Soul Food Cookbook

Famous Soul Food Sides cookbook  | Summer Of Soul Food cookbook | Soul Food Holidays cookbook  |  Black Folks Sweet Potato Pie cookbook

This is a collection of the best African American soul food recipes passed along from grandma to mom to me. And now to you in my easy step-by-step cookbooks!

 These cookbooks include classic Southern soul food recipes made with Instant Pot.

Seasoned buttery-rich flavors cooked in a fraction of the traditional time!

Easy enough for anyone to make – and everyone to love!

What defines soul food?

Soul food is a variety of comfort-food cuisine originating from African American culture in the Southern United States.

It’s traditionally a combination of African American foods derived from Black enslaved people’s take on American and British cuisine, combined with the essence of West African warmth, flavors, and traditions.

What is Black soul food?

Soul food is closely connected to the cuisine of the Southern United States. It’s often considered synonymous with Southern food.

However, the true definition of soul food does not require Southern roots. Soul food is simply a legacy of African American cooking. 

 

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What is the meaning of soul food?

Soul food is Black people’s unique stand-out style of cooking, best known for its heavy use of root vegetables and savory meats full of fantastic flavor created by tried-and-true mixtures of herbs, spices, and seasonings. 

 

Why is it called soul food?

It’s called soul food because of the Southern hospitality it’s served with, and the heart-centric feeling cooked into every dish. An attribute akin to only Black people and how we cook, fashion, and create with style and swag. 

You know – the flavor! Affectionately termed soul food.

What is the difference between soul food and Southern cooking?

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’ soul food – made the African American way.

A soul food cookbook, like you’ll find here at The Soul Food Pot, has been a delightful addition to the collection of many home cooks. 

This soul food cookbook contains delicious and mouth-watering soul food recipes and soul food Sunday dinner ideas that satisfy even the most demanding food critics. 

Whether it’s the side dish, main course, or dessert, each recipe is inspired by soul food ingredients and cooking traditions with a promise of feeding your soul! 

This cookbook teaches you how to make your favorite soul foods reminiscent of your favorite meals that mama, grandma, or your aunties would make. 

Soul food recipes 

Starting with evergreen soul food side dishes like:

• Baked macaroni and cheese
• Collard greens 
• Candied yams
• Potato salad 

Then, moving on to the main course to include soul food entrees like:

• Southern fried chicken 
• Shrimp and grits 
• Southern fried chicken and waffles 
• Chicken and dressing

…and more!

Finally, bring the meal to a standing ovation close with mouth-watering Southern dessert favorites such as:

• Southern banana pudding
• Peach cobbler
• Sweet potato pie
• Southern tea cake

What is a typical soul food meal?

Soul food is a type of cuisine that embodies popular foods and recipes indigenous to the African American community. 

The flavor of exceptional seasoning of vegetables and tender saucy meats makes this Black people’s cuisine so unique.

A perfect example of soul food is a Black folks’ fried chicken recipe alongside collard greens and cornbread. Classic soul food dishes.

Is fried chicken considered soul food?

Chicken, especially fried chicken, is a food 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 cooking specialty. 

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

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What vegetables are used in soul food cooking?

The most common vegetables used in soul food cooking are collard greens, black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes, corn meal, and cabbage. 

All these vegetables are grown in the South, are Southern meal staples, and are no-fuss Southern favorites.

Is gumbo considered soul food?

This is a frequently asked question. Gumbo is considered Louisiana soul food, famous in the Southern states of America. 

It’s a soup served in a roux base, usually prepared with onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, and okra. 

However, gumbo has been adopted by various cultures and modified by them to include their ingredients. 

So, if you’re into fusion cooking and the gumbo is prepared by someone who doesn’t have Louisiana roots, it may not be considered soul food!

How did mac and cheese become soul food?

Mac and cheese is genuinely the quintessential icon of Black American dishes! It has a rich soul food history.

The British discovered this particularly American cheese dish during their colonization of America and brought it back to their home. 

It was later adopted by Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who is credited with introducing macaroni and cheese to the Americas. 

However, it took enslaved Chef James Hemings to elevate this dish, formally known as macaroni pie. Hemings put macaroni and cheese on the map and made it the specialty Americans still take great pride in today!

What is Black culture food?

Soul foods are a rich part of the African American culture. A culture of hearty homecooked meals that you can point out by dishes with plenty of seasoning and rich with flavor! 

Black people food, also referred to affectionately as Black folks’ food, is a legacy of how African Americans make soul food.

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

I’m so proud to represent the most beautiful people and a legacy of what we eat.

These are my family’s African American soul food recipes – Black folks’ food and African-Caribbean cuisine.

I’ve made them Instant Pot easy enough for anyone to make and everyone to love with this collection of soul food cookbook recipes!

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

— Toni Tipton-Martin 

How can you get started making soul food at home?

I bet you were pleased to find this great collection of free online recipes?

After looking at the soul food cookbook list of favorites above, you might think everything looks and sounds so good, but where do I start?

When it comes to Black people’s food, the current generation is often asked: 

“How is it possible that you spend so much time helping your elders with food preparation without learning the specific recipes?”

This is why I’m committed to archiving and sharing our ancestor’s classic soul food recipes. Black people food and African American cuisine!

Thanks to Instant Pot, most of these recipes are made to order in a fraction of the traditional time without compromising the authentic soul food flavors or ingredients. 

Did you get your copy of my soul food cookbook? 

You can also subscribe HERE for all the soul food!

You may also enjoy Soul Food the movie or these favorite soul food cookbooks:

• Soul Food Holidays, by Shaunda Necole & The Soul Food Pot

• Soul Food Love, by Caroline Randall & Alice Randall Williams
• Carla Hall’s Soul Food, by Carla Hall
• Princess Pamela’s Soul Food Cookbook, by Pamela Strobel
• Soul: A Chef’s Culinary Evolution in 150 Recipes, by Todd Richards
• Fix Me A Plate, by Scotty Scott
• The Taste Of Country Cooking, Edna Lewis

“Princess Pamela ruled a small realm, but her powers ranged far and wide. Her speakeasy-style restaurant in Manhattan was for three decades a hip salon, with regulars from Andy Warhol to Diana Ross. Her iconic Southern dishes influenced chefs nationwide, and her cookbook became a bible for a generation who yearned for the home cooking left behind in the Great Migration.”

• Soulful Southern Recipes, by Robbie Montgomery & Ramin Ganeshram
• Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time
• Soul Food Cook Book, by Bob Jeffries
• Vegan Soul Food Cookbook, by Nadira Jenkins-El
• The Twisted Soul Cookbook: Modern Soul Food with Global Flavors, by Deborah VanTrece
• From Crook To Cook, by Snoop Dogg – “The first cookbook and recipe book from Tha Dogg: You’ve seen Snoop work his culinary magic on VH1’s Emmy-nominated Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party, and now, Tha Dogg’s up in your kitchen…with his first cookbook.”

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