25 Juneteenth-Inspired Recipes That Are Perfect For Celebrating All Summer Long

Millie Peartree’s baked mac & cheese is famous for a number of reasons. Our major takeaway—layering cheese and an eggy custard makes for the MOST creamy, saucy, and decadent dish ever. We might never make it another way again.

Get the Southern Baked Mac & Cheese recipe.

Black eyed peas have a rich tradition in the South. Eaten on New Year’s for good luck and Juneteenth for ushering in prosperity, they also make an easy and very healthy salad. You can absolutely make this salad using dry beans, but canned black eyed peas also work great. The best part of this simple salad is that it gets better as it sits, so feel free to make this ahead.

Get the Black Eyed Pea Salad recipe.

Chef Millie Peartree celebrates Juneteenth—a holiday to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States—with this punch. The red color, she tells us, symbolizes the bloodshed and resilience of those enslaved. In this punch, Millie skips ice in favor of strawberry sorbet. Not only does it keep drinks cold, but it adds a delicious creaminess as well.

Get the Juneteenth Punch recipe.

Our top secret for the most flavorful, extra-crispy catfish? A buttermilk and hot sauce marinade. We know, it may sound odd, but the result is an extra-flavorful, slightly spicy catfish that, once coated and fried, results in crispy fillets that rival even our favorite seafood restaurants.

Get the Fried Catfish recipe.

Fillings for Southern tomato pies always include tomatoes, mayonnaise, plenty of cheese, and Dijon mustard, but our version’s got a flavorful upgrade: chopped pimiento peppers, which lend the filling all the delicious richness of pimiento cheese dip.

Get the Southern Tomato Pie recipe.

All Creole cuisine packs a flavor punch that keeps you coming back for seconds, but red beans and rice are in a league all their own. The red beans soak up the smoky, porky, spicy, and earthy flavors and release some starch to create a rich gravy that’s perfect for spooning over steamed white rice.

Get the Louisiana-Style Red Beans & Rice recipe.

The flavor squad is here to provide standard corn muffins with a mega boost. The result is pimiento cheese corn muffins, which take their cues from the classic Southern cheese dip. Packed with shredded cheddar, diced pimiento peppers, garlic powder, and a generous amount of cayenne, the result is a savory delight.

Get the Pimiento Cheese Corn Muffins recipe.

To complete the journey to fried chicken nirvana, we went through 5 whole chickens, 3 gallons of peanut oil, and over 20 iterations of the recipe so that you won’t have to. We guarantee this is the only fried chicken recipe you’ll ever need.

Get the Crispy Fried Chicken recipe.

This best homemade banana pudding recipe also happens to be the easiest, with just 30 minutes of prep time. For ultimate results, patience is key!

Get the Banana Pudding recipe.

Northern cornbread is usually made with milk and butter, while Southern-style starts with bacon fat and is (almost) always baked in a cast-iron skillet. Don’t be intimidated by baking in cast-iron—here’s how we like to season ours to guarantee it won’t stick.

Get the Southern-Style Cornbread recipe.

When we first tried this recipe, the room went quiet. It’s filling, fascinating, and truly a standout thanks to a balance of heat, sweet (from the tomatoes and peppers) and spice profile. Plus, it’s not too spicy—this is the rice you can serve at all your parties without fear of burning someone’s taste buds.

Get the Jollof Rice recipe.

Southern cooking can sometimes appear intimidating or too involved, but this recipe is anything but. All you need are a couple of hours, a handful of staple ingredients, smoked turkey, and your collard greens (the star of the show) for an easy side (or meal on its own!) you can serve all year long.

Get the Southern Collard Greens recipe.

Looking for a show-stopping dessert recipe that’ll never let you down? You can’t go wrong with a decadent red velvet cake. This layered cake is a staple recipe to keep in your back pocket. With a rich chocolate flavor, a fluffy texture, and a tangy cream cheese frosting, this Southern dessert was made to impress.

Get the Red Velvet Cake recipe.

Black-eyed peas and collard greens are the perfect pairing for a Juneteenth potluck. Both veggies were transported to the US during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and have become Southern food staples. With leafy dark greens that flop around like cash, collard greens represent wealth and money, while black-eyed peas represent coins and luck.

Get the Black-Eyed Pea Bruschetta recipe.

Akin to a stir-fry, these finely shredded greens retain a wonderful bite, with a balance of tender pieces and crispy edges. We particularly love cooking mustard greens this way, but you can sub in collards, turnip greens, kale, or any combination with equal success.

Get the Sautéed Mustard Greens recipe.