food Southern fried chicken is a recipe that Black folks created, perfected, and serve at every holiday event. Yes, even Labor Day!
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Southern Low Country Shrimp Boil
For years, African Americans have hosted gatherings with soul food low-country shrimp boils, even as a Labor Day classic feast!
Check out this recipe!
Smoked Turkey Legs
Turkey legs are an easy alternative to a whole turkey and a welcome addition to summer cookouts and Labor Day feasts.
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Soul food sides for Labor Day
Side dishes and salads often become the unsung heroes of Labor Day feasts! The sides are usually colorful, nutritious veggie centerpieces. From summer salads brimming with ripe tomatoes and crisp cucumbers to hearty dishes that complement the smoky flavors of barbecue meats, these accompaniments ensure a menu that celebrates classic cookout recipes and traditional Labor Day food!
Southern Potato Salad
Black folks' Southern potato salad recipe is a must-have for any African American cookout, family reunion, picnic, or potluck, and it's a must on the Labor Day cookout table.
Check out this recipe!
Soul Food Southern Coleslaw Recipe
This recipe is full of flavor! It's a Labor Day classic, perfect for pairing with smokey BBQ meats.
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Soul Food Macaroni Salad
Macaroni salad is an essential part of Black culinary traditions and summer cookout celebrations. The choice of ingredients respects tradition, while a handful of soulful seasonings and spices enhance the flavor.
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Southern Soul Food Baked Beans
This recipe is a fresh take on a classic Southern dish with an added twist of soul food seasonings and flavors. After soaking and boiling the dry beans, the diced vegetables lay the groundwork to complete your Labor Day feast!
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Soul Food Shrimp Spaghetti Pasta Salad
This soul food pasta salad recipe is a beautiful summertime and Labor Day classic made with fresh cucumbers and tomatoes, zesty Italian dressing, irresistible steamed shrimp, and delicious seasoning.
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Southern Soul Food Tomato Watermelon Salad
Summertime is all about the refreshing flavors of juicy watermelon and tangy tomatoes. This recipe for tomato watermelon salad with feta cheese, pickled onions, pickled peppers, and zesty cilantro is a classy Southern dish and a must for your Labor Day menu!
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Soul Food Southern Deviled Eggs
This recipe is a Southern favorite, offering a unique and delicious flavor that your guests will expect on your Labor Day menu!
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Soul Food Baked Macaroni And Cheese
Soul food baked mac and cheese is made with a rich and creamy homemade cheese sauce and delicious soulful seasonings and spices. Always included in the table for holidays and Labor Day. It's Southern comfort food the way Black folks make it!
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Soul Food Collard Greens Recipe
A Black folks collard greens recipe is the quintessential dish of any Southern soul food dinner, Sourhern cookout, or BBQ menu.
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Southern Chicken Salad Recipe
A traditional Southern chicken salad is more than mayo and chicken chunks. It's bursting with flavor and the perfect balance of savory, crunch, and sweet. It's a must for cookouts, potlucks, and picnics.
Check out this recipe!
Soul Food Red Beans And Rice
Experience the rich taste of BBQ through this simple yet flavorful accompanying dish. Red beans and rice will make your mouth water when you smell the aroma of savory seasonings and spices as the red kidney beans soak up the rich flavors!
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Southern Black Eyed Peas
Soul food Southern black-eyed peas are intensely flavored in a thick sauce with smokey and spicy seasonings. Warm, comforting, and flavorful good luck you can eat for prosperity from Easter to Labor Day and into the New Year!
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Creamy Mashed Potatoes Recipe
This Black folks' creamy mashed potatoes recipe is the best you'll ever eat, whether it's a winter holiday or part of a cookout feast!
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Candied Yams Soul Food Recipe
Candied yams are an old-fashioned Southern African-American recipe. A sweet potato soul food side dish cooked to perfection in a cinnamon-brown sugar glaze. This dish is enjoyed all holidays, winter, spring, summer, and fall!
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Southern Cabbage Recipe
A Black folks' Southern cabbage recipe is a delicious way to enjoy one of the South's favorite side dishes that's warm and sweet with savory soul food flavors. It's a staple from soul food Sundays to Labor Day!
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Southern Homemade Cornbread
This recipe uses cornmeal to make this Southern skillet staple from scratch. It's an expected dinner accompaniment even on Labor Day!
Check out this recipe!
Best drinks for Labor Day
Beverages play a pivotal role, completing the array of holiday delights and traditional Labor Day food. These choices promise refreshing and cool relief from the summer’s swelter.
Fruit-Infused Water
Fruit-infused water is an easy Labor Day drink when you want to keep everyone hydrated while giving plain water a fresh, colorful upgrade. Add your favorite fruits and herbs to cold water, chill it by the pitcher, and serve over plenty of ice for a refreshing family-friendly option that looks beautiful on the cookout table.
Check out this recipe!
Southern Sweet Tea
Southern sweet tea is a delicious blend of refreshingly sweet and tangy flavors. It's a thirst-quenching beverage that symbolizes Southern hospitality and good company, enjoyed throughout the deep South every day, holiday, and Labor Day!
Check out this recipe!
Southern Hibiscus Sweet Tea
Southern hibiscus sweet tea is a delicious red tea that's been part of Black culture since the beginning. It is mainly served on Juneteenth, but it's also good for any cookout or holiday!
Check out this recipe!
Grown Folks Red Kool-Aid
Grown Folks Red Kool-Aid gives the nostalgic red drink we grew up with a grown-up refresh that's less sweet and more balanced—without adding alcohol. Made with fruit juice and coconut water, it's a refreshing alcohol-free Labor Day drink for adults who still love Kool-Aid but want a version made for the taste buds you have now.
Check out this recipe!
Watermelon Red Soda
Red is one of the primary colors used by African Americans to celebrate Black History, including this easy-to-make watermelon red soda recipe.
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Pineapple And Watermelon Dole Whip Recipe
Dole Whip is still the best-kept secret in the frozen dessert world! It makes it even more special when you discover Dole Whip at Disney Parks.You can bring the magic home for your summer cookouts and holidays.
Check out this recipe!
Moscato Sangria
Black folks like sweet recipes, so it's no wonder that we've signed on for this fruity and often sparkly Italian wine! It's a delicious and beautiful addition to your Labor Day menu.
Check out this recipe!
Best Labor Day desserts
The anticipation of the dessert table tops off any Labor Day feast. These choices promise favorite classic sweet treats, from no-bake wonders to decadent concoctions.
Southern Soul Food Pig Pickin Cake
This homemade, moist yellow cake with whipped pineapple frosting, vanilla pudding, and sweet mandarin oranges baked in is the South's official dessert for BBQs and pig pickin feasts.
Check out this recipe!
Southern Banana Pudding
You'll never be able to look at other banana pudding the same way once you've tried this soul food delicious delight! It's a must for Labor Day.
Check out this recipe!
Southern Peach Cobbler Recipe
This soul food dessert is an evergreen staple and the darling favorite of the South. It's loaded with fresh, juicy peaches and topped with a light and airy cinnamon sugar crust. A cobbler that's so delicious that you may want to eat it all. All by yourself!
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Southern Red Velvet Cake
Red velvet cake is considered the soul food of the South, so it's a perfect dessert for a Southern cookout on Labor Day!
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Soul Food Southern Apple Pie Recipe
This soul food apple pie recipe features fresh apples sweetened with brown sugar and spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. It's perfect for an American Labor Day celebration!
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Black Folks Sweet Potato Pie Recipe™
This is a year-round African American recipe packed with flavorful seasonings and spices in the tradition of Black folks' soul food cooking. It's a sacred dessert included on the table from cookout to Christmas!
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Southern Tea Cake Recipe
This African American Southern dessert tastes like a sweet little biscuit. Light, airy, and sometimes compared to soda bread or pound cake, it's often included for Labor Day as a light summer treat.
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Southern Ambrosia Salad
Ambrosia salad is a Southern dessert made with tropical and citrus fruits like mandarin orange, pineapple, and shredded coconut. Ambrosia of the gods bestowed immortality on all who ate it. Southern ambrosia simply bestows a divine and refreshing taste after Labor Day fried chicken and potato salad!
Check out this recipe!
Southern Lemon Fruit Dip
Summer cookouts would not be complete without this quick and easy lemon fruit dip made with yummy cream cheese!
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Red Kool-Aid Pie
Red Kool-Aid pie turns a nostalgic cookout drink into a cool, creamy no-bake dessert with bold red color and the familiar fruity flavor of Kool-Aid. Make it ahead and let it chill for a fun Labor Day sweet when you want something easy, unexpected, and full of summertime nostalgia.
Check out this recipe!
Mixed Berry Fruit Popsicles
One of the healthiest recipes known on Earth is fruit popsicles! You can prepare homemade fruit popsicles with as little as a few pantry essentials. They are a truly delightful addition to an end-of-summer Labor Day menu.
Check out this recipe!
How do you celebrate Labor Day with soul food where you live?
If you’re celebrating Labor Day in the city, remember these iconic soul food restaurants where you can eat!
- St Louis, MO – Sweetie Pie’s restaurant
- Los Angeles, CA – Roscoe’s Chicken And Waffles
- Las Vegas, NV – Marcus Samuelsson’s Streetbird
- Harlem, New York – Sylvia’s
Or, if you’re celebrating in your hometown, include an iconic African American recipe based on where you live!
Here’s a starting list:
- Alabama fried catfish
- Mississippi pot roast
- Harlem chicken and waffles
- Tidewater Virginia yock
- Texas BBQ
- South Carolina low country boil
- Carolina collard greens
- Georgia peach cobbler
- North Carolina sweet tea
- Louisiana shrimp and grits
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Best Soul Food Dinner Ideas
Discover the best soul food dinner ideas, including traditional Sunday plates, easy weeknight meals, and authentic Black Southern dinner recipes with flavorful sides and menu inspiration built to feed both family and legacy.
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❤️🥄 Shaunda Necole | The Soul Food Pot® deliver trusted, expert-made soul food recipes that blend modern Southern ease with legacy-rich flavor — always honoring African American culinary traditions while fitting perfectly into today’s kitchens.