Recipes featured during Kwanzaa highlight influences from African cuisine. Here are some of my favorite Kwanzaa recipes!
12 Essential Kwanzaa Recipes for Your Holiday Feast
Updated on Oct. 23, 2023
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Buttery Cornbread
Total Time
40 min
Servings
15 servings
From the Recipe Creator:
A friend gave me this homemade cornbread recipe several years ago, and it's my favorite of all I've tried. I love to serve the melt-in-your-mouth side hot from the oven with butter and syrup. It gets rave reviews on holidays and at potluck dinners. —Nicole Callen, Auburn, California
Cornbread is one of my favorite foods to make during the holidays. Cornmeal is a humble ingredient that transforms into a comforting bread when mixed with butter, milk, eggs, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Once baked, the result is a fluffy and moist cornbread. It’s a must-have at the table for sopping up sauces!
Fried Whiting
This recipe will be the star of your Kwanzaa feast. Fried whiting is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. You dredge fillets of whiting in cornmeal, flour, garlic powder, cayenne powder, salt and pepper. Then, pan fry them in some vegetable oil. The result is a crunchy, flavorful exterior. Serve this whiting (or maybe our fried catfish) as a main with lemon wedges and a remoulade sauce or with bread, tartar and hot sauce.
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Fried Okra
Total Time
30 min
Servings
2 servings
From the Recipe Creator:
Golden brown with a little fresh green showing through, these okra nuggets are crunchy and addictive! My sons like to dip them in ketchup. —Pam Duncan, Summers, Arkansas
Fried okra is a staple in Southern kitchens. The chopped okra gets dredged in a buttermilk, cornmeal and flour mixture and then deep-fried until golden. It’s crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. Fried okra is the perfect appetizer for your Kwanzaa feast—or any day of the week.
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Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole
Total Time
1 hour 10 min
Servings
10 servings
From the Recipe Creator:
Prepare this comforting side dish with the popular marshmallow topping or choose from streusel, fruit or crunchy toppings. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen
I make sweet potato casserole to add a little sweetness to the dinner table before dessert. The filling goes into a casserole dish and is topped with marshmallows and pecans. The dish is baked—and out comes the perfect side dish for Kwanzaa.
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Chicken Creole
Total Time
35 min
Servings
4 servings
From the Recipe Creator:
I like food that has a little zip to it, and this Creole chicken recipe hits the spot every time. It’s especially good served over rice. —Dolly Hall, Wheelwright, Kentucky
This dish, made with tender chicken and pepper in a luscious tomato sauce, is incredible. The layers of herbs and spices including oregano, basil, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper and cayenne take this dish to another level. Serve it as a main on top of steamed rice.
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Collard Greens
Total Time
2 hours 30 min
Servings
6 servings
From the Recipe Creator:
My grandmother made the best southern collard greens recipe in the world. Eating them with a slice of buttermilk cornbread is pure bliss. —Sherri Williams, Crestview, Florida
Here’s another Kwanzaa food must! These collard greens are a healthy, yet comforting side dish for the Kwanzaa table. You saute onions, garlic, ham hocks, crushed red peppers, seasonings and wine; then simmer in a pot with aromatics. Then, collard greens are added to the pot. Two hours later, you get perfectly tender and flavorful collard greens.
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Peach Cobbler
Total Time
35 min
Servings
8 servings
From the Recipe Creator:
I created this peach cobbler recipe myself with a few tips from my mom and grandma. Because it's so quick and easy, it can be made in minutes to suit any occasion. I've used it as a breakfast fruit dish, a dinner dessert and a light snack. —Martha Betten, North Manchester, Indiana
Caramelized peaches topped with a crisp butter topping sounds perfect to me! When this cobbler bakes, the juices of the peach integrate with the dry mix to form a crispy cobbler batter. The peaches are tender and juicy, with a beautiful golden-brown crumble on top. Serve peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for the ultimate Kwanzaa dessert.
Vegan Jollof Rice
Jollof rice is no ordinary steamed rice. It’s packed with tons of flavor from crushed tomatoes, onions, green peppers, a hot pepper, tomato paste, spices galore and veggie broth. Use a long-grain rice for a little extra bite. Top with fresh scallions. It’s a delicious side dish that your Kwanzaa table needs.
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Plantain Fritters
Total Time
20 min
Servings
2 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
These golden brown plantain fritters are a favorite in West Africa, where my aunt served as a missionary for 45 years. Make sure the plantains are very ripe. You can substitute bananas if you’d like. —Heather Ewald, Bothell, Washington
Plantain fritters can be savory or sweet. These sweet fritters are made with ripe plantains, which are mashed then mixed into flour, sugar, egg, cinnamon and baking powder. Of course, they’re deep-fried for a mouth-watering dessert that can be served after dinner.
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Sweet Potato Pie
Total Time
1 hour 20 min
Servings
8 servings
From the Recipe Creator:
This creamy sweet potato pie is subtly spiced and slices beautifully! We suggest baking up a few sweet potato pies around the holidays to give to friends and family. —North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission
Need an easy dessert recipe? You’re in luck. A sweet potato custard filling gets baked on top of the pie crust. Then cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, vanilla, milk and eggs deepen the sweet, caramel notes of the sweet potatoes. The rich texture of the filling is velvety smooth. Although Kwanzaa food is not set in stone, sweet potato pie should be center stage at any Kwanzaa dinner table.
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Zesty Coleslaw
Total Time
15 min
Servings
12 servings
From the Recipe Creator:
This simple slaw tastes best when it's refrigerated for at least one hour. The mixture seems to get creamier as it sits. —Michelle Gauer, Spicer, Minnesota
This simple slaw tastes best when it’s refrigerated for at least one hour. The mixture seems to get creamier as it sits.
Candied Yams
The sweetness in this recipe is balanced out by the earthiness of the yams. Sliced, coin-shaped yams go into a pot of butter, dark brown sugar, white sugar, baking spices, orange juice concentrate and vanilla. The yams cook and caramelize in the pot. They’re a nice balance of sweet and savory, with a beautiful tender bite.
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