For centuries now, Black families have grown accustomed to the same, traditional Thanksgiving menu featuring our favorites of mac n’ cheese, collard greens and candied yams.
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Though we can date these recipes back to the kitchens of our great and great-great relatives, many of the dishes we set on our dinner table came from origins even earlier than that.
The key ingredients to our spread weren’t just from Southern cooking. They migrated over with us from Africa and served as a form of survival during slavery. Eventually, we managed to take these scraps of food and create renowned subcultural cuisines like Creole gumbo, Jamaican oxtail and Gullah Geechee Hoppin’ John.
“It isn’t about the mac and cheese,” said “High on The Hog” producer Karis Jagger, via The New York Times. “It’s about survival, and showing how fantastic and brilliant some of these figures were who we just don’t know enough about.”
It’s a beautiful thing how Black people were able to create their own cultural connection to the holiday aside from the classic “Pilgrims and Native Americans” narrative. Keep scrolling to learn a thing or two about the rich history of your favorite, delicious Thanksgiving meals.
Cornbread Dressing
Stemming from the West African meal which enslaved people referred to kush, the crumbled cornbread dish was likened to couscous, Orlando Sentinel. With onion, meat and gravy all combined in a griddle or skillet with the mushed cornmeal, what is now considered a Thanksgiving side dish began as an ol- reliable meal reminding enslaved people of home.
Mac n’ Cheese
Thanks to the enslaved chef of Thomas Jefferson, James Hemmings, we were introduced to the delicious cheesy casserole. The two tasted noodles with cheese when traveling to France and Italy and brought the idea back to America, per Savor Tooth Tiger. Black folks since then have adapted the side dish along with the rest of America. However, our special connection to the origin of the dish in the States must be the reason why we make it so good.
Leafy Greens
Of the vegetables Black enslaved people were allowed to grow and harvest for their own enjoyment were leafy greens like collards, per the LATIBAH Collard Green Museum in Charlotte, Nc. Their tough texture and bitter flavor led to the stewed down, meat flavored rendition we’ve been cooking for years.
Black Eyed Peas
Native to North Africa, black eyed peas found their way to the mouths of Black Americans by way of the transatlantic slave trade. European slavers fed enslaved people the beans while on the ships. By the time we reached land, we were fed the beans, sharing the same diet as livestock, per All Recipes. Over time, it became a token of good fortune going into the New Year.
Candied Yams
The sweet potato was arguably in our DNA the knowledge of how to cultivate the crop, considering the commonality of the vegetable in African countries. However, it was not as popular as its other root veggie cousins such as cassava and yam, per Southern Kitchen. Through the trans-Atlantic slave trade is how Black Americans became accustomed to the vegetable. Soon, it became the go-to crop for its efficiency and low maintenance was the sweet potato.
Cornbread
The OG struggle meal for enslaved people was a simple mixture of cornmeal and water sometimes fried in bacon grease (hoecakes) or cooked directly on a hot cake of ash (ashcakes), Dr. Frederick Douglass Opie, professor of history and foods at Babson College in Massachusetts tells the Tennessee Tribune. Over time, the recipe became enriched with added ingredients of milk and butter. Now, they are a must-have side dish remixed with all different types of additives.
Chittlins, Ham Hock and Mo’ Pork
Many Black people of the younger generation are ready to retire this remnant of 1800s Black cuisine. However, it’s important to know where it came from. Back during slavery, enslaved folk were given the leftovers from the hog butcher which resulted in us getting neck bones, pig feet, ham hocks, intestines (chitterlings) and other parts of the hog that were considered less edible. Obviously, we made do with what we had.
Okra
Okra has been a staple all the way back to West Africa and Ethiopia, more often used as something to thicken soups as opposed to flour or cornstarch, per the Tennessee Tribune. However, Black people weren’t hip to the vegetable until the 1700s by way of the Caribbean. Now, Black people from New Orleans to South Carolina are known to stew okra in gumbos and soups or fry it in a cornmeal batter.
Peach Cobbler
Cobbler wasn’t only dedicated to peaches. Back in the 1800s, any fruit combined with sugar, flour and baked in the oven made for the ideal sweet treat, per Sweet Comfort Creations. If it wasn’t fresh peaches and biscuits, it was my great grandmother’s blackberry dumplings that the family feasted on after school. Now, with the extra added sugar, cinnamon and butter, we have ourselves a masterpiece.
Biscuits
During slavery, Black women bore the brunt of biscuit making, due to the labor of beating the dough before we were introduced to leavening agents. After that, biscuits were the new bread of the South but Black people really took them to the next level. Did you know the person to invent the biscuit cutter was a Black man?! Alexander Ashbourne was born into slavery before becoming a known caterer Philadelphia, per King Arthur Baking. By the time of the Emancipation, he’d had enough of irregular biscuit shapes and filed to patent an invention to make sure each one came out perfect.
Turkey Necks
The non-pork alternative to the meat in your greens or lima beans is the part of the turkey that didn’t make it to the grand display in the middle of the spread. Enslaved people did what they could with the scraps of butchered meat they were dealt, most often coming across neck bones of various animals. Now, we have our favorite bases for gravy and stews.
Big, Roasted Bird
During slavery and after, as we know, a big roasted chicken or turkey became the main character of the dinner table. According to Afro Culinara, the chicken was “the preacher’s bird,” most commonly served to Black clergy during Sunday dinner. On the other hand, Black people sold turkeys, guineas, ducks and other feathered creatures to their slave owners, rarely having the opportunity to enjoy it for themselves. Now, we’re hip to buying, baking and deep frying a bird for any special occasion.
Oxtail
What was considered the throwaway scraps from the cow (or ox) is now arguably a delicacy thanks to Black people. Slow-cooking, tenderizing techniques brought from the motherland as well as our impeccable ability to season the hell out of food has made oxtail a hot commodity. Plus, in the creatively of our cooking, we’ve managed to tailor the protein to different culinary styles such as classic Southern or Jamaican stewed oxtail.
Sweet Potato Pie
Considering our imbedded love for sweet potatoes, it’s only assumed we would make them into pie form. However, the tale goes that Black people were able to get their hands on more kitchen tools following the Emancipation which stretched our sweet potatoes from basic boiling and baking to carefully crafting a pan of joy, per Southern Kitchen. It’s not just a pie, it’s a symbol of family, love and appreciation.
Rice
Black people and rice go wayyy back. For nearly 200 years, we cultivated rice along the east coast, taking our skills of rice farming from West Africa to American shores during slavery – clearing the woods, building levees and carving out drains, per the National Museum of African American History & Culture. It was said West African women braided rice seeds into their hair before being shipped to America. Since then, rice growers spread throughout the south, most notably making roots in the Gullah Geechee cuisines which are heavily based on rice dishes (word to Hoppin’ John). Of course, we have to give a shout out to Louisiana Creole cuisine that gave us red beans and rice.
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