52 Southern Soul Food Memorial Day Recipes
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Are you searching for the perfect dish to bring to a friend’s Memorial Day cookout? Or asking yourself what you should bring to a Memorial Day party?
With these favorite soul food Memorial Day recipes, your answer is right here. So wonder no more!

What are some good recipes for Memorial Day parties?
The answer is always Southern soul food. So what’s the question again?!
From Black Southern potato salad to soul food burgers, baked beans, Southern soul food fried chicken, cobbler, and sweet tea.
The best menu for a Memorial Day gathering starts right here.
But are you now wondering what exactly is Memorial Day? Why is it celebrated? And how is it different from 4th of July or Juneteenth?
Let’s start with a quick lesson before we eat!
Best soul food Memorial Day recipes
- Steve Harvey Homemade BBQ Sauce
- Southern Soul Food BBQ Chicken Recipe
- Southern Soul Food Homemade Burger Recipe
- Black Folks Soul Food Southern Fried Chicken Recipe
- Black Folks Buttermilk Fried Chicken Recipe
- Black Folks Southern Soul Food Baked Beans
- 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 Macaroni Salad
- Black Folks Soul Food Southern Coleslaw 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 does Memorial Day celebrate?
I admit I’ve often confused Memorial Day with Veteran’s Day when honoring my late father. My dad served in the US Navy and retired as a Senior Chief.

While Veteran’s Day celebrates all of our service members, past and present. Memorial Day is to remember those who died in service to our country.
Where did Memorial Day start?
Memorial Day was initially called Decoration Day because of the early tradition of decorating fallen soldiers’ graves with flowers, flags, and red, white, and blue wreaths.
It became an official federal holiday in 1971. Businesses closed, and residents flew flags at half-staff.
This prompts people to also ask:
“What food is served after a funeral?”
“What do you serve at a celebration of life?”
And…
“Should food be served at a memorial service?”
These aren’t questions typical of Black people.
Because Black folks’ soul food is comfort food. And it’s unspoken in African American culture that if there are people gathered, there should also be food gathered on the table.
So in cases of funerals and memorials, it’s Black folks’ etiquette for you to taste the Southern hospitality.
All this said, many people still know Memorial Day as a holiday like Labor Day. Simply a day off from work to have a backyard barbecue and enjoy the best in BBQ, grill, cookout, and picnic dishes.
The best food for Memorial Day is obvi soul food Memorial Day recipes!
So let’s not waste another minute. It’s time to understand more about soul food so you can Memorial Day cook and eat properly!

What is soul food exactly?
Soul foods are hearty homecooked meals which you can point out by dishes with plenty of seasoning and rich with flavor!
What is the meaning of soul food?
‘Soul’ is the word used to describe the swag and unique style of African-American cuisine. You know. The flavor.
What is the difference in Southern food and soul 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.

What is Black culture food?
Recipes part of the authentic soul food family. Passed along through generations and a legacy of African Americans. Black folks’ food!
What are some traditional African American foods?
Collard greens, cornbread, baked macaroni and cheese, chicken and dressing, sweet potato pie, and banana pudding are just a few soul foods menu favorites.
So what can you cook today that’s soul food?
Hosting a big barbecue blowout?
Or maybe you’re going to one and need to know what you should bring to a Southern cookout?
A Black cookout food menu is full of tried-and-true soul food recipes- Black potato salad, BBQ, ribs, soul food burgers, banana pudding, pig pickin cake, & more!
In essence, you need to know what are good foods for a cookout?
Let’s start with the favorites. The most popular soul food dishes!

The best soul food Memorial Day recipes
Do you have to make collards with pork fat?
Not when you have the smoky flavor of turkey legs!
Got corn on the cob?
Try corn and other grilled fruit and veggies!
What’s the thing that makes this crunchy salad perfect for barbecues?
Pineapple paired with cabbage!
How did a traditional English country dish become one of the most beloved soul food recipes and Southern dishes?
What is a good finger food?
Finger food at a cookout? We call that popsicles!
Soul food Memorial Day FAQs
What is the most popular soul food?
The soul food darlings of the South are collard greens, sweet potato pie, and Black folks’ beloved Southern sweet tea!
But when it comes to barbecues and cookouts?
The award always goes to the homemade BBQ sauce and who made the soul food cookout potato salad recipe!

Love easy Instant Pot recipes?
Try these soul food favorites in the pressure cooker!
(Pro tip: You can also use Instant Pot as a slow cooker!)
What to bring to a cookout if you can’t cook?
Instant Pot recipes are always easy. Also, a cucumber salad or a tomato pasta salad are both super quick and easy cookout recipes.
What is the most popular food to put on the grill?
What is the most popular food for Memorial Day?
The answer is simple. Anything with BBQ!
What is the secret to good fried chicken?
There’s no denying that chicken with a balance of tender meat on the inside and crispy seasoning on the outside is a soul food specialty.
So the answer is soul food Southern fried chicken. A recipe that Black folks created and perfected!
At what temperature do you cook soul food fried chicken?
The temperature to maintain the hot oil when deep-frying this Black folks’ soul food Southern fried chicken recipe is 350 degrees F.
What is the use of a deep fryer?
Deep fryers are a wonderful invention that can make your life so much easier. You can quickly and easily use them indoors or outdoors to fry foods like Southern fried chicken in deep oils at high temperatures.
I call new-age at-home appliances like deep fryers and electric pressure cookers “magical meals in minutes!”
Do air fryers work for soul food Southern fried chicken?
Yes, they do! Air fryer cooking gives your food a crispy, fried exterior, without all the fat you usually would if you were to deep fry.
What sauce goes with Black folks’ Southern fried chicken?
There are so many good options for dipping your chicken that it’s hard to pick one! But most Black folks will tell you hot sauce, barbecue sauce, or ranch dressing are their preferred sauce for fried chicken.
What makes a delicious soul food smothered chicken recipe?
Tender, juicy chicken seasoned with soul food spices and smothered in a flavorful, creamy gravy medley. That’s Southern comfort food at its finest!
Black folks smothered chicken recipe right HERE.
How do you make a Southern comfort food chicken pot pie?
Southern comfort meets home-style goodness in this remarkable Black folks’ soul food chicken pot pie recipe that’ll make your taste buds sing!
How do you get your grits super creamy?
Make grits with 100% white ground corn. It’s similar to the taste of cornmeal that’s been cooked just right to get the most creamy grits with a soft texture.
I recommend cooking Southern grits in the Instant Pot.
What can you cook on a lazy Sunday?
Chicken yock is a big bowl of comfort that’s so easy to make and perfect for a soul food Sunday!
In a warm, flavorful broth, soul food and Chinese food combine for tender chicken and noodles. This dish is also known as Old Sober, yak, yok, yock-a-mein (yaka mein), or simply Chinese yock.
What are Black folks’ tea cakes?
An African American Southern dessert, Black folks tea cake is a sweet little biscuit.
Light, airy, and sometimes compared to soda bread or pound cake. Tea cakes are a traditional African American treat that date’s back to the 1600s.
What is a pie crust cookie?
Imagine this. The perfect sweet, flaky crust, bite-size piece of pie with your favorite seasoning (cinnamon, nutmeg) or simply sugar sprinkled over the top…
You just imagined pie crust cookies!
What do you think of these soul food Memorial Day recipes?
Did you enjoy these Memorial Day soul food recipes?
Which one is your favorite?
Comment below and lemme know. Then subscribe HERE for all the soul food!
With so many African American recipes, which one will you try first?
Like this post? Pin the below image to your Pinterest Soul Food Recipes board!


Equipment
- Instant Pot multi-cooker, Crock Pot or stockpot
Ingredients
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 6 tablespoons garlic powder
- 7 tablespoons pure cane sugar
- 15.25 oz BBQ sauce Rufus Teague Honey Sweet BBQ Sauce
- 15.25 oz BBQ sauce Rufus Teague Touch O’ Heat BBQ Sauce
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions
- Place all ingredients (apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, sugar, and 2 Rufus Teague BBQ sauces) in a large pot on the stove on warm.
- Fill an empty 15.25 oz. Rufus Teague bottle with water 1 ½ times, and add the water to the mixture in the pot.
- Stir to combine the ingredients.
- Simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes and cover with a lid.
- This recipe makes 4 ¾ cups of BBQ sauce.
- Approx 2 ¾ cups will sauce a whole chicken or a rack of ribs. You'll have approx 2 cups (a 16 oz. mason jar amount) to save for later.
- Use approx 2 ¾ cups of BBQ sauce to coat your desired meat (Steve Harvey slathers his sauce on ribs).
- Store the remaining sauce in a mason jar or an airtight container.
- Cook your BBQ sauced meat, serve, and enjoy!
Instant Pot Instructions
- Place all ingredients (apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, sugar, and 2 Rufus Teague BBQ sauces) inside the Instant Pot stainless steel inner pot.
- Fill an empty 15.25 oz. Rufus Teague bottle with water 1 ½ times, and add the water to the mixture in the pot.
- Stir to combine the ingredients.
- Close the Instant Pot lid and turn on the ‘slow cook’ setting for one hour.
- This recipe makes 4 ¾ cups of BBQ sauce.
- Approx 2 ¾ cups will sauce a whole chicken or a rack of ribs. You'll have approx 2 cups (a 16 oz. mason jar amount) to save for later.
- Use approx 2 ¾ cups of BBQ sauce to coat your desired meat (Steve Harvey slathers his sauce on ribs).
- Store the remaining sauce in a mason jar or an airtight container.
- Cook your BBQ sauced meat, serve, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Steve also recommends his favorite Big Green Egg for BBQ on the grill!
