77 Best Soul Food Recipes For Black History Month Food & Facts

Soul food best recipes for Black History Month – Many people associate soul food with Southern comfort food and the South. 

But soul food goes way beyond Southern cooking.

 

What makes soul food soul food?

What makes a dish authentic soul food?

‘Soul’ is the word used to describe the swag and unique style of African-American cuisine. You know. The flavor. 

African American food culture

Soul foods are hearty homecooked meals which you can point out by dishes with plenty of seasoning and rich with flavor! 

What do you eat in Black History Month?

You can enjoy notable recipes like collard greens, cornbread, baked macaroni and cheese, chicken and dressing, sweet potato pie, and banana pudding – just to name a few soul foods menu favorites.

These recipes are part of the authentic soul food family. Recipes passed along through generations and a legacy of African Americans. Black folks’ food!

Best Black History Month soul food recipes 

• Black Folks Soul Food Southern Smothered Chicken
• Black Folks Chicken And Dressing
• Black Folks Soul Food Southern Fried Chicken Recipe
• Black Folks Buttermilk Fried Chicken Recipe 
• Black Folks Soul Food Baked Macaroni And Cheese
• Black Folks Soul Food Collard Greens Recipe
• Black Folks Creamy Mashed Potatoes Recipe
• Black Folks Southern Potato Salad Recipe
• Black Folks Soul Food Southern Coleslaw Recipe
• Black Folks Southern Candied Yams
• Black Folks Soul Food Hoppin John Recipe
• Black Folks Southern Shrimp And Grits Recipe
• Black Folks Southern Tea Cake Recipe
• Black Folks Sweet Potato Pie Recipe
• Black Folks Southern Banana Pudding
• Black Folks Southern Peach Cobbler Recipe
• Black Folks Southern Sweet Tea

What is Black folks’ food?

Black folks’ food is a legacy of how African-Americans make soul food.

People have asked me, “Why do you call it Black folks food?”

Because these are Black folks’ recipes. And I’m so proud to share them!

I’m deliberate and intentional about giving credit to our community of talented chefs, cooks, and creators. 

No more apologizing or hiding our Blackness and its beauty.

My mission is to remain standing on the right side of history. Doing my part to honor the ancestors as one of the gatekeepers protecting the legacies of African-American culture.

With my hand on the sacred urn of tradition, vowing to protect and preserve Black culture and generations of blessed soul food recipes.

And the fun part of all of this?

Every time you make and share Black folks’ food. You stand with the ancestors, too!

“I am using my platform to draw attention to Black excellence.” 

— Toni Tipton-Martin (High On The Hog, Netflix history of soul food)

🎙 Listen to The Soul Food Pod episode: Black History Month Food

Check out the episode recap for Black History Month Food HERE!

 

What’s the difference between Southern food, soul food & Black folks’ food?

Soul food often gets lost in translation and grouped in with Southern food.

While most soul food is Southern. Not all Southern food is soul food.

That’s why it’s important to distinguish when a recipe or dish is Black folks’ food – made the African-American way.

Black folks’ soul food recipes represent Black culture

A perfect example of soul food is a Black folks’ fried chicken recipe. 

Chicken, especially fried chicken, is a food that’s been thrown on the doorsteps of Black people as a way to identify us. 

But, of course, you know, African Americans didn’t invent the chicken, LOL! We just perfected seasoning it!

There’s no denying that chicken with a balance of seasoned tender meat on the inside and flavorful skin on the outside is a soul food specialty.

A legacy of making it this way. Recipes handed down from generation to generation. That’s Black folks’ food.

Ready to take your recipes beyond Southern?

Then start here!

You’re in the right place for the best Black folks’ food and recipes!

Black soul food recipes

These are my family’s classic soul food recipes (Black folks’ food) and African-American cuisine – and I’m so proud of these recipes!

Southern comfort food, soul food dishes seasoned with buttery-rich flavors. 

Thanks to Instant Pot, most of these recipes are made to order in a fraction of the traditional time. Now easy enough for anyone to make and everyone to love! 

Soul Food Recipes + Instant Pot = MAGIC!

“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 (High On The Hog, Netflix history of soul food)

How do you make soul food? 

I do 97% of my cooking in my Instant Pots!

Instant Pot pressure cooking is a much healthier way to prepare traditional Southern soul food. 

The shorter cooking times lend to better preservation of vitamins and minerals while intensifying each recipe’s soulful flavors and enhancing the texture and taste. Yum!

Here, you’ll enjoy a variety of tasty soul food dinners and dessert recipes that cut down your cooking time without compromising the authenticity and mouth-watering flavors. 

You can start here for contemporary soul food made with Instant Pot. 

These are quick & easy recipes for a busy household – magical meals in minutes. One-pot… straight to plate! 

77 best Black folks’ soul food recipes for Black History Month

“Food for the body is not enough. There must be food for the soul.”

So plan your next meal with these best Black folks’ food recipes! 

What is traditional food for Black people?

These recipes! My best examples of Black folks’ soul food recipes for Black History Month.

Soul food menu list

Black folks’ soul food history

Today there is a long, colorful, and flavorful history of Black folks’ food – a soul food history and legacy that continues beyond slavery and the Emancipation Proclamation in the 1860s.

Soul food began as Black folks “making something from nothing” with the leftover scraps we were given. Today, soul food has new meanings and multiple identities within the Black community.

Meals made to stretch for impoverished families are now celebratory food, comfort food, and often times culinary delicacies and expensive cuisine!

We now recognize these Black folks’ dishes as soul food!

Black history month food facts FAQs

Why is it called soul food?

In the 1960s, the word “soul” was commonly used to describe African-American culture. The same way young folks identify Black culture today as “swag!” 

Thankfully, the word ‘soul’ organically came first. Or else we’d be eating “swag food” today!

Who invented soul food?

The term “soul food” may have first been used in the 1960s during the civil rights movement. 

In 1962, Sylvia Woods opened her iconic soul food restaurant Sylvia’s, in Harlem, NY. Sylvia is known by many people today as “the queen of soul food.” 

What does soul food symbolize?

First We Feast describes soul food as a term that “brilliantly captures the humanity and heroic effort of African-Americans to overcome centuries of oppression and create a cuisine.” 

“Cooking with love provides food for the soul.”

African American food culture history

“We nourished a nation through our cooking and baked our traditions in the cuisines that would define America.”

—Stephen Satterfield (High On The Hog, Netflix history of soul food)

Poet and civil rights activist Amiri Baraka calls on Black people to embrace the slang terms introduced by Black people for soul foods. 

He impresses that keeping the original name will make people easily remember these delicious dishes. Ultimately preserving the history of African-American food as an integral part of America’s history.

“When you understand your history and understand where you come from, that understanding gives you purpose. And the purpose to carry on their (Black ancestors’) story I think is such a huge honor.”

—Jerrelle Guy (High On The Hog, Netflix history of soul food)

More African American soul food recipes to love:

Check out the ultimate guide to soul food recipes:

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