February is recognized as Black History Month, a time dedicated to honoring and exploring the rich heritage of African Americans. Soul food, a term deeply connected to Black culinary traditions, traces its roots back to slavery in the United States. This culinary tradition emerged as a symbol of resilience and creativity, as enslaved African Americans crafted hearty meals using the limited ingredients available to them.
What do you eat in Black History Month?
By exploring soul food recipes, we pay tribute to African American culture and enhance our understanding of its profound influence on America’s favorite foods and recipes. Cooking and sharing these dishes is a powerful way to connect with this vibrant cultural legacy.
These meals are not just sustenance but rather stories told on a plate. From gumbo’s hearty warmth to peach cobbler’s sweet comfort, these dishes convey resilience, community, and love. I encourage you to celebrate Black History Month by preparing these culinary treasures. It’s a delicious journey that connects us to a rich cultural heritage and brings the essence of African American cuisine to life.
Black people food
Black folks’ food represents a rich legacy of how African Americans create soul food. Many have asked me, “Why do you call it Black folks’ food?” The answer is simple: these are recipes from the Black community, and I am proud to share them! I am intentional about giving credit to the talented chefs, cooks, and creators in our community. We should no longer apologize for or hide our Blackness and its beauty.
My mission is to stand on the right side of history and honor our ancestors as one of the gatekeepers preserving the legacies of African American culture. With my hand on the sacred urn of tradition, I vow to protect and preserve Black culture and generations of treasured soul food recipes.
And here’s the fun part: Every time you make and share soul food recipes, you stand with the ancestors too!
Why is it called soul food?
In the 1960s, the term “soul” was often used to describe African Americans’ creative ingenuity, style, and culture. This is similar to how young people today refer to Black culture as “swag.” Thankfully, the word “soul” came first, or else we might be eating “swag food” today!
Black History Month recipes
These recipes are some of the finest examples of soul food from the Black culinary tradition, perfect for celebrating Black History Month. Plan your next meal using these exceptional recipes that honor the legacy of Black cuisine with this soul food menu and recipe guide for Black History Month.
“The entire passion that I have about this is to use food as a tool to elevate the conversation about what it means to be African-American and to cook African American food… It’s a celebration. We’re celebrating our food!” —Toni Tipton-Martin, Netflix: High On The Hog
Fried chicken is a food thrown on the doorsteps of Black people as a way to identify us. But African Americans didn't invent chicken— we just perfected the seasoning!
This recipe combines crispy, juicy, and tender Southern fried chicken paired with fluffy, buttery waffles. It features a unique twist of sweet and spicy syrup that adds a gentle touch of heat. It's a beloved soul food cuisine favorite for Black History Month!
This recipe is literally smothered in a legacy of flavorful Black history! Tender, juicy chicken seasoned with soul food spices and covered in a creamy, flavorful gravy medley. It's Southern comfort food at its finest!
Southern BBQ is deeply rooted in African American cuisine and Black history in the South. With this easy Southern soul food BBQ chicken recipe, you can quickly bring that same delicious legacy into your kitchen.
BBQ ribs are a classic favorite deeply rooted in Black American culinary history. This recipe is an easy crowd-pleaser and serves as a beloved main dish for potlucks, tailgates, game days, and, of course, any traditional Black BBQ cookout menu.
This recipe is fantastic for your soul food holiday and Thanksgiving menus. Its crispy skin and moist, juicy, flavorful meat have become part of Black holiday history because it's a well-seasoned Southern turkey recipe!
This easy recipe for smoked turkey legs is an excellent alternative to a whole turkey. It maintains tender meat and smokey soulful flavors, making it a great addition to your legacy soul food Thanksgiving menu!
This recipe is an iconic Southern Virginia Black history recipe. Soul food and Chinese food combine in a big warm bowl of flavorful broth, tender chicken, and noodles.
Corned beef and cabbage is a historic recipe for crafting hearty meals with limited ingredients. This dish highlights how Black people's resourcefulness maximizes flavor in beloved Southern comfort food.
African Americans are well-known for their delicious glazed ham recipes, particularly with pineapple and brown sugar. It's a beautiful and mouthwatering masterpiece!
Returning to the honored traditions of the Gullah Geechee, African Americans have been hosting gatherings with low-country shrimp boils for years. These events are often referred to as a Southern shrimp boil or Big Easy.
From tradition to a legacy of soul food seasoning, Creole sauce is the secret ingredient to Black folks' shrimp and grits! The seasonings make the sauce unique, so each recipe is creatively different.
Southern comfort combines with home-style goodness in this incredible chicken pot pie recipe. This hearty meal is rooted in a Black history soul food legacy of using limited ingredients.
This contemporary recipe for pork jowl revitalizes a classic Black history dish, making it quicker and easier to prepare while still achieving perfection in the air fryer!
“We nourished a nation through our cooking and baked our traditions in the cuisines that would define America.” —Stephen Satterfield, Netflix: High On The Hog
This dish represents Southern comfort food at its finest, made the way Black people have traditionally prepared it. Baked mac and cheese is a cherished legacy in soul food, renowned as one of the most iconic dishes in Black culinary history.
A Black folks' collard greens recipe is a quintessential dish of any proper soul food dinner and a beloved recipe of the South. Black people stewed this leafy plant side dish to world-renowned culinary fame!
Candied yams are an old-fashioned legacy African-American recipe. This sweet potato side dish, reminiscent of the West African yam, is perfectly cooked in a cinnamon and brown sugar glaze.
A Southern potato salad recipe cherished by the Black community is a staple for any African American cookout, family reunion, picnic, or potluck. This dish features a creamy yet tangy dressing, perfectly balanced with traditional soul food seasonings and flavors. It is fondly referred to by its legacy name, "Black Cookout Potato Salad!"
This dish is warm and sweet, infused with the savory flavors of soul food. It features a dense and slightly bitter leaf, highlighting the resourcefulness found in Black history, and is enhanced by creative seasonings and spices!
Black-eyed peas are a national treasure in Black history! Intensely flavored in a thick sauce with smoky and spicy seasonings, they're considered a delicious good-luck food for prosperity in the New Year!
Hoppin John is a traditional African American dish with a legendary story and roots in Black history. This comforting meal, typically enjoyed on New Year's, includes black-eyed peas, collard greens, rice, and Southern soul food flavors and seasonings.
This classic meal, beloved in Black culture, will tantalize your taste buds as the aroma of savory seasonings fills the air. The red kidney beans absorb the rich flavors, making this dish whole-soul satisfying and irresistible!
This recipe offers a fresh twist on a classic summer Southern dish, incorporating soul food seasonings and flavors. Start by preparing a base with diced vegetables. Then, the soulful combination of sugar, sauces, and seasonings truly transforms this dish!
Macaroni salad is a vital part of Black culinary traditions as the respected cold variation of the legacy recipe for classic baked macaroni and cheese. The choice of ingredients pays homage to tradition. At the same time, a variety of diced vegetables, flavorful seasonings, and spices elevate the dish.
This dish is primarily made with raw cabbage and bursting with flavor. It's a classic African American recipe that pairs perfectly with smoky BBQ meats.
Watermelon is a constant food thrown on the doorsteps of African Americans to identify us. However, similar to the stereotype about Black people and fried chicken, we didn't invent watermelon. We can only take credit for how to add seasoning to it!This recipe for a tomato and watermelon salad with feta cheese, pickled onions, pickled peppers, and zesty cilantro is a sophisticated Southern dish, perfect for any occasion!
Black people's cornbread dressing is a classic Sunday supper and holiday dinner delicacy made with carefully curated ingredients. The best part about this dish is that it's homemade with a soul food staple— cornbread!
This dish is a savory pudding that originates from the soul food traditions of resilience and creativity. It's made simply with key ingredients: cornbread, creamed corn, onion, garlic, and sour cream, which combine to create a rich and flavorful taste that embodies the essence of Black folks cooking.
Baked apples are a side dish akin to apple pie but without the crust. Apple pie holds special significance for African Americans, highlighting one aspect of our dual heritage.
Mashed potatoes are a staple in Southern side dish history. Inspired by Black cooking, this creamy mashed potatoes recipe is the best because it's bursting with savory seasonings for the ultimate flavor.
Sweet potato pie is a delicious soul food dessert and a cherished component of Black history! Regarding the debate of pumpkin versus sweet potato pie, Black people consistently favor sweet potato. The unspoken rule is always sweet potato. Never up for debate.
Apple pie is special for African Americans, reflecting one aspect of our dual heritage. This soul food apple pie recipe features fresh apples sweetened with brown sugar and flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg. The apples are roasted before baked in the pie, evoking memories of some of the best Southern dinners in history!
Pecan pie is a soulful part of Black history and a recipe as Southern as a pecan tree! It's a nutty dish with an abundant, sweet, caramelized flavor in each bite!
Almond flour has a significant history and legacy within Black history and culinary traditions, particularly in soul food. Black cooks in the South often used almond flour for baking because they did not have access to traditional wheat flour. They adapted to the limited ingredients available to them, resulting in baked goods that were moister, richer, and softer when made with almond flour.
Filled with fresh, juicy peaches and a light, airy cinnamon sugar crust, this classic Southern dessert is a beloved favorite in Black history and the South.
This recipe offers a Black history and cultural twist on the traditional English trifle. Southern banana pudding, prepared in the authentic Black way, will forever change your perspective on other banana pudding recipes!
Many African-American families enjoy carrot cake as a sweet, flavorful dessert and a holiday tradition. Black people tend to make a morespiced carrot cake topped with classic homemade cream cheese frosting.
Red velvet cake is celebrated in Black history as the "soul food of the South!" A traditional Southern red velvet cake made by Black communities features a decadent red sponge cake topped with homemade cream cheese frosting.
Where to learn about the Black History of your favorite recipes
The history of Black culinary traditions is rich, vibrant, and deeply intertwined with culture—a legacy of soul food that extends far beyond slavery and the Emancipation Proclamation in the 1860s.
While soul food is often categorized under Southern cuisine, it’s essential to recognize that not all Southern food is soul food. Soul food specifically refers to dishes prepared in the African-American tradition.
To explore more about Black History Month, food, and recipes, tune into my podcast, The Soul Food Pod, the first podcast dedicated to Southern soul food. “I am using my platform to draw attention to Black excellence.” — Toni Tipton-Martin
Which of these recipes will you cook first for Black History Month?
Black History Month Food | Soul Food Baked Mac And Cheese
Why is Southern baked mac and cheese so important to Black History Month?Baked mac and cheese is one of the many soul food recipes that have become staples in American cuisine. This delicious dish boasts a rich and flavorful history. It represents the essence of Southern comfort food, reflecting the culinary traditions of the Black community.
4tablespoonsunsalted butterdivided – 1 tablespoon and 3 tablespoons
2tablespoonsflour
¼cupheavy cream
1cupsharp cheddar cheeseshredded
1cupColby-jack cheeseshredded
8oz.macaroni noodlesuncooked
½teaspoonsalt
½teaspoonblack pepper
½tablespoongarlic powder
½teaspoononion powder
1teaspoonmustarddried
1teaspoonpaprika
Instructions
Fill a large pot with 3 cups of milk, 3 cups of water, and 1 tablespoon of butter, and set the pot on the stove to boil over medium-high heat.
Pro tip: For baked mac and cheese the Black way, use milk to coat the macaroni and give it a smooth, silky texture. Perfect for layering on cheese!
Once the liquid begins to boil, add the macaroni and cook according to the package directions, stirring occasionally to ensure the macaroni does not clump and stick.
When the noodles are done, remove the pot from the stove, turn the stove off, drain the macaroni in a colander, and set it aside.
Add the 3 tablespoons of butter to the empty pot and set it back on the stovetop over medium-low heat.
When the butter has melted and coated in the pot, add the flour (which replaces eggs), 1 ¼ cups of milk, and seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, dried mustard, and paprika) and whisk until smooth.
Allow the ingredients to simmer for 2-3 minutes until the mixture thickens slightly.
Then, stir in the cheese.
Reduce the heat to low and leave the cheese sauce on the stove to cook for 5-10 minutes or until the cheeses are blended.
Add the cooked pasta and heavy cream to the pot, stirring the mixture to blend evenly.
Turn off the stove, remove the pot, and transfer the macaroni and cheese to a cast iron skillet or baking pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until the mac and cheese is golden and bubbly.
Serve this Black folks’ mac and cheese recipe right away, and enjoy!
What is soul food? Soul food recipes are African-American recipes full of flavor! A legacy of Southern cooking the Black way. Check out this collection of the best soul food recipes!
