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When culinary historian Tonya Hopkins interviewed Maulana Karenga, the creator of Kwanzaa, for The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, they talked about recipes. Now the chair of Africana Studies at the University of California Long Beach, Karenga was a civil rights activist in 1966 when she founded Kwanzaa out of interest in “first fruit” celebrations, end-of-year harvest festivals held throughout Africa with a history stretching back centuries. In Swahili, first fruit is “matunda ya kwanza.”
“First start with recipes from the African continent when planning fare for Kwanzaa,” Karenga told Hopkins. “Then look to its broader diaspora, to dishes like Jamaican brown stew chicken.”
In addition to its role as a celebratory project of Pan-African culture and history, “Kwanzaa offers a culinary bridge,” Hopkins writes, a chance for those who observe it “to reconnect with foods from their place of origin.” The last evening of Kwanzaa, on Dec. 31, ends with a feast called karamu.
“My Kwanzaa dinner centers on chicken — known in the South as the gospel bird because of its place on the Sunday dinner table. The chicken is given a Caribbean flavor with a mango-rum glaze,” writes historian Jessica B. Harris. “Dilled string beans turn up with crisp oven-fried wedges of sweet potato, which is another nod to the African-American diet in the South.”
Find these recipes and more in this collection of feast-worthy foods from across the African diaspora.
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Dilled String Beans
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling Barrett Washburne
A favorite of Jessica B. Harris, these fresh, crisp green beans are a simple, delicious side for any meal, festive or casual.
Roast Chicken with Mango Rum Glaze
Food & Wine / Photo by Carson Downing / Food Styling by Holly Dreesman / Prop Styling by Dera Burreson
This roast chicken from Dr. Harris pairs lean chicken breasts with a glossy glaze of mango nectar, Major Grey’s chutney, and dark rum, which caramelizes quickly in a hot oven. The result is gently spiced, sweet-savory meat with a pronounced tropical note, finished with extra sauce spooned over just before serving.
Sweet Potato Oven Fries
Matt Taylor-Gross
Dr. Harris serves these sweet-salty oven sweet potato fries for Kwanzaa. The recipe simply calls for salt and pepper, but feel free to play with the flavor profile by seasoning the fries with your favorite spices.
Hoppin’ John with Turnips and Turnip Greens
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Chef and cookbook author Todd Richards adds layered complexity to this Southern staple with harissa, smoked paprika, and cumin. A brief braise softens the turnips until silky and substantial, while an optional ham hock provides traditional depth without excluding vegetarians at the table.
Glazed Beef Shanks with Coffee and Peanuts
Chef Mashama Bailey’s hefty beef shanks are fit for a celebration. They owe their complex flavor to a tomato-based sauce containing generous amounts of garlic and ginger, two types of chiles, strong-brewed coffee, freshly toasted spices, and a big dollop of peanut butter. A garnish of roasted peanuts, finely ground coffee beans, and cilantro ties the dish together.
Georgia Peach Pie with Bourbon Whipped Cream
Cara Cormack
This delicious pie is served with Bourbon Whipped Cream: It takes just minutes to make, but the booze-spiked topping flatters the peaches like nothing else can. Since Kwanzaa doesn’t overlap with peach season, frozen peaches make a fine substitute for fresh.
Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Developed by chef Briana Riddock, this Jamaican brown stew chicken marinates bone-in pieces in aromatics, allspice, and browning sauce before browning and braising them until deeply flavorful and tender. The finished stew is richly savory with notes of caramelized sugar, thyme, ginger, and Scotch bonnet heat.
Mirliton and Gulf Shrimp Casserole
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell
Created by 2009 F&W Best New Chef Kelly English, this casserole highlights mirliton, also known as chayote squash, whose mild, crisp flavor recalls cucumber and young zucchini. Combined with Creole seasoning and andouille sausage, the tender squash and sweet shrimp add a note of freshness that balances the dish’s rich, savory depth.
Feijoada
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver
Pitch-black and deeply flavorful, feijoada is a Brazilian stew loaded with black beans and lots of meat: smoked pork loin, bacon, and sausage such as chorizo. The dish is traditionally served with sweet, cool orange wedges on the side, and with toasted manioc flour to add substance and crunch.
Southern-Style Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Noah Fecks / Food Styling by Drew Aichele / Prop Styling by Ethan Lunkenheimer
This macaroni and cheese layers extra-sharp cheddar, Colby-Jack, and cream cheese for a deeply savory, ultra-creamy result, with fresh bay leaves and dry mustard adding subtle complexity. In keeping with Southern tradition, the dish relies on a milk-and-egg base rather than a roux.
Nigerian Clay Pot Chicken
For this homey dish, a whole chicken is trussed, rubbed with an infused compound butter — Alligator Pepper and Makrut Lime Butter, in this case — then nestled in a layer of seasonal vegetables. Lemongrass, whole lime slices, and ginger add a punchy fragrance and a tangible sweetness to the pot. In the oven, the delicious herb-spiced chicken drippings coat the vegetables and citrus slices, which gently caramelize as the chicken cooks.
Candied Sweet Potatoes
Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Kay Clarke
For this satisfying side, sweet potatoes are baked in a buttery, caramel-like sauce with hints of maple syrup and warm spices. The syrup thickens and becomes sticky as it rests; sprinkling on grated orange zest at the end balances the sweetness of the dish.
Braised Collard Greens
Food & Wine / Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food styling by Jennifer Wendorf / Prop styling by Claire Spollen
This recipe comes together from only five ingredients — the pungent, bitter flavor of raw collard greens is subdued by braising the vegetable in a simple oil, salt, sugar, and water broth. The result is a fork-tender leafy green finished with a splash of tangy vinegar to accentuate the earthy tones.
Virtue Cornbread
Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall
Chef Erick Williams makes this slightly sweet, buttery, classic cornbread at Virtue, his flagship restaurant in Chicago. Serve it with more butter for an especially decadent side.
Jamaican Jerk Chicken
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Mariana Velasquez / Prop Styling by Thom Driver
Jerk chicken in Jamaica is endlessly varied, shaped by individual cooks and traditions; this version comes from Paul Chung, a self-taught Chinese-Jamaican cook who once worked in Food & Wine’s mail room. It delivers the hallmark heat, smoke, and aromatic complexity that define great jerk chicken.
Island Jollof Rice
Jollof rice, a spiced red rice dish with diasporic expressions across the Atlantic, starts with rice, tomatoes, onions, and chiles. It’s so beloved that several West African countries claim ownership of it. Historians believe it was actually created in Senegal, but that doesn’t stop the competition; Nigerians and Ghanaians especially squabble about who makes it better.
Tangy Black-Eyed Pea Salad
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
Simmering black-eyed peas with a sachet of tomato, scallions, chiles, garlic, and cilantro stems flavors them as they cook; the vegetables later become the base for a silky dressing that’s tossed with the beans, arugula, chopped cilantro, red onion, and jalapeño.
Okra Gumbo with Blue Crabs and Shrimp
John Kernick
Instead of making a roux, the late, legendary chef Leah Chase used okra (and lots of it) to thicken her gumbo featuring blue crabs and shrimp. Serve the dish over steamed white rice for your Kwanzaa feast.
Sour Cream Pound Cake
Abby Hocking
Save room for a slice of pound cake at the end of a special meal. This lighter version, made with a combination of sour cream and buttermilk, can be enjoyed plain or with a macerated fruit topping and whipped cream.
Coconut Chicken with Pickled Pepper Collards
Antonis Achilleos
“Coconut connects with my African roots,” says Ethiopian-born chef Marcus Samuelsson about the key ingredient for this dish. Here, he soaks the chicken in a combination of coconut milk and buttermilk, then dredges it in a mixture of shredded coconut and panko before frying it until crispy and golden.
Mom’s Fried Catfish with Hot Sauce
The secret to chef Todd Richards’ crispy catfish is to let the dredged fillet pieces sit in cornmeal for about five minutes before frying — a trick he learned from his mother. It’s served with homemade hot sauce, which takes the dish to another level.
Bourbon Pecan Pie
Con Poulos
Developed by Savannah baker Cheryl Day, this bourbon pecan pie delivers a lush, gooey filling with flavors of dark caramel and toasted pecans with a gentle warmth from the bourbon. Its easy press-in crust (made with butter and brown sugar) bakes up soft and cookie-like.
