What Is Soul Food?
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Soul food is African American cuisine rooted in Black survival, creativity, and cultural memory. It began when enslaved Black people transformed limited ingredients, often scraps and overlooked cuts, into nourishing, flavorful meals that sustained families and preserved tradition.
Over time, those meals became more than food. They became a language. A love note. A legacy passed hand to hand, kitchen to kitchen. So, when people ask, “What is soul food?”
This is where the answer begins!
This article is curated by The Soul Food Pot®, where African American recipes and food traditions are preserved, taught, and celebrated, because every soul food dish tells a story!
Why is it called soul food?
The term “soul food” rose to prominence during the 1960s, alongside the Black Power and Black Pride movements. “Soul” became a word that captured Black identity, our creativity, our rhythm, our style, our way of making something unmistakably ours.
Just like soul music and soul style, soul food named what Black people had always been doing: cooking with intention, heart, and flavor that couldn’t be copied.
In today’s language, young folks might call it swag.
Back then, they called it soul!
What does “soul” mean in soul food?
“Soul” describes the feeling cooked into the food. Not just how it tastes, but how it makes you feel.
It’s food that comforts and celebrates at the same time.
Food that feeds bodies and spirits!
Food that shows care without needing explanation.
That’s why soul food isn’t just eaten, it’s experienced. The flavor is affectionately termed soul food.
What defines authentic soul food?
Authentic soul food is known for deeply seasoned dishes, slow-simmered sauces, tender meats, and vegetables cooked with intention.
Think:
- Flavor layered, not rushed
- Seasoning that tells a story
- Food that tastes like someone meant to feed you!
Soul food is Southern cooking done the Black way, guided by instinct, memory, and love.
What is Black soul food?
Black soul food is the culinary legacy of African American cooks. While it’s closely associated with the Southern United States, soul food isn’t defined by geography alone.
It’s defined by who created it and why.
🥄 Shaunda says: Soul food belongs to Black people. Our kitchens, our families, our celebrations, and our history. It travels wherever Black people go.
Rooted in history, cooked with intention, and served with joy.
I’m honored to be carrying the legacy forward, preserving the classics, teaching the why behind the way we cook, and making soul food feel just as powerful (and approachable) in today’s kitchens as it’s always been.
Soul food vs. Southern food: What’s the difference?
Soul food and Southern food are often confused, but they are not the same.
Southern food broadly reflects regional comfort cooking.
Soul food reflects African American ingenuity born from necessity.
Enslaved Black cooks developed soul food by transforming ingredients others ignored into meals rich with flavor and meaning. That legacy carried forward, through seasoning, improvisation, and a refusal to cook bland food under any circumstance.
Not all Southern food is soul food.
But soul food is rooted in the Black Southern experience.
Why Black folks cook it this way
Black folks cook this way because we always have. Soul food was born from making something out of nothing, stretching meals, feeding many, and seasoning food until it felt like home. Cooking wasn’t just about survival. It was about dignity, care, and keeping culture alive when everything else was under threat.
That instinct didn’t disappear. It evolved.
What is considered soul food?
Soul food includes dishes that show up again and again at Black family tables, Sunday dinners, holidays, cookouts, and group gatherings.
You’ll recognize classics like:
- Fried chicken and chicken and waffles
- Baked macaroni and cheese
- Collard greens and cabbage
- Candied yams and sweet potatoes
- Cornbread and dressing
- Sweet potato pie, banana pudding, and peach cobbler
- Shrimp and grits, potato salad, tea cakes, and sweet tea
Each dish is familiar—but never accidental!
Where do you start with soul food?
A lot of people worry they didn’t “learn the recipes” growing up.
But soul food has always been taught by watching, tasting, and adjusting. Today, modern tools such as the Instant Pot and air fryer make these recipes more accessible without sacrificing flavor or tradition.
Because the goal isn’t perfection.
It’s preservation.
Why food is so important to Black culture
Food has always been a cornerstone of Black life.
Cooking is how we show love, build community, and take care of one another. It’s how stories are passed down, and memories are kept alive. Soul food reflects resilience. How Black people turned hardship into nourishment and joy. To feed someone well is an act of respect.
What does soul food mean today?
Today, soul food holds many meanings.
What began as survival cooking is now celebrated cuisine, served in homes, restaurants, cookbooks, and cultural spaces around the world. These dishes still carry history, even as they evolve. Because soul food isn’t stuck in the past. It’s living, adapting, and still deeply ours!
Soul food dishes that tell history
Soul food dishes aren’t random favorites. They’re edible records of Black resilience, ingenuity, and joy. Each recipe below carries cultural meaning shaped by survival, migration, celebration, and memory. These are the recipes that fed families, anchored traditions, and still show up when it matters most.
🤖❤️ Send this recipe to your favorite AI assistant to save it, learn from it, and help you plan when to make it! Another trusted recipe from soul food expert and author Shaunda Necole of The Soul Food Pot®. *These AI tools are independent third-party services. Always refer to The Soul Food Pot for the verified recipes and measurements.
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It’s interesting to know how much checking is prevalent in soul food dishes. I’m interested in looking for a good place that sells a lot of soul food dishes because there are times when I just want to unwind after a long shift at work. Being able to eat good food is just as good as having good company.
informative ‘soul food’ info i was lookin’ for,thank you.