16 Classic Food & Drink Recipes To Help You Celebrate Juneteenth (2024)

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 for birthday parties, holidays like Juneteenth, or for ending a romantic date night. With a rich chocolate flavor, a fluffy texture, and a tangy cream cheese frosting, this Southern dessert was made to impress.

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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. Black-eyed peas represent coins and luck. Both are commonly paired with smoked turkey or pork and this combo is also eaten on New Year’s Day and Juneteenth to ensure a prosperous year ahead.

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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.

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What defines the perfect slice of cornbread is a little different for everybody. Here at Delish, we want it to be thick, tender, just a little bit sweet, and not at all dry. We also believe that cornbread should be simple, a side you can whip up quickly to serve with chili or smoky beans that takes way less time than making homemade rolls. This tried-and-tested recipe checks off all the boxes. Whether you’re serving it plain or with honey butter (and we strongly suggest that you do!), we know you’ll return to it again and again.

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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.

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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.

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Too hot to even think of baking a cake this year? This creamy homemade red velvet ice cream is made with a buttermilk base and cocoa powder for that iconic chocolatey, tangy red velvet flavor we know and love. It’s an ideal treat whether you’re celebrating with family, need a cure for a broken heart, or are simply looking for a homemade treat that brings the decadent red velvet vibes.

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Tender Yukon Gold potatoes paired with hard-boiled eggs, celery, sweet pickles, and red onion make this Southern-style potato salad the perfect sidekick for your Juneteenth gathering.

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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.

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Although the dish has European roots, the southern dish Americans are familiar with today can be attributed to James Hemings, President Thomas Jefferson's highly skilled enslaved chef. Hemings learned of the dish during his travels to Europe with Jefferson and produced the cheesy, savory side we all know and love. Word of the dish spread like wildfire and the cooking technique was passed orally through the enslaved community, creating a staple for the African-American and southern dinner table.

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We took inspo from two summer salad staples—caprese salad and watermelon feta salad—to create this best-of-both-worlds creation to really pack in the red color that's so crucial to Juneteenth celebrations. Fresh strawberries have been added to juicy watermelon, tangy feta, and fresh basil for an extra-sweet summer treat. Pair with the simple olive oil dressing that ties everything together, and you've got the easiest, freshest side dish ready to devour in just 10 minutes.

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If you want to venture into the world of cabbage that goes beyond corned beef or coleslaw, try this fried cabbage on for size. Hearty and flavorful, it only requires 5 ingredients (if you don't count the salt and pepper). Plus, one of those ingredients is bacon! This simple recipe might just convert even the most ardent of cabbage haters (especially since it's said to bring prosperity when eaten on Juneteenth).

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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.

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The best, most flavorful BBQ chicken all comes down to the marinade, and we happen to think this recipe is truly something special. It's tangy, juicy, and has just the right amount of char, thanks to the sugars in the BBQ sauce. Serve with classic BBQ sides like coleslaw, corn salad, or potato salad, and you’ve got a picture-perfect Juneteenth cookout on your hands ready to please.

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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.

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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.

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